Completed front

French FT-17 Light Tank (Cast Turret)

Finished

M60A3 "Patton" Main Battle Tank

Right front high

Tiran 5 Israeli Tank

Tail

Heinkel He-219 Uhu

Photoetch

M346 Advanced Fighter Trainer

Sprue

Büssing NAG 4500 A-1 with Bilstein 3t Drehkran

Rear view

Bf-109F-2 Weekend Edition

Interior assembly

MH-60S "HSC-9 Tridents"

Completed model

Chevy Beretta Pro Street

Paint Set

B-26B Marauder

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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.

Front cover

B-58 Hustler in Action
Book Author(s)
David Doyle
Review Author
Allan Murrell
Published on
Company
Squadron Signal Publications
MSRP
$19.95

The book is one of Squadron Signal series Aircraft in Action. It explores the history and development of the Convair B-58 Hustler. I have always loved this aircraft design and was very happy to have this book added to my reference library. The pictures of the B-58 in production and maintenance were something I really liked to see.

The book has some extremely interesting and diverse photos of the iconic B-58, there are over 200 photographs included. The photos show the classic lines and design of this wonderful symbol of the early cold war. The book drew me in to the point that I had to pull the B-58 model out of my stash ready to start building, using the book for valuable reference.

This book should be in every aircraft lover’s library and I recommend this book to everyone. The great reference photos are ideal for all modelers. The pictures and drawings of the aircraft during development, prototyping and production are very good and many I had never seen before

Package

Modern Jet Components
Review Author
Damon Blair
Published on
Company
Airscale Model Aircraft Enhancements
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$17.20

If you build modern aircraft in 1/32 scale, and are frustrated with some of the details that seem to be lacking on the instrument panels, this product will help you add more details to those instrument panels.

The package consists of one photo-etched (PE) brass sheet with a large number of instrument bezels, ejection seat handles, mirrors, switch panels, warning/caution light panels, and multi-function CRT interface bezels. Use these bezels/panels along with instrument decals (kit or aftermarket) and a truly realistic instrument panel can be made. This package, along with aftermarket instrument decals, can be used to scratchbuild panels that may not be included in a 1/32 kit, or replace a completely inaccurate panel on a kit. The ejection seat handles can be used to enhance either a kit ejection seat, or an aftermarket ejection seat.

Product picture

USN F-14 Tomcats Colors & Markings Part III
Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
Company
Furball Aero-Design
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$19.99

Furball; a dogfighters’ term for a fighter-themed modeling company. We sincerely appreciate Furball Aero-Design’s support of IPMS USA and their providing one more of their great products for review. And thanks to the reviewer corps leaders for sending this set to me to review!

This set provides markings for nine early-model F-14A’s from the Bicentennial era:

Box Art

Gulf War Anniversary Box Diorama Set: Part 1 - Iraqi T-62
Review Author
Jim Pearsall
Published on
Company
Italeri
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$41.95

This is a diorama set which observes the 25th anniversary of the Gulf War. The kit comes with 4 1/72 models; The US AH-1 Cobra, the US M-1A1 Abrams, the Iraqi Mi-25 and an Iraqi T-62.

Because there are 4 models in the set, and we have time limits, the helicopters are built by Mike Hinderliter, and the armor by Jim Pearsall. The review will appear in 4 parts, as each of the 4 kits is finished.

The T-62

The T-62 is a Main Battle Tank, developed from the T-55. The big improvements of the T-62 were a smoothbore main gun which could fire high velocity armor piercing rounds. Iraq had T-62s in the 1980 Iran-Iraq war, and they were successful against M-60s and Chieftains. But advancements in Coalition equipment, particularly the US M1A1 Abrams put the T-62 at a disadvantage in the 1991-92 Gulf War.

Box Art

MIM-104F Patriot Surface to Air Missile System M901 Launching Station
Review Author
Peter Bucher
Published on
Company
Dragon Models
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$99.99

What's in the Huge Box

When I opened the box I was impressed with the numbers of sprues. At first glance it did not appear that this was going to be too difficult of a build. However, I later discovered that my assumption was incorrect. There are a lot of parts to put together, and you must be ready to devote some time into this model because it will take a while to complete. With that said, let's get on with the good stuff. Here is a breakdown of the items in the huge box.

Kit contents

  • 20-Grey Sprues
  • 4-DS Tires
  • 1-Tow Cable
  • Decals
  • Instructions

(An interesting note. This kit has no photo etch parts. You will also have a ton of leftover parts in the kit which all look like the belong to the HEMTT. The question is why did Dragon not release the HEMMT with this kit?)