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.

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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
Paul R. Brown
Published on
October 29, 2016
Company
Advanced Modeling
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$13.45

The KH-29 (NATO: AS-14 'Kedge') is a Soviet air-to-surface missile with a range of 10–30 km designed for hard-to-hit targets such as reinforced concrete aircraft shelters, runways, reinforced concrete bridges and shall ships. It has a large warhead of 320 kg and can be fitted with a variety of seeker heads/guidance systems such as laser, infrared, active radar or TV guidance. The missile is typically carried by tactical aircraft such as the Su-17M3/4, Su-24M, Su-25TM/SM, Su-30, Su-34, Su-35, MiG-27M/K MiG-29SMT and the MiG-31.

Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
October 29, 2016
Company
Eduard
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$12.95

This is a mask set for the ICM Ju-88A-4 Kit. This set helps you save time masking the many canopies and glass areas plus the wheels by providing all you need in pre-cut masks.

In the packet is:

  • 1 precut masking sheet
  • 1 instruction sheet

The masks are for the front windscreen, main canopy and the wheel hubs

Summary

This is very good and time saving when it comes to masking. This is perfect for this kit and really helps due to the amount of glazed areas on the JU-88.

Thanks go to Eduard for providing this set to review and IPMS USA for allowing me to review it for them.

Review Author
Damon Blair
Published on
October 29, 2016
Company
Videoaviation
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$12.00

If you are building a 1/32 diorama of a modern USAF aircraft, these two Crew Chiefs would be a perfect addition. Having one or both of these figures would make the diorama “come alive”.

In the package, you get two figures, molded in resin, consisting of five parts. One figure is in the “Parade Rest” position, which is usually the pose that Crew Chiefs take when a jet is ready to taxi out. This figure comes as one piece on a runner. The runner is at the bottom of his boots. I found the resin to be very easy to cut with an X-acto style saw. One word of caution here – cut off slightly below the soles of the boots, and then sand the bottoms of the boots using sandpaper mounted on a flat surface. By doing this, he will stand upright without using any glue.

Review Author
David Horn
Published on
October 29, 2016
Company
Plusmodel
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$10.00

Plus Model, maker of fine detailed aftermarket products, just produced a ladder for the Russian SU-27 Flanker. What is unique about this item is that it is injection molded instead of resin or photo etch that other companies make. Although this does require some assembly, being able to make fine adjustments to better fit the various kits is a real bonus.

The kit comes in a sturdy box and the sprue is in a suitable plastic bag. The instructions are printed on the back of the box and are basic but sufficient to assist your build. The 15 parts have minimal flash which cleans up easily. There are eight steps with a small recess which are likely through holes on the real step. Note that the pattern is not symmetric and the instructions do not indicate what direction they go. Just note that so you can align them in the same direction.

Book Author(s)
Alan C. Carey
Review Author
Frank Landrus
Published on
October 28, 2016
Company
Ginter Books
MSRP
$39.95

Steve Ginter’s Lockheed F-94 Starfire is one of three of the latest in his Air Force Legends series. This edition is in their standard 8.5” x 11” format softbound publication that is 160 pages (excluding covers). I counted 406 photographs (15 in color) along with 82 drawings and 63 insignias.

Author Alan C. Carey is a noted military historian who was born in Orange County, California in a career military family. Carey got to Texas as soon as he could and achieved his Baccalaureate and Masters degree at Southwest Texas State. His interest in military aviation is primarily due to his father’s service from 1942-1966. Carey’s research on his father resulted in his father (and two members of his crew) receiving Distinguished Flying Crosses and Air Medals for their WWII service with VB-109. He ended up serving in the Marines as a machine gunner and in the Army Reserve ass a Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Defense Specialist.