Pat Villarreal

	HU-16A Albatross Landing Gear Published: May 23, 2026 Company: Scale Aircraft Conversions Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) has provided the IPMS reviewer corps with a set of 1/48^th scale metal landing gear for Trumpeter’s HU-16A Albatross. These parts are drop-in replacements and provide a more robust landing gear set given its metal properties. In the Package The metal pieces are packaged in a clear blister package with cardboard backing. No instructions are provided. Review Process The metal landing gear set is used as drop-in replacements for the kit parts as noted Nose Gear: G12, G19 and G16 (also Metal Nose Strut parts A & B) RHS Gear: J19, J26, and K11 (also Metal Right Strut) LHS Gear: J16, J21, and K27 (also Metal Left Strut) Note: The Trumpeter kit does provide some… more
	AV-8B Harrier II Plus Landing Gear Published: May 20, 2026 Company: Scale Aircraft Conversions Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) has provided the IPMS reviewer corps with a set of 1/48^th scale metal landing gear for UMa’s AV-8B Harrier II Plus. These parts are drop-in replacements and provide a more robust landing gear set given its metal properties. In The Package The metal pieces are packaged in a clear blister package with cardboard backing. No instructions are provided. Review The metal landing gear set is used as drop-in replacements for the kit parts as noted: Nose Gear: C1, D20, D21, and D26 Rear Gear: D9 and D17 Wingtip Outrigger Gear: D15, D16, D18, and D19 The metal used is malleable and has some give to allow for any minor bending if needed. Also, seam lines will need to be cleaned up prior… more
	Messerschmitt Bf109G-6 Late Production Published: May 3, 2026 Company: Tamiya The kit is enclosed in a top‑opening box (typical of Tamiya), with excellent artwork adorning the package. In addition to the regular plastic sprues, there are poly caps, metal washers, two magnets to allow the engine cowling to be displayed open or closed, and a printed masking sheet for the clear parts (note: the builder must cut these out). The instructions are well illustrated, easy to follow, and contain 40 steps for assembly. There are also two sheets of painting guides (printed in 1/48 scale) covering five marking options. For painting reference, Tamiya lists their own paint line, but it is easy to cross‑reference other paint brands online. The decals are in perfect registry with vibrant colors. Some builders may consider the clear film to be thick, but this is… more
	Spooks from the Beach (1) - USMC F-4B/F-4J Phantoms in the Vietnam War Published: April 21, 2026 Company: AOA Decals AOA Decals has provided the IPMS/USA Review Corps with a wonderful decal set for Vietnam War-era markings for the US Marine Corps F-4B/F-4J Phantom. This is part one of a two-part set you can purchase from AOA Decals for the Phantom (72-014 & 72-015). This 1/72 decal sheet covers six USMC F-4 Phantom squadrons during the Vietnam War: VMFA – 115 Silver Eagles – Da Nang, South Vietnam, 1970-71, RTAB Nam Phong, Thailand, 1972, and MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, 1971 & 1973-74 VMFA – 212 Lancers – Dan Nang, South Vietnam, 1972, and MCAS Kaneohe Bay, HI, 1972 VMFA – 232 Red Devils – Chu Lai, South Vietnam, 1969, MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, 1969-70, Da Nang, South Vietnam, 1972, and RTAB Nam Phong, Thailand, 1972-73… more
	Stars in the Sky Published: April 21, 2026 Company: Iliad Design Iliad Design has provided the IPMS/USA reviewer corps with a wonderful decal set of Hollywood stars who served in the USAAC (WWII) & USMC (Korean War) and the planes they served in. The following Hollywood stars are: Jimmy Stewart: B-24H Liberator “Male Call”, 703^rd BS, 453^rd BG, . Gene Roddenberry: B-17E Flying Fortress “Yankee Doodle”, 5^th BG, 394^th BS. Selar Shaik Sabu: B-24L Liberator “Janie”, 307^th BG, 424^th BS. Clark Gable: B-17F Flying Fortress “The 8 Ball”, 351^st BG, 350^th BS. Ed McMahon: Cessna L-19 Bird Dog, VMO-6 (USMC, Korean War) In the Package There is one decal sheet and two pages of instructions (printed front… more
	B-26C Marauder Published: March 31, 2026 Company: ICM ICM has reboxed its B-26 line of Marauders and now offers a B-26C variant. From the instruction’s history, the “B” variant was built in Middle River, MD (near Baltimore), and to expand production capacity during WWII, the “C” variant was built in Omaha, NE. Physically, they look virtually identical. The other ICM B-26 variants (B, G, & F) have been reviewed by fellow IPMS/USA reviewers and can be viewed at these links: https://reviews.ipmsusa.org/review/b-26b-marauder https://reviews.ipmsusa.org/review/b-26b-marauder-0 … more
	MiG-35 Fulcrum-F Landing Gear (for 1/48 Hobby Boss) Published: March 30, 2026 Company: Scale Aircraft Conversions Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) has provided the IPMS Reviewer Corps with a set of 1/48 scale metal landing gear for Hobby Boss’s MiG-35 Fulcrum-F. These parts are drop-in replacements and provide a more robust landing gear set given its metal properties. The metal pieces are packaged in a clear blister package with cardboard backing. No instructions are provided by SAC. The metal landing gear set is used as drop-in replacements for parts C8, A31, A29 (nose wheel), C28 (LHS MLG), and C27 (RHS MLG). Note that the oleo parts (D27 & D28) are molded into the main struts. The metal used is malleable and has some give to allow for any minor bending if needed. Seam lines will need to be cleaned up prior to painting, just like the plastic kit parts. For painting, I recommend… more
	Su-17M4 Fitter K Landing Gear (Hobby Boss) Published: March 30, 2026 Company: Scale Aircraft Conversions Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) has provided the IPMS Reviewer Corps with a set of 1/48 scale metal landing gear for Hobby Boss’s Su-17M4 Fitter-K, which will also fit on the Su-17UM3 Fitter-G. These parts are drop-in replacements and provide a more robust landing gear set given its metal properties. The metal pieces are packaged in a clear blister package with cardboard backing, and no instructions are provided. The metal landing gear set is used as drop-in replacements for parts C2, D12, D13, D32 (nose wheel), E20 & E2 (LHS MLG), and E21 & E1 (RHS MLG) for the Hobby Boss kits. The metal used is malleable and has some give to allow for any minor bending if needed. Seam lines will need to be cleaned up prior to painting, just like the plastic kit parts. For… more
	MiG-21F-13 Landing Gear Published: March 30, 2026 Company: Scale Aircraft Conversions Scale Aircraft Conversions (SAC) has provided the IPMS reviewer corps with a set of 1/48^th scale metal landing gear for Eduard’s MiG-21F-13. These parts are drop-in replacements and provide a more robust landing gear set given its metal properties. In the Package The metal pieces are packaged in a clear blister package with cardboard backing. No instructions are provided. Review Process The metal landing gear set is used as drop-in replacements for parts F16, F17, F15 (Wing MLG), F18, F33, & F34 (nose wheel). Note, part F34 is molded in with F18 to reduce parts count and make assembly less complicated. The metal used is malleable and has some give to allow for any minor bending if needed. Also, seam lines will need to be cleaned up prior to… more
	A-10A/C Thunderbolt II Aces II Ejection Seat Published: March 5, 2026 Company: Reskit ResKit has provided the IPMS reviewer corps with a new 3D resin printed Aces II ejection seat for the A-10A/C Thunderbolt II in 1/48th scale. In the Package and Product Notes There is one 3D printed resin seat packaged in a small but very sturdy cardboard box. It is printed with a sturdy travel frame along with foam inserts for extra protection. A small decal sheet is provided for the stencils and a well-illustrated instruction sheet for paint and decal placement. Review Process Removal of the seat starts with cutting away the protective frame. Then carefully removing the support piers. The printing is so fine at the contact points that no sanding was necessary to clean up any support nubs. After that, a primer base coat of Tamiya XF-66 thinned with… more