Aircraft | IPMS/USA Reviews Website

Reviews of products for scale aircraft models.

P-51 D-5 Mustang Profipack Edition

Review Author

Michael Reeves

Published on

April 1, 2020

Company

Eduard

Scale

1/48

MSRP

$54.95

Eduard has for a long time been releasing excellent aircraft kits in many forms- but the Profipack editions are easily my favorite ones as they usually include extras including color PE frets, masks, and sometimes bit of their Brassin products as well. This newer edition of their Mustang line contains no Brassin, but the included masks and color PE add immeasurable amounts of excellent detail to the kit build as we will soon see.

What’s Inside the Box

The kit contents come in a nice sturdy box and includes the following well-packed bits:

Hyundai Santa Fe

Review Author

Jim Stepanek

Published on

April 1, 2020

Company

Academy Models

Scale

1/24

MSRP

$34.98

This is a review of the 1/24^th Academy Hyundai Santa Fe.

Engine

No engine. It’s curbside kit and a 2018 model year.

Interior

Interior is wonderfully engraved and everything fits perfectly. There were no painting instructions so interior was left black from the kit.

Body

Body was crisp and clean with no flash. I used HOK white and coated with 2 part urethane clear.

Chassis

The suspension parts are very few – about 5 parts total. The exhaust is molded in the chassis leaving only a chrome muffler and exhaust tip to attach.. All the parts fit with no issues.

Instructions

The instructions are several pages long and printed on glossy paper.

Decals

Decals were crisp and I was able to apply them very easily.

"Pave Hawk" HH-60G, Part 2 Exterior

Review Author

Bill O'Malley

Published on

August 31, 2021

Company

Kitty Hawk

Scale

1/35

MSRP

$179.99

"Pave Hawk" HH-60G

This the second part of the review of Kitty Hawk’s 1/35 "Pave Hawk" HH-60G. This review covers the engines, exterior, and armament of the Pave Hawk kit. Background on the Pave Hawk, description of the kit, contents, and interior assembly of the kit is reviewed separately:

"Pave Hawk" HH-60G, Part 1 Interior

More Air National Guard Mustang Decals

Review Author

Dick Montgomery

Published on

March 31, 2020

Company

Iliad Design

Scale

1/48

MSRP

$12.00

Iliad Design has a newly released set of decals for 1/48^th scale P-51D Mustangs in various National Guard markings. Upon receiving the decal set for review I contacted Iliad Design and asked if there was a specific P-51D kit for which the decals were designed to be used. I was informed that the decals could be used on any P-51D on the market. I bought an Airfix P-51D to use as the test bed for this review. This is not a review of the Airfix kit, but I should mention that it has a great deal of detail. I mention this detail because the decals would be put to the test to see how well they “fit” over, and into, this detail. I will mention that I enjoyed the Airfix project immensely and found it to be a model that I could recommend to anyone who is looking for a good Mustang.

AN/ALQ-71(V)-2 ECM Pod

Review Author

David Horn

Published on

March 29, 2020

Company

Eduard

Scale

1/48

MSRP

$12.95

The AN/ALQ-71 “COMPASS ROBIN" is an electronic countermeasure pod that was developed from QRC-160-1 in the mid 1960’s. Carried by a variety of military aircraft during the Vietnam, it was commonly seen on the RF-101C, F-105F, A-7, F-4 and the B-52. The ECM pod function is to blind the enemy radars guiding surface-to-air missiles, early warning radars, and ground-control intercept radars. The AN/ALQ-71 was phased out of service in the early 1970’s and replaced by the AN/ALQ-119.

Saab JA-37 Viggen

Review Author

Tom Choy

Published on

June 18, 2021

Company

Special Hobby

Scale

1/72

MSRP

$37.50

Once known as MPM, Special Hobby is one of the premier model kit manufacturers in the Czech Republic. It is actually a collective of other well-known brands, such as Azur, CMK, Planet Models, and many more. Once known for its short-run kits of esoteric subjects, Special Hobby has now become a major powerhouse in the model kit industry, using cutting-edge steel molds to produce a diverse and well-engineered range of subjects.

Fokker 100 Airliner Landing Gear

Review Author

Jim Pearsall

Published on

March 29, 2020

Company

Scale Aircraft Conversions

Scale

1/144

MSRP

$8.95

The Aircraft

The Fokker 100 is a 100 passenger medium range airliner built by Fokker AG in the Netherlands. When it was introduced in 1987, sales were brisk, and it was a financial success. But by 1995 there were several competitors introduced, and sales were low. Fokker had to declare bankruptcy. They were bought by Deutsche Aerospace AG, but they also had financial problems, and production was ended in 1996. Most have been retired, but there are still a number flying in Australia and Iran.

The Revell kit was introduced in 1996, and has been re-released in 1996 and 2005 with new decals. There are also several aftermarket decal sets available for this kit.

The Scale Aircraft Conversions Set

You get two sets of gear parts in this set. This is very handy, because I have another Fokker 100 in my stash. The parts are all white metal, and they fit nicely in place of the kit parts.

RAF Fighter Command: Defense of the Realm 1936-1945

Book Author(s)

Ron Mackay and Mike Bailey

Review Author

Hub Plott

Published on

March 29, 2020

Company

Fonthill Media

MSRP

$60.00

This book details RAF’s fighter command from just prior to the conclusion of WWII. Their job was to be the defensive shield for the home islands from all comers. This chapter explains how despite this mission the flying and training during this time did very little to prepare them for aerial combat much less the all-out struggle for survival during the early days of aerial combat in WWII!

The book is broken down into 17 chapters, beginning with as it is titled “The greatest Flying club in the world” giving an overview of planes and issues used by and facing the RAF from WWI up through1945.

F-4EJ (Final Flight)

Review Author

Jim Pearsall

Published on

March 28, 2020

Company

Platz

Scale

1/144

MSRP

$17.88

The Aircraft

The JASDF is nearing the end of service for their F-4EJ Phantom IIs. They have ordered F-35s as replacements. This aircraft is one of two from the 302nd Squadron which were celebrating the retirement of their F-4s. This one is the black one. They also had a white one.

Japan will still have some Phantoms for about a year, depending on F-35 deliveries.

The Model

This kit was originally produced by F-Toys, a Japanese company specializing in pre-painted kits which are easy to assemble and finish. Platz then acquires the molds and makes kits which are pretty easy to assemble, but need to be painted and decals applied.

AN/ALQ-87 ECM Pod

Review Author

David Horn

Published on

March 28, 2020

Company

Eduard

Scale

1/48

MSRP

$12.95

The AN/ALQ-87 is an electronic countermeasure pod (originally the QRC-160-8) was first used in 1967. Carried by a variety of military aircraft during the Vietnam, it was commonly seen on the F-100, F-101, F-105, F-111, F-4 and the AC-130. The ECM pod function is to jam the enemy radars guiding surface-to-air missiles, and ground-control intercept radars handling multiple jamming functions. The AN/ALQ-87 was phased out of service in the early 1970’s and replaced by the AN/ALQ-119.

Eduard is known for a wide variety of high quality resin, photo etch and full kits. The AN/ALQ-87

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