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Kinetic 1/48 Grumman S-2E/S-2G Tracker

By Chris Banyai-Riepl

Overview

While Grumman is well known for its long line of US Navy fighter aircraft, they also are responsible for one of the most popular ASW aircraft, the S2F Tracker. Designed to replace the two-plane Grumman AF Guardian, the S2F was a twin-engined high-wing aircraft packed with submarine searching equipment. The first Tracker took to the air in 1952, and the plane quickly found its way into the navies of many nations around the world. The earlier S2F-1 variant gave way to the S2F-3, which featured a longer fuselage and wingspan, as well as bigger stabilizers and improved capabilities. Modern refinements have seen the piston engines replaced by turboprops, and the S-2 continues to fly, both militarily and in the civilian world.

The Kit

One of the most requested kits over the years has been a 1/48 S2F Tracker, and finally Kinetic has answered the call with this new-tool kit. Molded in light gray plastic, this kit features plenty of detail throughout, along with recessed panel lines and a nice folded wing option. The decal sheet provides markings for one aircraft, and I am sure it will not be long before we see plenty of aftermarket decal options for this kit.

Starting out, it is probably good to note that this is a kit of the S-2E/G, which is the longer fuselage variant. This version has a fuselage that is eighteen inches longer from the S2F-1, with fourteen inches ahead of the wing and four inches behind. The wingtips are also different, being longer and rounded, while the stabilizers also have an extension on the tips. I mention this because there are some useful bits and pieces for the earlier S2F-1 included in this kit, should one want to make the conversion now instead of waiting for Kinetic to release one.

So, with that in mind, the first step is the cockpit. This features a nicely detailed instrument panel, two seats, and separate control wheels. For most this won't be much of an issue, but this is one of the changes between the S2F-1 and S2F-3 (S-3E): the kit depicts the proper wheel arrangement, extending from the instrument panel, for the earlier S2F-1. The S-2E had its control wheels attached to a column. This is a simple fix, just cut a piece of strip stock to make the column and use the kit wheels. The rest of the cockpit is nicely done and even includes the ubiquitous overhead panel.

The fuselage is split in two halves, with a separate nose (two styles provided, again catering to a future S2F-1 release). The canopy is split into two halves, an essential method in order to get the side bubble canopy shape. Small side windows are also provided in clear, and these are slightly too small for the S-2E, but slightly too large for the S2F-1. A compromise, undoubtedly, and for those who have to have the windows the right size, simply increase the opening and use a piece of clear plastic to fill. The MAD boom is separate, and the bomb bay is provided separately and can be displayed open.

Moving on to the wings, the engineering here is quite well done, with sturdy wing stubs provided for the fuselage/wing attachment. The upper part of the engine cowling helps with attaching and aligning those pieces. I'll cover the cowlings a bit later, but will mention that these are made up from quite a few pieces and although the engines are just a front face piece, little more can be seen and the kit pieces will be more than adequate. I highly recommend not gluing those engine pieces on until the nacelle/wing assembly is attached to the fuselage, as I have heard that there might be some alignment issues with the propellers and the respective warning stripe on the fuselage. It is better to do some minor trimming at this stage, then have to deal with it after everything is painted and decaled.

The outer wing pieces are quite nicely done, with a separate leading edge piece provided to create the wing slots. This is a challenge to create from a solid wing, so it is nice to see Kinetic engineer it in this way. The starboard wing has a searchlight pod, and this is made up from three pieces. Unfortunately this is missing the rather large reflector dish, which in this scale would be very apparent. I would recommend creating one from a piece of aluminum foil pressed around an appropriately sized round object such as a wooden bead. Six underwing racks are provided, along with what appear to be rocket pod stores. For both the inner and outer wing pieces, there are separate inserts for the folded wing option. These are connected by some fairly sturdy hinge pieces, while those wanting to build the wing extended, there are separate inserts to aid in joining the outer and inner wing pieces.

Returning to the cowlings, as noted these are fairly extensive constructions. There are two main halves, with a separate main wheel well in between. A one-piece front cowl surrounds the single-piece engine, while the side and lower cowl flaps are separate. The rear sonobuoy portion is separate and there are two styles provided: the earlier 'parrot beak' style and the later flat end style. A separate carburetor intake is included for above the engine, and a separate intake/exhaust for the lower side. Unfortunately, Kinetic molded this intake/exhaust as on the outside of each nacelle, when it actually is found on the starboard side of each nacelle, as seen in this photo. This will take a bit of reworking to fix, but some filler, files, and carving is all that's needed there.

The main issue with the nacelles, though, is not with the details but with the shape. When viewed in planform, the nacelles in the kit have a nice taper from the cowling back to the sonobuoy tubes. The real aircraft actually has a sharp taper immediately aft of the cowling, with the remainder of the nacelle having almost parallel sides back to the rear of the wheel well, then another slight taper. This is tough to see in most photos, although it can be seen in this photo. Given that it is tough to see, and would be very difficult to correct in the kit, it is probably one of those issues that will have to be ignored, although I hope that Kinetic will correct this problem in future releases.

While still looking at the underside of the kit, the landing gear is really nicely done. The wheels are separate from the tires, which should make painting much easier. The landing gear struts, both for the nose gear and the main gear, are sturdy and detailed, with the nose gear featuring separate gear door braces and the main gear including separate support struts. The gear doors are nicely done as well, with petite hinges across the board. Final assembly includes adding the stabilizers and propellers, then it is time for painting.

The kit, as noted earlier, comes with just one decal scheme. This is for an aircraft from VS-37, which first flew the S-2E in 1964. The squadron flew from the USS Ticonderoga in 1971, and this cruise marked the last time VS-37 flew with the S-2E, as it transitioned to the S-2G afterwards. During this cruise, the aircraft also wore USS Bennington titles in anticipation of transitioning to that ship, but the unit never deployed on that vessel. The color scheme is standard for 1970s US Navy aircraft, with gull gray upper surfaces and white lower surfaces, with all the control surfaces painted in white. The decal sheet provides the black rudder markings as well as the yellow fin cap. As there is not much else for Tracker unit markings, the remainder of the decal sheet provides quite a bit of detail and stencil markings, including the large overwing walkway markings and prop tip stripes.

Conclusion

While there are some minor detail issues with this kit, overall the finished model will look every bit a Tracker, and the attention given to the engineering should result in a fairly quick build. For those wanting to build an S-2 from one of the many export countries, check your references to make sure they flew the S-2E variant. While many did indeed fly this later version, several nations flew the earlier S2F-1 (such as Japan). My thanks to Stevens International for the review sample.