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.

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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.

Review Author
Alan Wickham
Published on
Company
Revell
Scale
1/25
MSRP
$29.95

The '66 Suburban is a modified tooling of Revell's '64-'66 Chevy pickup kits. The kit is nicely detailed, and complete, right down to separate lenses for all lights, interior mirror and dome, decal and "glass" for the instrument panel, and decals for the seat upholstery.

In this release of the kit, it can only be built stock, and no custom parts are included. Which was just fine for me, because I am an avid replica stock builder! I chose correct '66 Chevy truck light green and white for my model, with the correct light gold colored interior, and the correct greyish shade for the engine block.

Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Speed Hunter Graphics
Reid Air Publications
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$24.95

Speed Graphics is that sub-part of Reid Air products which have focused (initially) on Modern Fighters, particularly USAF and some export birds. Their line-up to date is small but impressive. Thanks to Reid Air for sending IPMS USA this review item, to Dave for the nod to move out on them, and Dick for bringing the sheet to the Nationals for me.

This release is a complex, well-researched product. Designed for Tamiya’s venerable, accurate, F-15C and E kits in the huge 1/32 scale, this is a great place to start your aerie for Eagles. Better have a new addition to the house as well. For the record, this kit was built up to the point of decal use and application/finishing, due to this being a Decal review and not a total kit review.

For the record, here is the content description from the website on the sheet:

Review Author
Chris Smith
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$29.95

Entering service in June 1941, the Bf 109F (Friedrich) corrected some of the limitations revealed in the Battle of Britain, namely the ability to carry extra fuel in a drop tank under the centerline. Other distinguishing features included strutless tail planes and a refined nose profile. Personally, I always associated the Friedrich with Hans-Joachim Marseille who scored many of his 158 victories in this version of Messerschmitt's ubiquitous fighter.

Review Author
Charles Landrum
Published on
Company
Bobcat Hobby
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$48,001.00

If you are fan of Soviet and Russian aircraft, the model gods are listening and continue to produce kits which fill gaps in coverage in 1/48. A-model had released the Yak-28 family of jets in 1/72 and now it looks as if Bobcat Hobby will do the same in 1/48. This is a straight styrene-only kit, with a manageable parts count.

First out of the gate is the Yak-28P “Firebar”. Never exported, this was a Soviet interceptor from the 1960s and 1970’s that had that classic Soviet propaganda appearance. A stable flight platform, it carried a more powerful radar and complex weapons systems than the single engine interceptors. It was eventually replaced by the Mig-23 family. Since it was only in Soviet service, and has been out of service for 35 years, few reference photos are available. The best source of photos, are walk-arounds of preserved airframes, but many of these aircraft are incomplete and there are no clear cockpits photos, except for a few period shots.

Review Author
Dan Brown
Published on
Company
Panda Hobby
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$51.95

The T-15 is a new vehicle designed for the Russian inventory as an infantry support vehicle, possibly as a replacement for the venerable BMP 2. The T-15 is concept based on the T-14 MBT tank hull. Due to the nature of the T-14 being designed to have multiple versions, the T-15 is the same hull that has a different automated turret installed. This turret is designed with infantry support in mind with a 2A42 30 mm auto-cannon, a 7.62 mm coaxial PKT and two sets of Kornet-EM anti-tank missiles. Panda Hobby’s new kit is the first attempt at this interesting new vehicle.