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.

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Book Author(s)
Bert Kinzey, Art by Rock Roszak
Review Author
Rob Benson
Published on
June 18, 2021
Company
Detail & Scale, Inc.
MSRP
$9.99

Thank you to Bert Kinzey and Rock Roszak for bringing back a tremendous resource for the modeler, this time in digital format. Thank you to the IPMS Reviewer Corps for allowing me to test out this new and exciting method of researching history, details, versions and markings of the Douglas SBD scout/dive bomber.

Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
February 3, 2020
Company
Dragon Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$69.99

Developed in the late 1960s, the M60A2 was an ambitious attempt to create a multi-tasking battle tank to accompany the M60A1, one capable of firing both conventional 152mm rounds or the new Shillelagh anti-tank missile. It featured a rotating command cupola with integral machine gun and a distinctive low-silhouette turret. Because of its technologically advanced design it was nicknamed “The Starship” by operators. It went into service in 1972, and all told, 526 were manufactured.

Despite the hype, the vehicle proved to be a major disappointment, as the new anti-tank missile lacked both range and armor penetration capability. Consequently, it was phased out of service rapidly, the hulls being converted to M60A3 standards or being used as the basis for bridgelayers. The gun system, however, was incorporated into the M551 Sheridan air-droppable tank after revision due to its light weight.

Book Author(s)
Stephen Bull
Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
May 9, 2016
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$20.00

Now that we stand 100 years from “The War to End All Wars”, it seems reasonable to step back a bit and reflect on the vast changes this war instigated, not the least being the changes to warfare itself. The Maxim machine gun was used in some form by virtually all of the belligerents in that war (France notwithstanding), but nowhere to the effect that the German Army employed it. Looking back, it seems amazing that not every military mind of the age was able to perceive the terrible impact such a device would have on combat, in a time when the “line charge” was still regarded as a staple of tactical thinking. Nonetheless, it was the German army that realized how such a piece of equipment could help make up the disparity in military might between a relatively new nation and a host of other nations amassed against them. It also ruthlessly brought the tactics of warfare into the industrial age.

Book Author(s)
Leigh Neville
Review Author
Gino Dykstra
Published on
May 9, 2016
Company
Osprey Publishing
MSRP
$19.00

The Rangers are an elite arm of the United States Army that ostensibly traces its roots back to Roger’s Rangers of Revolutionary War fame. More plausibly, this unit was created shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, and has served as a highly trained mobile strike arm of the U.S. Army ever since.

This most intriguing book delves into their operations, training and equipment during the tumultuous latter portion of the 20th Century into operations taking place right now, showing a snapshot of a force which utilizes the very latest in technology and techniques to keep them in the forefront of elite military forces around the world.