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
Pat Villarreal
Published on
February 3, 2024
Company
AMMO by Mig Jimenez
Scale
NA
MSRP
$39.99

Ammo is a company founded by Mig Jimenez and based out of Spain. It provides products for the modeling community by way of paints, weathering effects, tools, and various modeling merchandise. Ammo has provided IPMS-USA a twelve (12) bottle acrylic paint set for review.

In the Box

The paint set contains twelve (12) 20 ml bottles with nontoxic and odorless water based acrylic paints. Inside each bottle is an agitator ball to help mix when shaking. These paints are presented in a new clear container featuring a new cap that can be opened and closed with one hand. The following colors are provided:

Review Author
Paul Bradley
Published on
February 2, 2024
Company
ICM
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$20.00

Not to be confused with RAF Pilots in Tropical Uniforms (1941-45) in 1/32, this all-new figure set depicts five RAF servicemen in tropical rig and will be suitable for dioramas and vignettes in North Africa, the Middle East, Italy and the Far East for that time period.

The standard ICM white box comes with a colour slip cover with boxart of the figures posed in front of a North Africa-based Beaufort. The box contains a single medium grey plastic runner with 31 well-detailed and well-moulded parts. No decals are included, though it might have been nice to have some RAF wings and rank insignia to add where appropriate. A single full-colour painting guide with part numbers and colour callouts for ICM paints is all that is included (or indeed necessary!) in the box.

Review Author
Bill O'Malley
Published on
February 2, 2024
Company
Meng Model
Trumpeter
Scale
1/12
MSRP
$450.00

This Part 3 of the review of Meng’s GT40 Mk.II ’66 focuses on the engine and engine compartment of the GT40. A comparison is also made to the Trumpeter version of the GT40.

Ford GT40 Mk.II ‘66

Developed by the Ford Motor Company and Carroll Shelby to end the dominance of Ferrari in the preeminent 24 Hours of LeMans race, the Ford GT40 Mk.II become an iconic American built race car. After failing to finish the race in 1965, the Ford GTs finished 1-2-3 in 1966 to win at Le Mans in a humiliating loss for Ferrari. This also ended Ferrari's five-year-long dominance of this race.

Meng’s GT40 Kit

This MENG RS-002 Ford GT40 Mk.II ’66 is a large 1/12 scale model kit officially licensed by Ford Motor Company. The kit includes complete suspension system, power system, cab interiors, front trunk interiors, openable doors, front trunk cover and engine hood, as well as movable wheels and suspension system.

Review Author
John Noack
Published on
January 29, 2024
Company
Special Hobby
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$28.69

Anyone who has spent time at an airport is familiar with the ubiquitous Piper J-3 Cub. Having flown in a few models of this aircraft, I have a special affinity for the type and have built several of Mr. Piper’s Cubs. (Those who remember our late Treasurer, Ed Kinney, may have hear his comment about Cubs – “they have just enough power to get you to the scene of the crash”).

Anyway, I digress. Well packaged in a sturdy box, the kit includes 2 gray plastic trees, a separately packaged clear parts group, small PE fret, and one 3-D printed part. Note that Special Hobby offers a series of separately sold aftermarket details – a 3D printed engine, wheel set, and masking set – should you choose to use these.

Review Author
Phillip Cavender
Published on
January 28, 2024
Company
ICM
Scale
1:35
MSRP
$48.99

ICM boasts a rich heritage within the modeling community, establishing itself as a well-established Ukrainian-based plastic modeling company. Expanding its selection of modeling kits, ICM presents its newest release, the 35542 Typ 320 (W142) Soft Top - a WWII German staff car. While this kit is a reissue of the 2016 version, it includes additional new parts.

The following is a brief history of the Typ 320 W142 taken directly from ICM’s website: