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
Rod Lees
Published on
June 23, 2011
Company
Quickboost
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$6.50

Thanks once again to Quickboost for providing IPMS USA review items; they have become quite prolific in output!

As usual, Quickboost provides a fast one-for-one replacement for the kit item, in this case the dorsal intake on the SU-24. A very visible item, the kit intake is a two-part box, and is “OK” out of the box; it uses the fuselage as its lower floor... Quick boost steps up and improves, providing an intake that has a more refined, rounded intake, and an exhaust section with the lower “floor” incorporated, which when carefully removed from the pour stub fits right in place of the kit items; it even has the locating tabs to make it easy.

Review Author
Michael Scott
Published on
June 23, 2011
Company
Albatros Productions, Ltd.
MSRP
$18.00

This one is especially interesting to me because of the Wingnut Wings Hansa-Brandenburg W.29s on the cover and since I am in the process of finishing up one of these models. For WWI aviation enthusiasts and modelers, this publication is hard to beat.

Logbook entries review many of the latest WWI publications - magazines and books. This is followed by a big article entitled, "Builda Betta Burga!", which is dedicated to the Wingnut Wings W.29 kit. The editor builds a fine model and takes you through the build in detail, pointing out potential gotcha's and things to be aware of. There is also a page dedicated to the Benz Bz.III engine using contemporary drawings and what seem to be photographs. Nice.

This is followed by a good two-page article, "Aspects of the Hansa Brandenburg W29" by Harry Woodman discussing little known facts about the plane and its combat experiences. Following is a two page spread of scale drawings of the De Havilland DH11 Oxford.

Book Author(s)
Wojtek Matusiak, Illustrations: Robert Grudzien, Line Drawings: Melinda Turnage
Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
June 23, 2011
Company
Stratus
MSRP
$21.25

Stratus Publishing continues its line of “Polish Wings”, this time with a book devoted to the Spitfire Mk IX and its pilots during the period 1942-1943.

Among the first polish pilots to fly the Spitfire Mk IX were members of the ATA (Air Transport Auxiliary) which will deliver airplanes from the assembly line to operational squadrons. Among them were at least two female polish pilots, which got to fly the Spitfire Mk IX before the operational polish pilots in the RAF. Apparently that didn’t go over well at the time, but I’m glad that the record is kept straight and recognition is given to whom it deserved (in this case, two female pilots).

Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
June 21, 2011
Company
Revell, Inc.
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$15.95

One more excellent re- release from Revell; the copyright date is 1994 on this one, and I remember being able to purchase it for about the same price as it is being offered today. Thanks to Revell for providing IPMS USA this review item and the opportunity to build this kit again without collector prices!

This is a basic kit; originally released as a MASH bird, with a co-release of the MASH cast in another kit, targeted for the TV audiences. It is an accurate 1/32 kit of a late H-13; earlier versions had a single flat tank with non-tip weighted main rotor blades… Later ones had more power, twin fuel tanks, and weighted rotors to maintain rotor energy during autorotation. Up front, this is not a simple build.

Book Author(s)
David Doyle
Review Author
Robert DeMaio
Published on
June 20, 2011
Company
Squadron Products
MSRP
$16.95

I was very impressed by this publication from cover to cover starting with the cover artwork by Don Greer. Though it is published in a Walk Around Series bound book, it follows the In Action format of the airplane’s inception through each production version. The Introduction explains how the Curtiss P-36 Hawk pursuit aircraft became the P-38’s predecessor. Briefly, the Army Air Corps contracted in early 1937 with Curtiss to convert one P-36 to the new turbo-supercharged, liquid-cooled Allison engine. The redesigned P-36 became the XP-37. The Army Air Corps also issued a contract with Lockheed to design a turbo-supercharged twin engine aircraft in June 1937 and thus the P-38 Lightning was on its way to becoming one of the most popular pursuit aircraft of all World War II.