Sprues

St. Chamond Late Type French Heavy Tank

Glass

Tornado IDS 60th Anniversary 311 GV RSV Special Colors

Right Side

SnapTite Build & Play 2015 Ford Mustang GT

Finished model

De Havilland Mosquito FB.VI Final Part

Interior

Sd. Kfz, 251-8 Ambulance

M901 missle tubes complete left

M901 Launching Station & AN/MPQ-53 Radar set of MIM-104 Patriot SAM System (PAC-2)

Turret and upper deck

Type 2 Ka-Mi Tank w/floating pontoon

Bow detail

U.S.S. Lake Erie CG-70

Underside, from rear-above

Martin B-57B

Right side

M60A2 Patton

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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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Package artwork

USN/USMC Tailhook Striping
Review Author
Dave Koukol
Published on
Company
AOA Decals
Scale
1/72, 1/48, 1/32
MSRP
$7.50

Having built many US Navy jets in various scales for over 36 years, I can resoundingly state that the thing I hate most about painting them is masking and painting tailhook stripes. Although some manufacturers have included the striping decals with the kits, the vast majority have not.

Thankfully, AOA decals has introduced a new series of decal sheets in 1/72, 1/48, and 1/32 scales to provide those stripes when the kit manufacturers haven’t. Received for this review was the Combo sheet, which includes all three scales. Individual sheets for 1/72, 1/48, and 1/32 are also available. Decals are simple sets of black stripes of appropriate width and spacing, and are printed by Microscale.

Package

F4U-5 Corsair Exhaust
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$9.00

Quickboost provides you with one set of Vought F4U-5 exhausts. Of note is the re-sealable packaging that Quickboost uses that makes the parts easy to review and then stuff back into the package securely. There are no supplied instructions; you simply swap out the kit provided five plastic parts with the new Quickboost replacement. The genius here is going from five parts that must be aligned properly with a single piece that provides alignment inherently. Even better, the exhausts are already hollowed out!

Although most paints will adhere to resin alone, I would recommend that you wash the parts to remove any remaining mold release and prime them first. The landing light and venturi tubes will need to be installed with your favorite CA (super glue) or epoxy, as the normal plastic glues or solvents will not react with the resin.

Box art

IL-2M & Panther D - Two-in-One Kit
Review Author
Dave Koukol
Published on
Company
Academy Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$42.00

Background

Mortal rivals, the Soviet Il-2m Sturmovik and German Panther Ausf. D represent pinnacles of combat capability for their respective nations in the 1944 timeframe. Often eclipsed by the mighty Tiger tank, the Panther proved to be an extremely lethal and far more maneuverable and reliable little brother to the larger and more finicky Tiger – truly one of the best all-round tanks of World War II. To stop the Panther and other German armor on the Eastern Front, the Soviets relied on the tank-busting Il-2m Sturmovik. The heavily-armed and armored IL-2 family of close air support aircraft proved a reliable and effective gun platform for dispatching the relentless waves of German armor.

The Kit

Academy draws from 2 externally engineered subjects this time – Accurate Miniatures’ Il-2m and Zvezda’s Panther D – to offer a clever boxing of historical combat rivals.

Package

Su-9/11 "Fishpot/Fishpot C" Pitot Tubes and Missile Pylon Heads
Review Author
Paul R. Brown
Published on
Company
Master Model
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$5.60

This set provides replacement pitot tubes and missile pylon heads for the Su-9/11 Fishpot/Fishpot C aircraft. The Su-9 was developed in the late 1950’s alongside the Su-7. While the Su-7 was developed as a ground attack aircraft, the Su-9 and the later Su-11 were designed and flown as interceptors. Neither the Su-9 nor the Su-11 was exported, so they are not as well-known as the Su-7 or the MiG-21.

The set includes replacements for the nose mounted pitot and the pitot mounted in the leading edge of the left wing. The left wing pitot is a single piece of brass and is easily installed by drilling .6 mm hole in the leading edge of the left wing and inserting the replacement pitot.

Box Art

M40 U.S. Self-Propelled 155mm Gun (with Aftermarket Gun Barrel)
Review Author
Andrew Birkbeck
Published on
Company
Tamiya
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$93.00

Background

The 155mm Gun Motor Carriage M40, to give it it’s proper name, mated the M1 155mm field gun with the proven chassis of the M4 Sherman with HVSS suspension, widening and lengthening the M4A3 Sherman chassis in the process. Built by the Pressed Steel Car Company, 311 vehicles were built to replace the M12 GMC in US service. One T83 (prototype of the M40) arrived in Europe in 1945 in time to see action in WW2. However, it was during the Korean War of 1950 – 53 that the M40 saw extensive combat operations. The only other user of the M40 was the British Army, which operated it under the name “M40 Cardinal”. The M40 fired a 95 pound shell to a range of 14 miles. It was operated by a crew of 8.