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.

Book Author(s)
Des Brennan
Review Author
Dick Montgomery
Published on
Company
Guideline Publications
MSRP
$21.00

Des Brennan provides a thorough coverage of the development, deployment, service, and retirement of the Panavia Tornado ADV in this publication. Illustrated by Richard J. Caruana, this book is an excellent resource for the aviation historian as well as the modeler.

The written content is well written, in clear and precise language. The content is presented in chronological sequence, as most publications of this type are, beginning with a thorough description of the role into which a new aircraft was to fit. The author describes, in detail, the requirements that the aircraft was to meet in order to accomplish its purpose in a theatre of operations with rather complex needs.

The text is supported by a large number of excellent color images and stunning 3-view drawings of the aircraft with varied markings. Richard Caruana, the illustrator, certainly captured the aircraft well in these illustrations.

Book Author(s)
Jonathan Ferguson
Review Author
Ben Morton
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$20.00

Osprey Publishing has previously released books on two iconic side arms: The Colt 1911 Pistol and The Webley Service Revolver. What has been missing from the history of pistols, until now, was one weapon that was developed and deployed in the late 1890's, namely the Feederle Pistol from Mauser. Otherwise known as the 'Broomhandle' Mauser.

While this pistol was manufactured and sold by Mauser and is often attributed to them, the design and development was actually done by brothers Fidel, Friedrich, and Josef Feederle. The Feederle brothers worked for Paul Mauser and, in his defense, it was somewhat standard operating procedure for a company to take credit for any design/development work done by the namesakes employees. [Fun Fact: Paul Mauser once forbade Fidel Feederle from working on a pistol design.]

Book Author(s)
Stephen Chapis, Andrew Thomas
Review Author
Eric Christianson
Published on
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$23.00

Osprey Publishing, out of Oxford, UK, is back again with another Aircraft of the Aces series entitled Allied Jet Killers of World War 2, by Stephen Chapis and Andrew Thomas. Jim Laurier was commissioned to illustrate the various allied aircraft via original color artwork. Anyone familiar with aircraft modeling literature and research will recognize this authoritative series, and this latest release won’t disappoint.

Allied Jet Killers follows the format of the previous Aircraft of the Aces volumes, containing beautiful (original) color plates and numerous black and white photos with detailed captions, although much of what is contained in the captions is also reflected in the main text.

The photos are credited, and while I’ve seen some of the images before, most are new to me.

Review Author
Dave Koukol
Published on
Company
Werners Wings
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$16.00

Background

The air war in Vietnam was a departure from what the United States had experienced in prior conflicts. The over-dependence on air-to-air missiles, micromanagement of operations from the White House, and countless constraints and rules of engagement put American aircrews at a distinct disadvantage against North Vietnamese adversaries. Despite those limitations, the US forces adapted to circumstances, exercised some good old American ingenuity, and managed to generate several aces and some legendary missions based on unorthodox tactics. A common thread in the making of these aces and employment of these tactics was the F-4 Phantom II.

Review Author
Rob Benson
Published on
Company
Zoukei-Mura
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$75.00

I am honored and privileged to review a beautiful new scale model offering in the Super Wing Series from Zoukei-Mura, Inc. I also wish to extend a very deep appreciation to the IPMS/USA Reviewer Corps for choosing me to review the F-4S variant of the famous McDonnell Phantom II.

The kit was released on 26 JUL 17, following on the heels of a previous F-4J release in the same scale and series. This review is the second of two sequential reviews, including my adventures in completing the kit build. This final review dovetails with the previous IPMS reviews of the Zoukei-Mura F-4 kits. I am not a subject matter expert (SME) on the F-4x family, but I sure enjoy a well-designed kit and fun build, learning about the real thing as I go. The Zoukei-Mura F-4S does not disappoint!