Kits | IPMS/USA Reviews

USS Enterprise NCC 1701 Refit

Review Author

Dick Montgomery

Published on

January 1, 2009

Company

Polar Lights

Scale

1/350

MSRP

$55.00

The first thing that you will notice, even before opening the box, is that this is a big model! The box measured at about 17 inches on each side and is five inches deep, weighing in about just less than five pounds. Opening the box one of the things that draws the eye is the saucer. The saucer, which is about 16.5 inches in diameter, weighs in at just less than 2 pounds. For the math challenged among us, that equates to a saucer circumference of just less than 52 inches. As a reference, a standard NBA basketball hoop has a diameter of 18 inches. Each engine pod is about 17 inches long. The model will take up an estimated vertical displacement of about 10 inches. Okay, it's big. It's heavy.

Ferrari 126C2 - Long Beach 1982 - Part 2

Review Author

Jack Kennedy

Published on

January 1, 2009

Company

Fujimi

Scale

1/20

MSRP

$49.95

When I wrote the first part of this review, I briefly outlined the story behind this unusual race car. In this part I'll actually build the kit.

Upon opening the box I found 144 parts. All molded very crisply with fine detail. I didn't follow the instructions step by step as I was anxious to build the engine. This consisted of 44 parts. Assembly went very quickly with a terrific fit on all parts. Basically no cleanup was needed. When completed I primed it with Duplicolor Automotive light grey primer and then airbrushed with Duplicolor Silver. When this was dry, I gave the engine dark washes and a light drybrushing with bright silver. This really popped out the detail.

Ferrari 126C2 - Long Beach 1982 - Part 1

Review Author

Jack Kennedy

Published on

January 1, 2009

Company

Fujimi

Scale

1/20

MSRP

$49.95

This kit is Fujimi's second 1:20 scale Formula One Grand Prix racer. Their first was also a Ferrari 126C2 but from a different race in 1982. This particular car ran at the U.S. Grand Prix held at Long Beach, CA. The thing that makes this car different is the rear wing.

The G.P. at Long Beach required a high down force wing for the street circuit. The rules at the time stated that any piece of bodywork (wings included) behind the rear axle could be a maximum of 110cm wide but did not specify that this be measured from the center of the car, so Ferrari fitted two individual wings, one slightly ahead of the other, each 110cm. In the race Gilles Villenueve finished 3rd on the road but the race stewards later declared that this wing was illegal and the results didn't stand.

Ferrari 641/2 French Grand Prix F1 Race Car

Review Author

Chris Smith

Published on

August 31, 2021

Company

Fujimi

Scale

1/20

MSRP

$57.98

Background

The 1990 F-1 Grand Prix series turned out to be one of the most exciting and controversial in history. After driving for McLaren, Alain Prost was hired by the Ferrari team to drive their new F-1 car powered by a 3.5 liter V12 packing 685 horsepower and mated to a seven speed transmission. In 1990 he would drive this car to one race win and five podium finishes. But it was the end of the season that made it memorable. For the second season in a row, Alain and his arch rival Ayrton Senna would decide the championship with a crash. In 1989, it was Prost who came out on top. At the second to last race of the 1990 season in Japan, Senna made contact (some think intentionally) with the rear wing of Prosts' car as they raced for position into the first turn from a side by side start. The crash took them both out of the race but Senna would win the championship based on points. The Ferrari involved in that famous incident is the subject of this build.