NHMercury_0040

Mercury Spacecraft

Misc Image 8

48N6E of 5P85S TEL S-300PMU SA-10 Grumble

Right-side view of kit finished with the markings of an airframe captured by the Germans.

Vickers Wellington Mk.1C

Cab Left Side

M16 MGMC Meat Chopper

Front view

Ford Escort Zakspeed Gr.2

Rear Deck

Mag Ach 1/2 Middle East War Series (50th Anniversary The Six-Day War)

Completed diorama

Herman Munster and Grandpa Munster

Chassis detail

SnapTite Ford Expedition Police SSV

Finished cockpit

Aichi B7A2 Attack Bomber Ryusei Kai (Grace)

Front Markings

Staghound Mk. 1

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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.

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.

Yuhu FW-190D Cockpit Set

Fw-190D Instrument Panel
Review Author
Pat Villarreal
Published on
Company
Yahu Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$6.99

Yahu Models has provided the IPMS reviewer corps with a 1/72nd scale instrument panel detail set for the Fw-190D that will fit into the Tamiya, AZ, and IGB kits. This set also includes photo-etch (PE) details for the side instrument panels and seat warning placard.

In the Package

The instrument panel (IP) detail set is enclosed in a plastic bag with two photoetched IPs already assembled and one PE etched sheet for side panels and a seat warning placard. The parts come packaged in an individual Ziploc bag and cardboard backing which also has instructions printed on it.

Conclusion

Overall, this is a nice detail set to upgrade your Fw-190D instrument panel in 72nd scale. The close-up picture shows off the minute detail printed on the PE parts and the fidelity at such a small size is amazing.

I want to thank Yahu Models for providing the Fw-190D instrument panel set and IPMS/USA for allowing me the opportunity to review.

Highly recommended!

Packaging

B4N2 Type 97 Kate Landing Gear (for 1/35 Border)
Review Author
David Wrinkle
Published on
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$20.95

Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) has a long history of creating great metal drop-in replacement landing gear for scale model aircraft. This set is for the 1/35 scale Border models B5N2 Kate. You can see in the review photos a side-by-side comparison of the kit gear and the replacement gear set. They are a spot-on match. Given the size of the model, it will benefit from a stronger set of metal gear legs.

In the blister pack you will find (2 each) main gear legs with associated scissor links as well as a tail wheel bracket. Like the kit polystyrene counterparts, you will want to start the prep process by removing any seam lines and gently straightening any bends introduced during the shipping process. Prep the parts with a metal-compatible primer and paint with your favorite hobby paint. As a reminder, metal parts can not be glued with plastic model cement and an epoxy or superglue will need to be used.

Package

Nakhon Phanom Air Base
Review Author
Bradley Moreland
Published on
Company
ICM
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$95.00

I have built and reviewed one other ICM kit, the Kozak-001. The Kozak kit was very advanced for my skills and I did not do that kit justice, by any means. However, the challenge of putting that kit together, while it did not produce the results I was hoping for, it helped me improve on my model building skills and was my most satisfying build of a kit overall. It inspired me to give another ICM kit a try. This time I took on the Nakhon Phanom Airbase kit (DS4804). This kit is phenomenal! It has 2 complete aircraft models, armament, figures and ground cover kits all together in 1 box.

As the Kozak did, this kit has really challenged me. I have once again learned so much while working on this kit. The most important thing I have learned is patience. DO NOT RUSH this kit! Take your time and enjoy it!

Box Top

Zil-131 with Trailer
Review Author
Marc K. Blackburn
Published on
Company
ICM
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$33.00

This is one of the newer offerings from the Ukraine based company ICM. The Zil-131 has been reboxed many times by ICM. The original tool, however, dates to the 1990s. Considering the age of the tooling, despite some very minor flash, the details are very crisp for a military truck and trailer at this scale. A note on the trailer, I cannot find any information on the trailer, so I do not know if this an older ICM mold or from another manufacturer. The kit comes in a sturdy ICM box. The sprues for the truck and the trailer are packaged in separate cellophane bags. There are two separate instruction sheets in ICM’s typical style with paint callouts in their own brand of acrylic paint. There are decals for two vehicles.

Packaging

DeHavilland Mosquito Landing Gear (1/72)
Review Author
Pat Villarreal
Published on
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$18.94

Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) has provided the IPMS reviewer corps a set of 1/72nd scale metal landing gear for the Airfix DH Mosquito B.XVI/PR.XVI kits. These parts are drop-in replacements and provide a more robust landing gear set given its metal properties.

In the Package

The metal pieces are packaged in a clear blister package with cardboard backing. There are no instructions.

Review Process

The metal landing gear set is used as drop-in replacements for parts F1, F36, and F37 for the under wing gear and G1 and G18 for the tail wheel. The kit’s remaining plastic parts are needed to complete the rest of the landing gear assembly.

The metal used is malleable and has some give to allow for any minor bending that may be needed, since there is some slight deformation when coming out of the molds. Also, seam lines will need to be cleaned up before painting, just like the plastic kit parts.