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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.

Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
October 29, 2011
Company
Trumpeter
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$204.99

First thanks go to our friends at Stevens International who provided IPMS-USA this kit, and thanks to Trumpeter for having (once again) stepped out and provided what the modeling community had only previously dreamed of; a 1/32nd scale F-18G!

Review Author
Brian R. Baker
Published on
October 29, 2011
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$3.50

Quickboost, located in the Czech Republic, has produced a number of very useful resin accessories for plastic models in a number of scales, and these units (3 are included) would be welcome additions to most 1/72 scale Bf-109 kits. Many 1/72 scale kits tend to have very heavy detail on such petite items as pitot tubes, aileron hinges, pilot access steps, and a host of other small details, if these are included at all.

This accessory pack consists of three pitot tubes protected by a heavy molding on the sides. The tubes are very small, as they were on the real aircraft, and would certainly look better than those provided in most kits, which have them molded in scales closer to sewer pipes. These are worth getting if you are building a lot of Bf-109’s, and they would probably be useful on a lot of other 1/72 scale aircraft also.

Recommended.

Thanks to Quickboost and John Noack for the review sample.

Review Author
Brian R. Baker
Published on
October 29, 2011
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$4.75

These accessories are manufactured by Quickboost to provide additional detail to currently produced models. In this case, the accessory kit consists of two parts, a resin casting of the mechanical compass located behind the gunner’s position on the JU-87D, along with a clear plastic cover which fits over the unit to protect it from the elements.

From the photos I have examined, these compasses are not prominent features of the airplanes and don’t show up on many photos. When the gunner’s canopy is slid back, the unit would be invisible underneath the canopy. Nevertheless, they generally were installed, similar to those on the JU-88, which are depicted on some of the better JU-88 kits. None, to my knowledge, appears on any JU-87D/G kit. Therefore, this unit would be useful on any of the late-model Stuka kits, whether they be Fujimi, Academy, Revell, or even the old Frog kit. A scale drawing of the exact location is provided in the instruction sheet.

Review Author
Brian R. Baker
Published on
October 29, 2011
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$3.50

Quickboost products are manufactured in the Czech Republic and are intended to improve or add detail to currently available plastic model kits. In this case, the product is a replacement rudder for the late model JU-87D and G Stukas operated by the Luftwaffe late in World War II.

The product consists of a cast resin one-piece rudder. The idea is to trim off the kit’s existing rudder and replace it with the resin unit. Looking at both parts together, it is difficult to see any significant differences, although one advantage would be that it would be easier to position the rudder to the left or right, rather than cutting off the kit rudder (and probably screwing it up) to get the same effect. The details on both rudders are similar, although the resin unit has the cutouts for the rudder hinges molded into the resin, whereas, these are missing on the kit unit.

Book Author(s)
Jiro Horikoshi
Review Author
David Goudie
Published on
October 28, 2011
Company
University of Washington Press
MSRP
$60.00

Note: While this book has been out of print since approximately 1992 it can still be found at Amazon.com. A softcover was released in 1992, priced at $15.00. The original was published in Japan by Kobunsha Co., Ltd., in 1970.

While unpacking my book collection from 6-year old moving boxes, I came across a treasure trove of books long forgotten. “Eagles of Mitsubishi….” came out of the box and, after taking a look, I decided that this was worthy of a review.

“Eagles of Mitsubishi….” is written by Jiro Horikoshi, Chief Designer of the Zero-sen fighter. The Zero-sen was the premier fighter for the Japanese Navy during throughout WW II. Much like the Messerschmitt Bf-109, the Zero went through upgrade iterations, starting with the original design stemming from the Imperial Navy’s design requirement released in October of 1937. Much like the Bf-109, the airplane was forced to soldier (sailor?) on throughout the war as the prime fighter for the air services.