Canopy

Mirage III C

Natural Setting 1

Wild Wild West Outhouse

Inside the cab of the car looking toward the dash and steering wheel – the car does not afford much of a view of the interior, so I didn’t spend much effort on sprucing it up

From A Porsche 962C Limited Edition

Cabin detail

Lil Hot Dogger

Completed model left rear

Spitfire Mk.IXc Early Version

Headlights

Mercedes Benz Actros MP4 Giga Space

Left side masking

F-35C Lightning

4

Salvenmaschinenkanone SMK 18 TYP 2

Broken parts

Tempest Mk. V

Front

Chinese Z-10 Attack Helicopter

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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.

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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.

Box cover

Crusader
Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$90.00

Extreme appreciation to Eduard for their having once again provided a sample copy of a long-awaited product, the F-8E Crusader, and the usual wave of thanks to the IPMS USA leadership for ensuring I received it!

Behind the box art with a Marine F-8E with a sword and shield in the background, sits Hasegawa’s fast-selling 1/48 kit, with a perfect Cartograph decal sheet of six different markings, along with a resin ejection seat, and wheel set and masks to replace the kit items. Also included are the now-standard color and plain brass PE, a canopy mask set, and an excellent instruction sheet.

Boxart

F/A-18F Super Hornet
Review Author
Joe Porche
Published on
Company
Revell
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$33.00

Coming in under budget, on schedule and underway the McDonnell Douglas F/A -18 E/F have replaced 4 separate aircraft for the US Navy. The Super Hornet has more powerful engines and can carry war weapons further then the previous Legacy Hornets. Congress was quick to approve the new Hornet which is an advanced derivative of the existing Hornet.

Revell has recently re-released both versions of the new modern Super Hornet. The version I chose to model is a specially decorated version of the Super Hornet from VX-23 “Salty Dogs” (Air Test and Evaluation Squadron 23) NAS Pax River, Maryland. Sporting very bright blue diamond stripe with red and white checks down the spine and bright blue vertical stabilizers, this is remarkably attractive aircraft. The second airframe on the decal sheet is A CAG bird from VFA-32 the Fighting Swordsman's from Navel Air Station Oceania, Virginia Beach Virginia.

Front cover

Cleveland Tank Plant
Book Author(s)
David Doyle
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
G-104 Press
MSRP
$25.00

David Doyle’s latest book is with a brand new publisher, G-104 Press. Founded by Scott and Kim Taylor of London, Ontario, this volume represents a new concept and approach by David Doyle. Rather than his customary monograph on a single (or series of) vehicle, ship, or aircraft, this volume focuses on the history of a facility: Cleveland Plant 2 that originally was built in 1942 to construct the Boeing B-29 Superfortress. This book is presented in landscape and includes 112 gloss pages. G-104 Press does not yet have a website, but they are planning on one. Presently, the book is sold through David Doyle’s website. Scott and Kim Taylor are hopeful to bring additional books addressing military vehicles geared towards the enthusiast, historian, and modeler.

Box art

AFV Valentine Mk.III w/Rotatrailer
Review Author
Phillip Cavender
Published on
Company
AFV Club
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$81.99

Introduction

I won’t go into the history of the Valentine Tank because each modeler, I’m sure, does his own research before beginning the build. But, what I found interesting was the different opinions as to how the Valentine got its name. One reference implies that the name came from the middle name of Sir John Carden, the designer of the A9 and A10 which were prototypes of the Valentine. Another reference article states that the name came from an acronym of the designer. (Vickers Armstrong Limited Engineers Newcastle-upon-Tyne). Even other references imply that the name came from the date it was introduced to the Army of which was Valentine’s Day, February 14th, 1938. Whatever the reason for the name, the Valentine and its variations continued to be used. As to accuracy of the model, it does appear to be very accurate when compared to some scale line drawings.

Box Art

Japanese Military Field Kitchen Equipment
Review Author
Ben Morton
Published on
Company
Plusmodel
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$31.80

Our Czech Republic pals, Plus Model, have a new set of accessory items to spiff up your latest project. The Japanese military field kitchen equipment consists of forty resin pieces and a small sheet of photo etch. The photo etch is for the carrying handles and clasps on some of the various containers and buckets. In my review copy the photo etch sheet was absent so I'm basing that statement on the assembly instruction illustrations included with the kit.

The resin pieces are excellent, nicely detailed, and free of any casting issues. The kit includes: