Kinetic 1/48 EA-6B Prowler Kit First Look
By Michael Benolkin
| Date of Review | February 2014 | Manufacturer | Kinetic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject | EA-6B Prowler | Scale | 1/48 |
| Kit Number | 48044 | Primary Media | Styrene |
| Pros | Nicely detailed kit with scribed detailing and folding wing option | Cons | Nothing noted |
| Skill Level | Experienced | MSRP (USD) | $35.95 |
First Look
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For a look at the original release of this kit and a brief history of the Prowler, look here.
When Kinetic Models first released the EA-6B Prowler a few years ago, this was easily the best kit of the subject on the market. If there are any doubts, look at the masterpieces entered in the recent Kinetic Models/Lucky Model 2014 Global Contest. Five of the top awards went to Prowler builders. If there was one problem with the kit, it turned out to be the wings. Kinetic designed the wings with separate inner and outer sections so they could be folded, or use the included plug to position the wings extended. The problem was that the wings didn't always match up which frustrated some modelers.
Welcome to the Kinetic do-over. This is the same kit with a few new changes. First, you can see the wing is now molded in the extended position, but if you look closely in the second image, there is a cut line there for those that still want to fold the wings. Problem solved.
The first release provided only one AGM-88, this kit provides two. This kit also adds a new Skunkmodels 1/48 carrier deck tow tractor.
With this release, the kit is still molded in light gray styrene and presented on 11 parts trees plus one tree of clear parts. All of those aftermarket cockpits and photo-etched detail sets released for the first kit will work here as well. Among the features and options:
Detailed front and rear cockpits
- Nice GRU-7 ejection seats (needs crew restraints)
- Positionable boarding ladders
- Positionable canopies
- Positionable wings (extended or folded)
- Positionable leading edge slats
- Positionable training edge flaps
- Positionable stabilators
- Positionable wingtip speed boards
- Positionable tailhook
- Positionable landing gear
- New tow tractor
The external stores options in this kit include:
- 2 x external tanks
- 3 x ECM pods
- 2 x AGM-88 HARM
This release has options for three aircraft:
- EA-6B, 164402, VAQ-136, NF/500, USS George Washington, CAG, box art subject
- EA-6B, 161120, VAQ-133, NL/530, OEF, 2007
- EA-6B, 161349, VAQ-133, NL/532, OEF, 2007
These are some colorful markings designed by Fightertown Decals and printed by Cartograf. The second subject, 161120 was the three-tan desert scheme first produced by Afterburner Decals and we have the paint chart for that subject here. For that matter, we have the paint chart for the other two subjects here.
Once again, this is a nice kit and as I mentioned above, the recent contest speaks to how well the kit goes together. With the new wing and other enhancements, this new release will keep this kit as best Prowler kit in any scale. This kit is definitely recommended!
My sincere thanks to Lucky Model for this review sample!