Finished model

US Coast Guard HH-65C Dolphin Helicopter

Starboard

MiG-21F-13 Fishbed C

Underside 1

F-4B Phantom

first Paint coats

Messerschmitt Bf109S "Schule Emil"

Cockpit

AH-1G Cobra

Finished

"Pave Hawk" HH-60G, Part 2 Exterior

Something Went Wrong Somewhere

German Type G4 Partisanenwagen

11 Top Rear

Su-27C Flanker, Part 2 - Painting and Finishing

Finished

British 2-Ton 4X2 Ambulance

Sprues

A-4M Skyhawk

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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 packaging

Landing Flaps for the F2H-2 and F2H-2P Banshee
Review Author
Rob Benson
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$34.95

Thank you to the Eduard Company for sending this detail set for review, it is always a pleasure to see what your new products bring to the scale modeling world. Thank you also to the IPMS Reviewer Corps staff members who do the hard work in getting us modeling products to review, the reviews posted, and the news spread to the world.

Overall Summary

The polished brass photo-etch fret arrived in a standard cellophane envelope with the colorful Eduard label and cardboard backing. A color assembly guide was neatly folded inside, with bilingual labels. The fret is about 5.65 x 4 inches, hosting 8 major pieces and numerous hinges, pins, and ribs, with the larger parts crisply relief-etched. Kit areas to be modified are indicated in the instructions.

Box Art

T54 E1 - Smart Kit "Black Label Series"
Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
Company
Dragon Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$49.99

You’ve got to give Dragon Models some real credit – they’re willing to put out the oddball kit now and then, and to do it with class. The U.S.-made T54-E1 tank (not to be confused with the Russian T54) was one of the several attempts in the mid-50’s to upgrade the M48 from its 90mm gun to something with a bit more punch. Three different approaches to this idea were initially attempted, including this one, which clearly owes its ancestry to the famous French AMX-13 tank developed around the same time. The idea, of course, was that an autoloading main gun would eliminate the need for a human loader, and would permit extremely rapid firing during combat. There were a couple of problems with this idea, however. First, once the nine-round “magazine” was expended, someone typically had to exit the vehicle to reload it – not something you necessarily want to do under fire.

Cockpit package

F2H-2 Photoetch
Review Author
Rob Benson
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$29.95

Thank you to the Eduard Company for sending this detail set for review, it is always a pleasure to see what Eduard’s new products bring to the scale modeling world. Thank you also to the IPMS Reviewer Corps staff members who do the hard work in getting us modeling products to review, the reviews posted, and the news spread to the world.

The photoetch frets arrived in excellent shape in a sealed plastic package with the distinctive Eduard knight logo. One cockpit fret is 2.75 x 1.6 inches on polished metal with color-etched laminated details, and the other fret is 3.1 x 2.75 inches on polished brass. Side consoles and instrument panel parts are provided for either a F2H-2 or F2H-2P. Internal and external details for one model are on these two frets. I particularly appreciate having three clear HUD pieces included on the film part. Only one is required, but I need two of them to complete the set. You can speculate why! I worked up the fighter version for this review.

Package

Triple Ejector Rack (TER)
Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$19.95

Extreme appreciation from IPMS USA goes to Eduard for their having once again provided a sample copy of a long-awaited product, the Triple Ejector Rack, and the usual wave of thanks to the IPMS USA leadership for ensuring I received it!

This set contains 50 parts for five TER’s; the resin bodies, Sway braces with ejector pins, TER hanging lugs to put them on the aircraft carrying beams, and PE Switch plates to put in the hollow end of the TER itself. To finish, you are also provided with a small decal sheet.

Detail on this set is, as usual, almost incomprehensible. Every rivet, joint, screw and bolt is on the set.

Box Top

Staghound Mk. 1
Review Author
Tim Wilding
Published on
Company
Italeri
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$39.99

History

The T17 Staghound Mark I armored car was designed in the United States based on British specifications at the beginning of World War II. The British were looking for a wheeled reconnaissance vehicle with a high level of armor, well-armed and highly mobile. Chevrolet started production in late 1942 and a total of 3000 units were produced. British and Polish units started fielding this vehicle in the spring of 1943 in the Italian Campaign. The Staghound was used by many different counties during the post war era up into the late 1970s.