The Grumman E-2 Hawkeye is the US
Navy’s all-weather, tactical Airborne Warning (AEW) aircraft. The aircraft was
designed and developed in the 1950s by Grumman for the U.S. Navy as a
replacement for the E-1 Tracer. The E-2 Hawkeye made its combat debut during the
Vietnam War, and has seen action in Libya and the Persian Gulf operations. Other
countries that have used the E-2 Hawkeye are China, Egypt, France, Israel,
Mexico, Singapore and the latest and largest foreign operator being Japan.
France is the only other operator other than the US Navy to deploy Hawkeye’s
from aircraft carriers.
Kinetic is well known for their fine range of 1/48 F-16’s. Now expanding their
1/48 range to include the E-2C Hawkeye. The kit contains 170 parts molded in
gray and 14 parts in clear. Molding is nicely done to their normal standards,
but with some injector pins that will require some filling and injector tabs to
be removed. Panel lines and rivets are nicely done, but some modelers may
criticize the panel lines being to deep and wide, but a panel wash will flow
nicely through them for sure. Some of the sprue connectors are a bit large and
require extra care removing them from the sprue. All the sprues are packed into
one bag with the clear sprue in a separate one.
Click on
images below to see larger images
The kit includes a few optional items, wing
folds and/or full wingspan, Crew access door open or closed, two styles of
side engine cowls, and extra parts for airframes in French A/F and the
J.A.S.D.F services.
Kit detail is has been nicely done with wheel wells and landing gear. The
tires have been molded with an weighted profile and hubs are separate from
the tire half’s. The detail is lacking a little bit in the cockpit area.
But you shouldn't see much of the cockpit once the fuselage half's are
buttoned up. But I am sure that Kinetic will come out with some Photo Etch
as they have done with their F-16 kits, which will be a nice addition to
the kit. The flaps and ailerons are separate items from the main wings
They have molded tabs to set them at the correct angle when dropped. The
wing spar for the wing joint when extended is a nice thick part that will
surely hold the wings up.
The huge roto-dome can be built to spin manually, but it would be a cool
feature if someone motorized it.
Clear parts are nicely molded also, side windows and escape hatches are
separate items. The nose is transparent, so scratch-built or aftermarket
items can be viewed.
Markings have been designed by FighterTown Decals and printed by the fine
team at Cartograf.
The sheet contains one set of markings for VAW-112 Golden Eagles aboard
USS Nimitz in 1995. Also the sheet includes the gray walkways, markings
for the horizontal tailplanes and propeller tip markings
The only downsides of the kit to me were that there were thick sprue
connectors, and all the sprues are packed into one bag, as I had a couple
damage parts
The Kinetic E-2C Hawkeye is an impressive model
and will huge if built with the wings extended. This kit will be a great
addition to anyone’s collection of carrier-based aircraft and would make a
great subject for a diorama. I'm sure the aftermaket guys will go nuts over this
release also. Kinetic has been producing some great kits lately and would love
to see what they have planned for us in the future.
I would like to thank the team at Lucky
Model.com for the review sample.
Dave Johnson
Click on
images below to see larger images
|
|