Parts 2

World of Tanks KV-1/2

Kit contents

U.S. Navy Tanker

Operator Figure 2

German Assault Pioneer Team and Goliath

doors and ordnance

AH-6M/MH-6M Little Bird Night Stalkers

Underside

Supermarine Seafire Mk XVII

Assembled 2

Bachem Natter Ramp/Trailer

Assembly

V3000S "Einheitsfahrerhaus" and Acrylic Paint Set - Wehrmacht Trucks

Color Scheme 2

Shiden-Kai N1K2-J "George" Late Type

Deployed Gear Parts

North American P-51D/K Mustang "Pacific Theater"

Engine assembly

Junkers Ju87R-2/B-2 Stuka

Previous Next

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.

"The Bug" Photo-etch Workstation

"The Bug" Photo-etch Workstation
Review Author
Pablo Bauleo
Published on
January 1, 2009
Company
The Small Shop
MSRP
$39.99

Photo-etch bending could sound intimidating but it shouldn't, particularly if you have the right tools for it. The Small Shop has designed "The Bug" to be the one-stop photo-etch bending tool. The tool is very well designed; compact, versatile, easy to use and made of aircraft grade aluminum.

The rotating head has a 2-inch straight edge for long bending lines, a "swiss comb" side with 6 "teeth" for boxes, and a variety of fixtures to fold parts of different sizes and material strengths, or for scratch built handles. All of these in a compact 2x2.5 inch base. It should be mentioned that some of hold-down fingers are reinforced for bending thicker brass, while others designed for thinner, more delicate parts. It is a nice touch from the Small Shop to include a razor blade (used for folding) with the tool.

Standard Photo Etch Cut-Off Set

Standard Photo Etch Cut-Off Set

Review Author
Rob Benson
Published on
January 1, 2009
Company
The Small Shop
MSRP
$9.50

What You Get in the Bag

The Photo Etch Part Cut-Out Kit is packaged in a simple poly bag containing 3 black 3/32 inch-thick Plexiglas square tiles just shy of 4 inches on each edge, 1 clear 3/8 inch diameter Plexiglas rod 1 inch long, and 1 clear 3/32 inch thick Plexiglas tile measuring 1 by 1.5 inches. The rod has a slight chamfer (a 45 degree cut that softens the edge) on one end, and one long edge of the small clear tile is also chamfered. A one page instruction and description sheet is included. All of the parts were loose in the bag, but the black tile had protective paper to protect the finish.

Standard Rolling Set

Standard Rolling Set
Review Author
Andy Renshaw
Published on
January 1, 2009
Company
The Small Shop
MSRP
$27.95

The Small Shop, the makers of the "Hold-n-Fold" photo-etch workstation, have added a new tool to their lineup, the "Standard Rolling Set".

This set comes with a milled aluminum base and a total of twelve rollers in metal and wood.

  • Wood - 3/4", 5/8", 1/2", 7/16", 3/8", 5/16", 1/4" & 3/16"
  • Steel - 0.125", .09375", .078" & .0625"

The milled base has a series of rounded cutouts that many of the smaller rollers will fit into. The base is not needed for the larger diameter rollers.

5-Speed Hold and Fold Workstation

The 5-Speed Hold & Fold Workstation
Review Author
Charles Landrum
Published on
September 2, 2021
Company
The Small Shop
MSRP
$70.00

I would like to thank Julie Lockwood for this review sample.

I would consider myself to be very experienced working with photo etched parts, having added them to armor, aircraft and ship models. In fact I love the challenge of working with the media. Up until now, however, I have roughed it, being content working the metal with a few pairs of pliers, scrap dowel, a steel rule, a no. 11 knife blade and a scrap piece of acrylic. In fact, I have turned up my nose at the fancy PE folding tools on the market. So Julie Lockwood of Kalama Precision Machine may not have realized that she was throwing down a challenge when she asked me to review some of their latest PE working tools. Suddenly, I was in the lion's den … alone.

Decal Sheet

USN Super Carrier Decals
Review Author
Charles Landrum
Published on
January 1, 2009
Company
Gold Medal Models
Scale
1/700
MSRP
$9.00

I would like to thank Loren Perry for this review sample and the decal photo.

Until recently, ship modelers have had limited options for aftermarket decals. With the release of so many new ship kits, the demand for additional decal options has grown. While most manufacturers have focused on the etched-brass market, Gold Medal Models - one of the decal torch bearers as well as a PE manufacturer - has answered the call and released a decal sheet that covers the US Navy super carriers from CV(A)-59 on up. Not only will this sheet work with the new Trumpeter 1/700 NIMITZ Class, but also the classic Revell CVAN-65 ENTERPRISE, the venerable Monogram KITTYHAWK Class CV(A)s, the Italeri CV and CVN models and the Fujimi CV kits as well.