1:48 Kinetic E-2C Hawkeye
(US Navy)
Friday 22nd January 2010
This kit has been on a lot of people's want list for a long time, and it has taken the relatively new kids on the block Kinetic to bring it to market as a mainstream injection moulded that will no doubt delight a lot of people, myself included.
The top opening box is quite literally jammed to the top with sprues of a dark grey/brown plastic, and even when removed from their protective bags, the parts barely fit back into the box. The multitude of sprues containing the parts are sealed in two bags, which in my sample had allowed a little surface chaffing to occur, but nothing excessive considering it's been half way around the world. The clear parts are provided in a separate bag, and a crystal clear.
Looking carefully at the sprues reveals a lot of crisp detail in most aspects of the kit, and the rendering of the panel lines, is very neatly done - they may be a little wide for some, but after a few coats of paint, that should be much reduced.
The cockpit is nicely rendered with detailed instrument panel, side consoles and centre console. The sidewalls are bare however, and the seats seem somewhat simplified, but if you're worried about that, there are references out there, and the detail can be added with styrene strips with no drama. The bulkhead at the rear of the cockpit an oddity however, as it is devoid of any detail, and exhibits quite prominent scratching. Clearly, it will need a sanding session to smooth these out, but again is not a major issue. Detail can then be added to the modeller's satisfaction, which in many ways is better than having to undo fictitious detail.
The wings can be positioned ready for flight, or folded, exposing the well detailed wing-fold inserts, which look nice on the sprues. If you're modelling the wings open, there is a set of alternative short inserts that strengthen the joint, and extend part way into both sections, ensuring that the joints don't crack at some later stage.
Flaps can be posed retracted or partially deployed, and detail here is also good, and the engine nacelles have 2 types of access panels, depending on which airframe you're modelling, so check your references. Wheel well detail is good, as is the detail to the bay doors, but the diagram for their installation is somewhat confusing, with many parts and arrows in one construction section (number 6). Care should be exercised here to avoid mistakes.
The airscrews are the early 4-bladed paddle type, as befits the mark, and has raised lines to aid painting, which would probably have been better left off and replaced with decals. I will most probably copy the details to tape and create my own masks after sanding off the raised detail.
The radar dome is huge at around 6" across, and is moulded in 2 parts with plenty of detail. The support assembly is suitably strong and should withstand all but the sharpest of knocks - in fact, the saucer could be modelled as a detachable element, which would make sense for handling and transporting.
The clear parts are cleanly moulded and commendably thin, with the cockpit glazing including the roof above the pilots, to aid easy fairing in. The two escape hatches above the pilots' seats is moulded open with glazed inserts, and the nose piece is moulded here as a full transparent part, for later masking of the clear section below the nose which houses various instrumentation and can be seen from the outside.
The package is completed by a a decal sheet printed by Cartograf and designed by Fightertown decals, which should ensure good quality and accurate research. It allows for the modelling of only one aircraft, from VAW-112 Golden Eagles in 1995, and full painting and decaling instructions are provided on a separate black and white printed sheet in the bottom of the box.
Conclusion
Fans of this unusual aircraft will doubtlessly be pleased to see it finally make it into the shops in this scale, and the resulting model should draw admiring glances, as it builds into quite a sizeable aircraft. I believe that there are plans to produce a later model with the modern many-bladed props, and I'm sure that the aftermarket decal houses will be jumping in with plenty of alternative markings. I understand that there is another boxing available from Kinetic with French decals, and that one might be worth tracking down if you're hankering for a scheme that's a little different.
Review sample courtesy of 
Model Aviation World
Friday 27th November 2009
Many of you will already be familiar with Military in Scale, the magazine edited by our very own Spencer Pollard for Traplet Publications. Model Aviation World is the result of a decision to separate the aircraft content from the AFV modelling content, which were always jostling for position in MIS.
I picked up this first issue at Telford in early November, but it went AWOL for a week and was read first by two friends of mine. Once I'd retrieved it from them, I set about reading it myself from cover to cover.
The first thing that struck me was the sheer quantity of text presented in the glossy pages of this first issue. This inaugural issue is special in that it consists of 82 pages, whereas the standard issue will have 68 pages, the same as MIS. My comment about the amount of reading matter still stands however, as the articles are rich in content, both in terms of the written word, and a multitude of pictures of various sizes of which my only complaint is the tiny sizing of the red numbered legends. This balance is achieved by use of a small but easily readable font, and appropriate sizing of the pictures.
Content
After a preamble and rousing welcome speech from Spence, which goes into some of the reasons for the existence of this mag, there is a four page "Round Up" section which gives snippets of news from around the industry. Then we dive straight into the main articles.
Spence set out to create a magazine that was not just another clone of a successful format (other than his own), and in this he has succeeded in spades. The articles are varied in subject matter, including new and older kits, scratch built and aftermarket detail, and varying techniques to achieve the effects and weathering. One or two of the kits were originally released when I was but a small boy or a mere twinkle in my parents' eyes, but the resulting models are brought up to modern standards by simple but effective techniques.
Flicking through the articles whilst I write this review reminds me just how diverse and interesting this first issue is. That might sound sycophantic, but it's the first time in a long while that I've been enthused by an aviation specific magazine - a telling indictment of my previous subscriptions, and one reason why they were allowed to lapse.
Another thing of note is that there doesn't appear to be any "favourite" scale, 2 articles in 1:72, 2 in 1:48, 1 in 1:32, and would you believe one in 1:56??? There's even an article on weathering, discussing the pros & cons of a battle weary paintwork on your models accompanied by a wealth of pictures showing both sides of the coin... very brave indeed, and bound not to find favour with everyone!
Kit Box is the name for the in brief reviews, which concentrate very much on the buildability (is that even a word?) of the reviewed items, and spans a further 4 pages. Toolbox covers the tools of our hobby as you would expect, and is followed by Transfer List, which as you can probably guess deals with the latest decal releases from various manufacturers.
I won't insult your intelligence by explaining what the Book Review section is all about, but the research side of our hobby is just as important to a lot of us as the actual build, so is worthy of inclusion.
The final section is entitled Operations Room, and here Spence makes a plea for people to get in touch with articles and information relating to modelling and aviation in general, to fill the space available.
Upcoming Issues
The inside back page gives us a taster of what will be in next month's issue, including the amazing XB-70 built by Andy Davies... better known to us as General Melchett. Spence tells me that there will also be full builds of the 1:72 Airfix Canberras in the next issue, as well as Ali's little Jindvik and a couple of Austro Hungarian flying boats.
In issue three, Spence's astounding 1:24 Mosquito two part build review begins, and he's hoping to have an article giving a detailed history of the Airfix Superkit series written by Arthur Ward, a detailed build of the Classic Airframes Sea Venom and the Airfix Hawks.
Conclusion
To save you having to read to the end of this paragraph, I'm sold. Spence's "light touch" editing style, coupled with interesting and well presented content in an easy to read format is everything I want from a magazine, and I'm confident that subscribing will be money well spent, as has my current subscription to MIS.
My modelling chums that have read this issue have also made very positive noises, which given their differing tastes in modelling genres bodes well for the general reception.
The splitting of the content into two discrete magazines might not appeal to everyone for various reasons, but if you elect to subscribe to both magazines you're getting two complete magazines of content, so your bang-per-buck isn't being diluted one iota.
You can also view and discuss this article on the forum here.
Mike, Britmodeller Admin