Kinetic

1/48 E-C2 Hawkeye available from Lucky Model.com

Product Article by Dave Johnson on Nov 23 2009

 

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.

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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

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Photos and text © by Dave Johnson