Right-front view of the Zero

Pearl Harbor 75th Anniversary Set (3 kits) Limited Edition

Cowling Parts

F6F-5 Hellcat, Part 2

Finished

"Quietly came, quietly went…" - Special Operations Forces of Ukraine

Top rear right

PanzerKampfwagon II Sd.Kfz.122 (F) w/UE Trailer

Landing Gear

F7U-3M Cutlass, Part 2

Halftrack front

Hasegawa Pz.Kpfw IV ausf.F2 & 8t Half Track & 88mm Gun Flak 18 "Rommel Afrika Korps"

Marking scheme 3

P-40N Warhawk

Finished

Gun Truck "King Cobra"

Finished rear left view

Stearman PT-17

Completed kit

Packard Twelve (Model 1936) with Soviet Leaders

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Welcome to the IPMS/USA Reviews site!

Introduction: The primary organization of the IPMS/USA Review website is by IPMS/USA National Contest Class. Within each Class there are sub-menus by kits, decals, books, etc. The Miscellaneous Class is for items that are not class specific or that cross two or more classes.

IPMS/USA Members: We encourage you to submit reviews, both here and to the Journal. To volunteer for membership in the IPMS/USA "Reviewers Corps" and submit your own reviews, please read the Guidelines For Submitting Product Reviews.

Manufacturers, publishers, and other industry members: IPMS/USA is pleased to offer your company the opportunity for product reviews. All product reviews are performed by IPMS/USA members, and are posted in the publicly-accessible section of our website. With very few exceptions, we perform full build reviews of new kit releases, aftermarket products, and supplies. If you would care to provide product samples for review, please contact John Noack, IPMS/USA 1st VP.

To learn more about IPMS/USA, please see our About Us page.

Product Picture

Shenyang J-31 Gyrfalcon (Airshow China 2014)
Review Author
Paul R. Brown
Published on
Company
Trumpeter
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$35.99

The J-31(FC-31) is a twin engine “fifth generation” fighter currently under development by China’s Shenyang Aircraft Corporation. First exhibited at the Zhuhai Airshow in November 2014, the aircraft is very similar in size to the F-35 Lightning II, and appears to be designed for a similar mission. The airframe has a number of features that that are look like those on the F-35 (such as the humped fuselage sides and forward swept intakes) and the overhead planform of the two aircraft is very similar (other than 2 engines for the J-31 and 1 for the F-35), while the side profile is similar to a shortened F-22. As the jet is still in the early stages of development, a lot of questions remain about its actual performance and capabilities, as well as to what the final version will look like.

Product Picture

North American P-51 IVa (K) – British Camouflaged Mustangs
Review Author
Jarrod Booth
Published on
Company
LPS Hobby
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$14.57

I was drawn to this decal set for two reasons:

One, I thought that camouflaged Mustangs are not seen as much as the bare metal US aircraft.

Two: I had to do the Aussie Southern Cross marking being an Aussie!

LPS Hobby is a decal manufacturer from Brazil. The decal sheet, instruction sheet and cover page are contained within a generously sized zip-lock bag.

This small decal set contains marking for three British camouflaged P-51K Mustangs from Royal Canadian, South African and Royal Australian Air Forces:

  • KH608, Y2, “Edmonton Special”, PO John Mallandaine, 442 Sqn RCAF, Hunsdon, England. May 1945
  • KH673, GL-N, “Sweetpea”, 5 Sqn SAAF, Udine Italy, January 1945
  • KH676, CV-A, F/Lt 'Dusty' Lane, 3 Sqn RAAF, Cervia, Italy, April 1945

The recommended donor kit is the Tamiya 1/72 P-51D Mustang, however the newer Airfix, or any other manufacturers P-51D/K could also be used.

Product Picture

Metal Gear Set for Revell 1/32 P-51D-25
Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$17.95

MORE SAC FUN! Yes, the Revell P-51D-5 receives the SAC treatment because it’s a big kit, and Ross and his team came up with metal gear for this kit. Thanks to Phil for sending it and Fearless Leader John for approving my working the set.

Included in this set are two main gear, two Oleo strut braces, and a tail gear strut. All replace the Revell kit parts, and fit is just like the plastic except it’s stronger and can be re-adjusted as required.

Product Picture

FW-190A Seat Belts
Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$7.95

IPMS/USA thanks the Eduard team once again for sending us this simple, excellent set for the new Eduard FW-190 series. And thanks to Phil and John for running the team…

This seat harness is simplicity itself. There are four parts. That’s it, four. FOUR-lap belts, and over the shoulder harness. Installation? Carefully bend these durable steel belts into place. No paint flaking, no fiddling with parts that are too small for even surgical standard tweezers to hold. Just install and admire.

Far better than tape and paint, the STEEL series seat harnesses should become one of Eduard’s fastest sellers for upgrading kits that don’t have harnesses attached. Competitively priced too!

Thanks once again to Eduard and their groundbreaking technology leaps and for keeping AMS alive in those of us who have it!

Figure 1 - Package

United States WW2 Naval Ensigns (Flags)
Review Author
Luke R. Bucci, PhD
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/700

Thanks to Eduard for supplying the set.

Bottom Line: At first glance these steel, foldable flags look bright and colorful, but there are a few limitations. On a real model, they are good enough. Not to mention the unspoken scandal of oversized flags for all 1/700 WW2 warships kits, decals or paper. In that case, Eduard’s flags are at least good enough, sturdier and more flexible than other options.