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
Ed Kinney
Published on
April 12, 2011
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$6.51

Another beautifully mastered set, nicely cast in light tan resin without warps or pinholes. These are exceptional in that they go a long way to enhance an already extremely nice model and require a minimum of surgery to install. For me, they earn the “most highly approved” designation. Many thanks to Quickboost and to IPMS/USA for the review sample.

Book Author(s)
David Doyle
Review Author
Ed Kinney
Published on
April 12, 2011
Company
Squadron Signal Publications
MSRP
$16.95

New from Squadron/Signal Books USA is the B-25 Mitchell in Action by David Doyle. Very possibly the most significant twin engine bomber of WWII is beautifully showcased in this new “in action” series book.

72 pages with artwork by Don Greer, this publication contains more than 200 photos (80 of them in full color), most of them original period photographs. This aircraft is covered in detail by taking it from the North American Aviation Prototype (NA 40) to the final production run of the B-25J, in use for some time after the close of the war. USN and USMC versions (PBJ series) are also well covered within, as are B-25’s in Foreign Service used by Allied Air Forces at that time. Also contained are several color profiles of the B-25.

Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
April 11, 2011
Company
Zvezda
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$4.95

The Kit

When I got the new Zvezda 1/144 Il-2 Sturmovik and Ju-87B Stuka, I thought they’d be highly detailed standard kits like the Mi-26 I built a while back. Well, no, they’re not. Zvezda is not only a manufacturer of plastic models, but they also have a large assortment of board games, and recently they’ve gone into war games using miniatures.

This is intended as an add-on/expansion for the game “Barbarossa 1941”. There are other 1/144 aircraft available, Bf-109, La-7 and Ju-87B Stuka, plus 1/72 ground units.

Having done my share of “cardboard squares on a map” gaming, as well as some miniatures, I know that the more complex the miniature, the more likely it is that you’ll ruin it while playing. So simplicity and low price are virtues for this kit.

The Sturmovik kit is a single dark green sprue with the single-piece canopy in the plastic bag with the decals. Also included is a reference card for the game.

Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
April 11, 2011
Company
Zvezda
Scale
1/144
MSRP
$4.95

THE KIT

I’ve built a couple of 1/72 scale Zvezda kits, and they’ve always been quite complex, with lots of parts. The Stuka is a complete departure from that norm. It’s very simple, with only a few parts, and there’s not much detail on the kit. The explanation comes from the Dragon website. Zvezda not only makes scale models, they also make table-top games. This is intended as an add-on/expansion for the game “Barbarossa 1941”. There’s a reference card for the Stuka’s part in the game included in the kit. There are other aircraft available, Bf-109, La-7 and Il-2 Sturmovik, plus 1/72 ground units.

Having done my share of “cardboard squares on a map” gaming, as well as some miniatures, I know that the more complex the miniature, the more likely it is that you’ll ruin it while playing. So simplicity and low price are virtues for this kit.

The kit is a single dark green sprue with the single-piece canopy in the plastic bag with the decals.