Review Author
Robert DeMaio
Published on
May 17, 2012
Company
Bombshell Decals
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$16.00

Keep them coming, Bombshell Decals! The decals Bombshell produces is what the current industry needs, nose art of pinup girls and nicely done! They inspired our service men under wartime conditions and appear to carry on some sort of inspiration for modelers to recreate these aircraft in miniature. There is absolute minimum flash in these decals. No trimming is necessary but a reminder that they should be placed on a smooth finish, preferably glossy. All the numbers and letter designations big and small do not have flash background extended around the complete decal. The flash is a center band enough to maintain character spacing and alignment distance. There are no signs of color overlap, which makes the decals crisp and clear. This is very obvious just looking at the nose art ladies. You can actually see blended skin tones and hair highlights.

Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
May 17, 2012
Company
Cyber-Hobby
Scale
1/200
MSRP
$30.99

First, thanks to Dragon Models USA and particularly Alain for providing IPMS/USA this review sample! Your support as a major model distributor is greatly appreciated.

Dragon’s TU-95MS is a re-release of the original Dragon TU-95 kit from the late 1989/90 time period; decals are upgraded, but otherwise it’s the same kit. Fit is good with the exception of the nacelle assemblies; you will have to spend a bit of time getting the aft portion lined up with the front. Markings are included for two recent (circa 2010 or so) Bear airframes.

Review Author
Tom Pope
Published on
September 7, 2021
Company
Dragon Models
Scale
1/72
MSRP
$44.95

Introduction

Apollo 10 was launched on May 18, 1969, and was the dress rehearsal for putting man on the moon. The flight took the command/service module (CSM [CSM-106]) “Charlie Brown” and the Lunar Module (LM [LM-4]) “Snoopy” to the moon, where the LM separated, descended and maneuvered to within 9 miles of the lunar surface. The mission of Apollo 10 was to demonstrate the performance of the LM and CSM in the lunar gravitational field and evaluate docked and undocked lunar navigation. “Charlie Brown” and crew returned safely to Earth 8 days later, on May 26th. Like many of us, I was glued to my black & white television, in awe of the whole Apollo program.

Review Author
Gary Telecsan
Published on
May 17, 2012
Company
Encore by Squadron
Scale
1/232
MSRP
$89.99

Kit Review Part I

This is a reboxing of the old Revell kit, which I built many years ago, only with quite a number of goodies included to bring it up to modern standards. There are such a number of goodies that, in order to get the word out as quickly as possible, this just had to be a two-part review.

The Premium Edition comes with wooden base, laser-cut self-adhesive deck veneers, turned metal gun barrels, and photo-etched, white metal, and resin parts. The Standard Edition lacks the wooden base, gun barrels and deck veneers. It is well worth the price to get the Premium Edition.

Review Author
Rod Lees
Published on
May 17, 2012
Company
Scale Aircraft Conversions
Scale
1/48
MSRP
$16.99

Ross, the proprietor of SAC, has been a prolific supporter of IPMS/USA from the inception of his company; not only are his products excellent, but he definitely has provided us with some gems, and we appreciate it!

Released in its standard bubble pack with card backing, (with the shield of the only true Air Force Command (SAC) for backdrop (ha), this set is a simple but important addition to anyone building Roden’s new T-28 kit. I was surprised to see my name written on the header card… until I realized it stood for “Roden”, not “Rod”! Alzheimers is real…

The kit nose gear in plastic is to scale, which means if you put the required nose weight in to keep the nose on the ground, it will (over time) bend and eventually break off.

Book Author(s)
Albert and Ian Smith
Review Author
Rob Benson
Published on
May 17, 2012
Company
Specialty Press
MSRP
$13.95

Thank you to Marie Ray of Specialty Press, Crécy Publishing Ltd, and the IPMS/USA Reviewer Corps for allowing me to read and share my thoughts on this book. Mosquito Pathfinder is a detailed and engaging journal of a young English man enlisting in the RAF and surviving 90 missions in Wellington and Mosquito bombers over Germany and North Africa during World War II.

Review Author
Mark Aldrich
Published on
May 17, 2012
Company
Verlinden Productions
Scale
1/35
MSRP
$32.95

Verlinden Productions continues to be on the front line releasing many items for Middle East War model builders. This set is just another offering in their LONG line of items directly designed for the IDF modeler. This set is designed for the newly released Tamiya M-51 kit! Other than a couple issues, you could cover your M51 with period gear plus get a three piece crew set. All the items are well cast and bubble free. The detail on all the parts is quite incredible. The figure faces have some great detail as well. What is included in the set is the following:

Review Author
Ed Kinney
Published on
May 18, 2012
Company
Fisher Model and Pattern
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$279.00

Big Cutlass… Part Deux

Well, shiver my swashes and buckle my timbers…at last. The finishing touches have been applied to this magnificent beastie! The stance of the aircraft can be referred to as a cross between a praying mantis and a Great Dane passing a peachpit. In any case, this has to be one of the most unique carrier aircraft ever produced. Although not the most popular among pilots, I recall reading a pilot report in Tail Hook magazine where comments ranged from concern over a hard landing which would drive the nose gear up through the cockpit floor “doing horrible things to the pilot” to attempts to keep the fuel load in trim being much akin to “sitting on a basketball.” Oh, well, I digress, so on to the build.

Review Author
Floyd S. Werner Jr.
Published on
May 19, 2012
Company
Moebius Models
Scale
1/32
MSRP
$30.00

If you are as old as I, you remember the original Battlestar Gallactica series with Lorne Green and Dirk Benedict. Well, when the Sci-Fi Channel reimagined the Battlestar Gallactica series, there were some changes that upset some potential fans, myself included. One was that Starbuck, Benedict’s character, was now a woman and that was just the beginning. I didn’t watch the series when it first came out and now I regret it. I’ve since bought the series on DVD and have taken a liking to it. If you can just forget the old series, and it is easy to do, then you will absolutely love the new series.

Review Author
Dick Montgomery
Published on
May 19, 2012
Company
Afterburner Decals
MSRP
$15.00

In a single word, “Wow”! This set of decals is recommended for the Hasegawa F-15C/D in 1/48th scale and can be used on the Academy kits as well. Afterburner also points out that the package includes markings that can be used on the Tamiya 32nd scale F-15.

The product package includes three sheets of decals, one sheet being rather small and including three decals of the 57th Fighter Wing logo. The remaining sheets contain markings, stenciling, and other markings that one may choose from.

Markings are provided for the very unique Digital Splinter Scheme, the Blue Flanker Scheme and the Desert Flanker Scheme. Additionally, included within the Desert Flanker Scheme, there are markings for aircraft flown in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2012. Blue Flanker markings include aircraft flown in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2012.

Decals, in order to be of “high quality,” must possess certain characteristics.