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.

Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Platz
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$28.95

This model is from an Anime series originally called “Sentō Yōsei Yukikaze” which appeared in Japan as a direct-to-video production. It was produced by Gonzo and Bandai Visual (A familiar name to modelers). The videos won awards in Japan for best animation in 2003 and 2006. An English version of the video is available.

The premise of the story is that Earth will be invaded in the mid 21st Century by an alien force called JAM, through an interdimensional portal which comes out near Antarctica. The UN puts together a secret force which pushes the invasion back through the portal. The UN force then follows JAM through the portal to its home world, which is called Fairy. The battle continues on Fairy using several aircraft with some real upgrades from what we see in the early 21st Century. More information can be found at its Wikipedia page .

Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Platz
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$28.95

These models are from an Anime series originally called “Sentō Yōsei Yukikaze” which appeared in Japan as a direct-to-video production. It was produced by Gonzo and Bandai Visual (now, there’s a familiar name!). The videos won awards in Japan for best animation in 2003 and 2006. An English version of the video is available.

The premise of the story is that Earth will be invaded in the mid 21st Century by an alien force called JAM, through an interdimensional portal which comes out near Antarctica. The UN puts together a secret force which pushes the invasion back through the portal. The UN force then follows JAM through the portal to its home world, which is called Fairy. The battle continues on Fairy using several aircraft with some real upgrades from what we see in the early 21st Century. More information can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yukikaze_(anime).

Review Author
Luke R. Bucci, PhD
Published on
Company
Model Art
MSRP
$15.00

ModelArt No. 832 monthly update has the usual features of new product kits, as well as a feature topic. This month, the topic is aluminum metallizing finishes. Pages 5-49 show a list of four entire pages of different paints with a picture of its bottle and a painted plastic spoon so you can see how it looks – a thorough encyclopedia of available aluminum metallic paints. Examples of how to use the paints to build real kits are detailed for 1/32 scale P51D, Tojo, and Tony fighter aircraft. Other examples include more fighter aircraft, a B26an airliner, a Formula One racing car, several luxury sedans, and even tank treads. The text is in Japanese, but the numerous photographs help decipher what is being done. At least this section gives some advanced modeling tips for aluminum finishes.

Review Author
Dick Montgomery
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$17.95

Eduard provides a complete set of parts to enhance the appearance of the ejection seats for the Hobby Boss Tornado ADV with this product, Eduard’s Tornado ADV Seatbelts Set, # 49547. The Eduard set is colored so no painting will be necessary.

A PE “bender” is not required to use the Eduard set. The Eduard parts can be easily manipulated and re-shaped with a pair of tweezers. Some of the parts are quite small, so a modicum of caution must be exercised not only to prevent the parts from becoming one with the carpet, but also to prevent any unfortunate accidental bends being introduced to the PE parts.

Review Author
Dick Montgomery
Published on
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$28.00

For those who wish to build a first class model of the Tornado, Eduard has some items that will make the interior of the Tornado come alive with detail and color. Eduard is offering an excellent set of photo etched parts to replace some of the molded cockpit detail found in the Hobby Boss Tornado kit, and the Eduard parts are “self-adhesive”. It is necessary to remove the molded detail on the instrument panel and side consoles of the Hobby Boss parts. While doing so goes against the grain for most modelers, rest assured that the appearance of the cockpit will be improved once the Eduard parts are installed.