4 x E-2C Hawkeyes airborne early warning
aircraft were acquired in 1985 to provide extended early warning and control platform for the RSAF to augment her land based surveillance and command and control capabilities. These
aircraft served with the 111 SQN “Jaeger” in Tengah Air Base. They performed their role well both locally as well as in overseas participation. The fleet was finally replaced by the Gulfstream G550-AEWs which have improved capabilities and performance over the older E-2C in phases from 2010. In all, the E-2Cs served a steadfast role as the “Eye in the Sky” in support of RSAF operation for 25 years before their retirement from service.
The kit is an ACE Corporation E-2C. The kit is well molded and crisp. No issues with fit and assembly. I decided to use this kit to build the RSAF version. The following were the necessary modifications and enhancements:
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Drilled out the 3 windows on the starboard fuselage for the control crew using transparent sprue filed down to conform to the fuselage.
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Added scratch-built grab handles on the rotordome support with steel wires.
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Replaced the HF antenna support with scratch-built metal staples and rigged up the HF antenna cable.
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Added the array of antennas on its belly.
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Scratch-built two flight crew for
in-flight display. Re-positioned the cockpit floor and seats to enable the crew to view through the windshield.
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Added the static dischargers.
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Painted the finished kit with a two-tone Gray with a mix of basic Tamiya/Mr Hobby acrylics. Decals and stencils were self-made for aircraft S/N 012 (USN BU No. 162794). Two coats of Future were applied followed by two coats of flat finish after allowing for the curing in between coats to smoothen out the overall look. As these
aircraft were older E-2Cs, the engines are known to be pretty smoky and hence heavy weathering was applied on the undersides of the main wing near to the exhaust outlet as well as the tail area in line of the exhaust fumes.