Misc Image 9

Laffley V15T with Hotchkiss Machine Gun

engine parts

Horten Ho-229: Part 1 - Preview, Engines and Main Frame

Image 4

Helen Parsons At the Edge of the Universe Figure

Completed model, right-rear view

Ford Bronco (1st Generation)

7

RF-4E Phantom II, JASDF 501st Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron

Engine # 2 Accessories

Tornado GR. 4

Air bubble

XP-1937 Coastal Reconnaissance, Attack and Battery Scout - C.R.A.B.S.

Image 13

F6F-5D/K Hellcat "Target Drone"

Assembled and painted aircraft - right-rear, above

CM.170 Magister

Left front

IL-2M & Panther D - Two-in-One Kit

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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.

Front Cover

2025 Catalog, Plastic Model Kits & Acrylic Paints
Book Author(s)
ICM
Review Author
Bill O'Malley
Published on
Company
ICM
MSRP
$0.00

My first two impressions of ICM's 2025 catalog:

  1. The high-quality photographs and printing of the book.
  2. The huge number and diversity of model kits produced by ICM. ICM continues to produce their high quality, detailed kits, despite the turmoil that exists in their home country of Ukraine. ICM is one of my favorite scale model manufacturers and I have enjoyed building many of their kits.

The 2025 Catalog is 92 pages (51 pages PDF) of high-quality photos of ICM’s range of kits. The variety of kits produced by ICM is amazing. The photos and printing of the catalog is very high quality. The catalog cover is printed on matte paper, but the image has a gloss finish, like an applied decal. Nice!

The catalog is organized in the following sections:

Book Cover

Staff Cars in Germany WW2: Volume 3 - Mercedes

Book Author(s)
Alan Ranger
Review Author
James Kelley
Published on
Company
Mushroom Model Publications - MMP Books
MSRP
$16.44

A collection of photographs highlighting the Mercedes models used by Germany during World War II.

In the third volume of this publication, the cars of the Mercedes motor company's major production types are covered, such as the Mercedes 170, Mercedes 230–260 series, Mercedes 320 and Mercedes 540.

In this volume the author provides a detailed impression of these vehicles through original photographs, taken both during and before the war by the normal German soldiers who both used and served with these now classic automobiles.

The book opens with a forward, then an introduction, before going into the first vehicle with in-depth photo captions comprising most of the books’ text. Interestingly, there is no table of contents. If you’re looking for a specific staff car, you’ll need to thumb through the pages to find it. This is not a major issue for me, but some may find its omission cumbersome.

The vehicles covered in this book include:

Oliver Hazard Perry Class Frigate

Oliver Hazard Perry Class Frigate
Review Author
Chris Vandegrift
Published on
Company
AFV Club
Scale
1/700
MSRP
$39.99

Overview

This is a new tool kit that they did it right. 6 options for anti-submarine and anti-aircraft fits. Accessories include a small photoetch fret that adds to the model, harpoon missiles, and three different SH-60B Seahawk models as well. I think AFV Club has put together a nicely detailed ship. Plenty of options, plus the instructions have good call-outs for those options that are well organized. I had a few quandaries as I went but nothing that I couldn’t resolve between multiple photos from the instructions and art. The fact that the microscopic pin and hole alignment for the masts actually functioned said a lot for the way they molded this kit. I found the hangar bay doors and the hangar bay itself didn’t fit without trimming and my original boxing had 2 B sprues which kept me from finishing this kit for months. IPMS was able to contact the manufacturer and get a new sprue C sent my way.

ICM American Cars of the early 20th Century Paint Set

American Cars of the early 20th Century Paint Set
Review Author
Ben Morton
Published on
Company
ICM
Scale
N/A
MSRP
$18.99

A trend, among scale model manufacturers, is producing their own line of paints. Others (AK, Vallejo, etc.) have been packaging their paints in sets geared toward finishing a specific model. ICM Holding has positioned themselves by not only manufacturing the kits but also providing their own line of paints to finish said model. Which brings us to a recent acrylic paint set from ICM Holding, item number 3058-American Cars of the Early 20th Century.

This acrylic paint set includes six bottles. The 12ml bottles of colors included in this set are: Grass Green, Extra Dark Green, Deep Blue, Olive Green. There is an additional 12ml bottle of Varnish Gloss and a 17ml bottle of Primer Black.

Allied Neutralization of Rabaul

The Allied Neutralization of Rabaul - Japan’s Major South Pacific Base
Book Author(s)
Jon Diamond
Review Author
Andy Taylor
Published on
Company
Pen & Sword
MSRP
$29.95

I am an unabashed fan of the Images of War book series and enjoy author Jon Diamond’s writing style. Having read many of his books before, particularly his books on Burma Victory 1944-1945 and the Allied Victory Over Japan 1945, this book fills a huge void in the South Pacific War and its larger part in the Allied operations to defeat the Imperial Japanese Forces in the vast operational areas of the South and Southwest Pacific.