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
Andy Taylor
Published on
January 28, 2024
Company
ICM
Scale
1:35
MSRP
$26.00

Reference from the ICM website:

The Air Assault Forces of Ukraine were created in 2017 on the basis of the existing Highly Mobile Landing Troops, which at that time already had its own separate command. According to their purpose, the units and subunits of the Air Assault Forces are divided into airborne and air assault troops; to enhance their strike potential, tank units were added to their composition; in 2022, a separate Jaeger brigade was added. The airborne assault troops are characterized by a high level of combat readiness, mobility, the ability to perform tasks independently in difficult conditions, high motivation, and morale. A special feature of their everyday and ceremonial uniforms is a maroon-colored beret. Since 2014, this army branch has been actively involved in combat operations, first in the southwest, and with the outbreak of full-scale hostilities – in other regions of Ukraine.

Review Author
Paul Bradley
Published on
January 27, 2024
Company
Tamiya
Scale
1:48
MSRP
$40.00

Strictly speaking, the name of this kit is incorrect. Grumman didn’t build the FM-1 – Eastern Aircraft did. Additionally the FAA option in this kit features Normandy Invasion special recognition markings for June 1944, by which time the type had become the Wildcat Mk.V, and not the Martlet.

Such pedantry aside, this is a nicely packaged re-issue of Tamiya’s well-received F4F-4 Wildcat kit of 1994 – was it really that long ago?! – featuring some new parts and some modified parts.

Review Author
Pat Villarreal
Published on
January 27, 2024
Company
Green Stuff World
MSRP
$9.95

Green Stuff World (GSW) is a company based out of Spain. It is specialized in the design and production of tools, paints, and other types of resources for modeling, crafts, and wargames. GSW has provided IPMS-USA one (1) 250 ml bottle of textured acrylic paint for review.

In the Bottle

The textured paint is packaged in a 250 ml bottle and comes in a very dark brown color to represent Volcanic Earth tones. Inside the paint has a consistency of thick paste with small granules mixed in to give it texture. It is water based and can be thinned if needed.

Review Author
Bradley Moreland
Published on
January 24, 2024
Company
Italeri
Scale
1/24
MSRP
$65.99

Editor's Note: Let's welcome new Reviewer Brdley Moreland with his first published review! JN

Unboxing

Everything in this kit is nicely detailed. The sprues themselves are very clean, with minimal flash to clean. Sprues are molded in black, white and metallic, but thankfully not plated chrome. I am especially impressed with the instruction manual. No more guessing what is in the diagram. These pictures are crystal clear, and just as detailed as the pieces themselves. I am also very pleasantly surprised to see something I have never seen in other kits. On the back cover of the instructions, there are some templates to cut maskings for difficult areas, like the fenders.

Book Author(s)
Authors: Juan Arráez Cerdá, Eduardo Manuel Gil Martínez
Illustrators: Jose Fernandez, Teodor Liviu Morosanu, Claes Sundin
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
January 24, 2024
Company
Helion & Company
MSRP
$45.00

Helion is a UK-based company that produces books on many aspects of Military History from the Late Medieval period through to the present day. Helion was established in 1996, and since then they have published over 1,200 books, with 100 or more new titles coming out every year, for readers around the world.

Juan Arráez Cerdá is a Spanish Aviation expert and owner of one of the best pictures’ collections of Spanish Aviation. He is the author of many books and articles about Aviation (in French and Spanish).