Completed interior

Maschinen Krieger 44 Type Mk44 Ammoknights (Smartgun Equipment Type)

Completed shed front

Freight Shed

Finished model

C-54D Skymaster

Right rear

Flakpanzer IV Ausf.G Wirbelwind with Zimmerit

Construction 2

V-Twin Custom Wild Chopper

Underside 2

T-50 ROKAF Advanced Trainer

Deck

Churchill Mk III "Fitted for Wading" Operation Jubilee, Dieppe, France 1942

Two kits portrayed with different wing configurations

F-14A/B Tomcat "Jolly Rogers" (2 kits) Limited Edition

Engine Detail

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

Top Sleigh

75mm Pack Howitzer M1A1 & Gun Crew

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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.

Kitset packaging cover sheet

De Havilland Mosquito FB VI Instrument panel

Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
June 9, 2011
Company
Airscale Model Aircraft Enhancements
Scale
1/24
MSRP
$7.78

Thanks first to Airscale for providing IPMS USA this product sample…. We sincerely appreciate it!

This is a simple, yet effective upgrade for the huge Airfix Mosquito. Consisting of a small set of instrument and panel decals, and an acetate sheet, the instructions guide you through installation. I unfortunately had sold my Mossie before this upgrade showed up; last week! (The postmark showed Dave Morrissette had put it in the mail back in March!). Lost in transit; a first for me. Guess I’ll be buying another Mossie… Because this would be an excellent upgrade to an already noteworthy kit.

Box Art

P-39 Airacobra
Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
June 9, 2011
Company
OzMods
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$22.00

Background

Dave Johnson bought this kit from a swap meet or mail order. He let me build it and review it. Then it goes back to Dave. This saves me from taking up my already meager shelf space.

The Aircraft

The kit calls itself a P-39, and it is. But it’s also a P-400, which was the Export/RAF version of the Airacobra.

The P-39 was notable for the engine mounted behind the pilot and the 37 mm cannon in the nose. The 37 mm made it a great strafer, and the Russians got their money’s worth out of theirs. The other great trivia fact: The cannon was built by Oldsmobile.

AIM-9X Missile

AIM-9X Missiles

Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
June 9, 2011
Company
Zactomodels
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$20.25

Thanks once again to Chris for providing IPMS USA more of his excellent products; in this case, a brace of modern snakes!

The AIM-9X program has been yet another joint effort (Navy/AF) intended to provide better weapons to our warfighters. The AIM-9 series is one of the more effective close-in weapons; it’s notoriously accurate, and usually does the job better than radar guided weapons. Of course, you are in a knife fight at this point if you must use these missiles, so effective and accurate are both pluses. The AIM-9X is the latest generation Sidewinder; it is tied in to helmet-cuing sight technology, and goes where the pilot is looking. It’s an excellent follow-on to the AIM -9L (Lima) and -9M (Mike)… both which have extremely successful history as lethal close-in air-to-air weapons.

Box Art

German Z-39 Destroyer, Smart Kit

Review Author
Scott Hollingshead
Published on
June 8, 2011
Company
Dragon Models
Scale
1/350
MSRP
$62.99

The Z-39 was the fifteenth, and final ship of the Zerstorer 1936A-class (known to the Allies as the Norvik-class) built by Germany during the Second World War. The Z-39 had her keel laid in 1940; launched on August 5, 1941; commissioned on August 21, 1943, and survived the war to and taken by Great Britain. The ship was given to the United States Navy, was renamed DD-939, and was used for testing until she was given to France in 1948. The French used the ship for spare parts for other destroyers until finally scrapped in 1964. Displacing just over 3600 metric tons fully loaded, the ship had a length of 127 meters, a width of 12 meters, a draught of 4.65 meters, and she was powered by two geared turbines that allowed a maximum speed of 37 ½ knots. Armament for the Z-39 consisted of 150 mm, 37 mm, and 20 mm guns, 533 mm torpedo tubes, mines, and depth charge launchers.

Box Art

8" Self Propelled

Review Author
John Lyons
Published on
June 8, 2011
Company
Revell, Inc.
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$29.95

Editor's note: This kit is a re-release of the Renwal kit of the late '50's. It set a standard in its day.

Short History

Right after WWII the US Army looked hard at its experience and decided it wanted most of its artillery to be armored and provided with overhead protection for future combat.