Finished Model

Messerschmitt Bf109T-2 "Toni of Lister Base"

Misc Image 5

Yak 9T WWII Soviet Fighter

Assembly - 1

Fokker Dr1 Triplane

Left side

HS-3/1 Krankenschlittens

Clear Fuselage sprues 2

Do335 A-0 Pfeil - First Look and Cockpit Build, Part 1

Parts 2

Churchill Mk. VII

Resin pilot

Mirage 2000

Left side cab - closeup

Scania R730 Streamline

Ducts and details

F-35A Lightning II

In progress 1

Kawasaki I-GO-1 Otsu Ki-148

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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.

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Aries F-16D Cockpit

F-16D Block 30 Cockpit

Review Author
Andy Renshaw
Published on
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$39.55

For those resin aftermarket aficionadoes among us, Aires never fails to satisfy. Set #4454 provides a full resin cockpit for Hasegawa’s F-16D kit. Though the Hasegawa kit is not the latest kit available, it is still a good kit and by some accounts more accurate in shape than other offerings. The kit does suffer from a very basic cockpit, so this is where the Aires set will dress it up nicely.

The set comes in the common blister back and comprises of fourteen resin parts, two of which are extra control sticks. Also included is a small photo-etch fret with a dizzying amount of tiny parts and one printed acetate for instrument dials. As to be expected from Aires, everything is finely cast with no bubbles or imperfections.

Box Art

Panzerkamfwagen MK IV, 744(E) (A13)

Review Author
Jeff Leiby
Published on
Company
Bronco Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$75.00

The Kit

This is the Bronco Models kit of the Panzerkamfwagen MK IV, 744(E) (A13).

This kit represents a Cruiser Mk IV A13 captured from the British Army during the Battle for France in 1940. The Germans used the vehicles as gun tanks to support their flame tanks for the invasion of the Soviet Union. The box contains the following parts.

  • 25 light grey sprues, including six for track.
  • 1 sprue with clear parts.
  • 2 P/E frets.
  • 1 small decal sheet.
  • 1 rope cable.
  • 16 page instruction manual with warning page and color table, parts map, 21 construction steps with several exploded views, and full-color four view drawing for markings.

Bottom Line, Up Front

This kit is over-engineered and very 'fiddly", but the detail is outstanding and with patience will build into a nice little replica of the real thing!

Box Art

Spitfire Mk.XIVc Cockpit Set
Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
Company
Aires Hobby Models
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$25.00

The Academy Spitfire Mk.XIVc is a really nice kit but it is let down by the cockpit. Aires rectifies that with this new set. Molded in light grey and tan resin that is blemish and bubble free the amount of detail is impressive. The casting is flawless and some of the undercuts are really deep. I don’t know how they can do it. Besides the 12 pieces of resin there is a film for the instruments and a fret of photo etch. The breakdown is logical and well thought out.

The hardest part of the whole conversion will be the need to thin down the side kit sidewalls. Everything else is just as simple as removing the parts from the pour stubs and assembling them. The resin parts are precisely made and look fantastic. If you have this kit you’ll want this interior.

Simple yet effective, this interior will add immensely to the Academy kit.

Highly recommended

Master F-16 Probe Package

F-16 Pitot tube and Angle of Attack probes

Review Author
Scott Hollingshead
Published on
Company
Master Model
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$5.50

In case you have already perused my review on the Master F-14 Alpha and Angle of Attack probe, this review was an added bonus when I voiced my interest to the Reviewer Corps. Unlike the Tomcat with a broken probe, I did not have a Viper in need of repair, nor did I have one assembled to add the parts to, but of course, I did have one or two sitting in my stash (there may be more, but please do not tell my wife). For the purpose of this review, I compared the Master set with what is provided in the Monogram release of a few years ago, which is actually a Revell Germany kit (according to the sprues anyway).

Pavla F-5/T-38 seat

F-5, T-38 Ejection Seat

Review Author
Mike Hinderliter
Published on
Company
Pavla Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$2.95

Pavla models has added an ejection seat to their 1/72 aircraft accessory line. This one is for the F-5, T-38. Pavla Models doesn’t specify a kit for this seat, but it will have to be a kit that has a cockpit in it. I picked the Italeri F-5A freedom fighter, kit # 1231.

This offering is a quality piece of resin; smooth, seamless and bubble free. The detail is also very nice and doesn’t need any extra work to bring out the detail. All that I needed to do to make it fit the kits cockpit was to just remove the molding block and paint it. A drop of super glue and it was installed.

When it is compared to the kit’s seat, you can see how superior it is. The kit seat is molded in two parts and there is a seam that runs right down the middle of the seat back. The seatbelts for the kit ejection seat is a decal. The Pavla ejection seat is one piece and the seat belts are molded onto the seat, making them pop out. I was really pleased with the end result.