Author Topic: Grumman S-2 Tracker and derivatives  (Read 30619 times)

Offline GTX_Admin

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Grumman S-2 Tracker and derivatives
« on: July 22, 2012, 05:11:36 AM »
Since Kinetic released their 1/48 S-2 Tracker kit a while ago, does anyone know if there are any S-2T Turbo Tracker conversions on the market yet or planned?

Kinetic kit:



Turbo Trackers:


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Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Re: Grumman S-2 Tracker and derivatives
« Reply #1 on: July 22, 2012, 05:14:20 AM »
Take the expensive but easy way out and kit bash the Tracker with the Greyhound or Hawkeye for the wings and engines.  Then you could go retro with the Hawkeye or Greyhound and give it some radials :)
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Re: Grumman S-2 Tracker and derivatives
« Reply #2 on: July 22, 2012, 05:22:36 AM »
Ah, but they are different engines with different looks though.  The  Greyhound/Hawkeye use the T-56 whereas the S-2T uses the TPE33.
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Offline elmayerle

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Re: Grumman S-2 Tracker and derivatives
« Reply #3 on: July 22, 2012, 01:51:30 PM »
In 1/72, there was a conversion made by an Argentinian company, but I have no idea if it is still available.  I don't know of any 1/48 conversions, yet.  Is there a 1/48 Tucano T.1 kit?  A couple of those would give you close to the new nose shape.

Offline Litvyak

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Re: Grumman S-2 Tracker and derivatives
« Reply #4 on: July 22, 2012, 02:39:02 PM »
So, is there an option for modelling a Tracker in 1/72?
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Re: Grumman S-2 Tracker and derivatives
« Reply #5 on: July 22, 2012, 03:46:31 PM »
  Is there a 1/48 Tucano T.1 kit?

There are a couple of Tucano kits out.  I just wish someone would release a Super Tucano in 1/48
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Offline upnorth

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Re: Grumman S-2 Tracker and derivatives
« Reply #6 on: July 22, 2012, 06:03:11 PM »
So, is there an option for modelling a Tracker in 1/72?


Yes, that's the old Hasegawa kit. It was reissued by Revell Germany a few years ago. It's not up to the current Hasegawa standard, but still the only way to go for the beast in 1/72.

This link shows you the various box art of the different Hasegawa and Revell issues of the kit:

http://www.scalemates.com/products/product.php?id=127763

Hobbycraft Canada did a rather lacklustre knockoff of that kit many years ago and I recomend leaving that one well alone if you see it.
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Offline Litvyak

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Re: Grumman S-2 Tracker and derivatives
« Reply #7 on: July 22, 2012, 08:31:58 PM »
Thanks for that - I'll be keeping an eye out for it. If I'm not wrong, those are the short-fuselage version, no?

As for Hobbycraft... the only things of theirs that I'll touch are Canadian subjects that are otherwise unobtainable.
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Offline ChernayaAkula

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Re: Grumman S-2 Tracker and derivatives
« Reply #8 on: July 23, 2012, 02:31:55 AM »
And in 1/72, there are conversion sets for Turbo Trackers. LINK!
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Moritz

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Re: Grumman S-2 Tracker and derivatives
« Reply #9 on: July 23, 2012, 02:35:29 AM »
I suppose one could always convert the Tracker to jet...
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Offline jcf

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Re: Grumman S-2 Tracker and derivatives
« Reply #10 on: July 23, 2012, 02:43:35 PM »
Take the expensive but easy way out and kit bash the Tracker with the Greyhound or Hawkeye for the wings and engines.  Then you could go retro with the Hawkeye or Greyhound and give it some radials :)


Indeed.


S2F-4 came very close to being a production aircraft.

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Re: Grumman S-2 Tracker and derivatives
« Reply #11 on: November 11, 2012, 06:21:43 PM »
What about a Tracker with Bristol Centuarus engines?
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Offline upnorth

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Re: Grumman S-2 Tracker and derivatives
« Reply #12 on: November 11, 2012, 10:18:18 PM »
What about a Tracker with Bristol Centuarus engines?

I like that idea, sort of a Tracker/Brigand love child. Might look really fetching on an E-1 Tracer too.

I wonder what would be good to use if you wanted to go to turboprop power in an earlier time frame than was actually done. Armstrong Siddeley Mamba, perhaps?


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Offline jcf

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Re: Grumman S-2 Tracker and derivatives
« Reply #13 on: November 12, 2012, 01:11:52 AM »

As for Hobbycraft... the only things of theirs that I'll touch are Canadian subjects that are otherwise unobtainable.

Why? The 1/48th P-26, P-35s and P-36s are actually pretty good kits. Their early 109s are also not
shabby, ditto the Buchon and Mezek. The 1/72 X-1 and F-86s, while simple, are also nice little kits.

Sure they all have their warts, but those, amongst others, don't deserve the dismissive appellation
Hobbycrap.
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actually is than they ever are about
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Offline kitnut617

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Re: Grumman S-2 Tracker and derivatives
« Reply #14 on: November 12, 2012, 01:53:25 AM »
And in 1/72, there are conversion sets for Turbo Trackers. LINK!


Now those are something that's going on the shopping list

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Re: Grumman S-2 Tracker and derivatives
« Reply #15 on: August 21, 2013, 01:16:29 PM »
How about an Attack Tracker?  While it was powered by a pair of R1820's in real life, what if it had been fitted with R2600's or R2800's?  Take out the the TACCO and SENSO stations and turn that area into a full size weapons bay.  Remove the drop down radar abaft the bomb bay and put a more appealing nose on the thing to house an attack radar and you all of a sudden have a rather interesting looking little attack aircraft.  I have been experimenting with a 1:72nd scale Hasegawa/Minicrapht S-2 Tracker to see how it would look with a full bomb bay.  A bit of careful scribing to determine the other bomb bay door and some extra careful razor saw action to remove it and you have a rather spacious cavity that can be filled with bomb racks and some equipment racks.  I sanded off the access door on the starboard side but that could be left as a maintenance access panel if you don't want to obscure it.  I figure the crew would be two: Pilot and a Bombardier/Navigator like on the A-6 and have access to the cockpit being through the cockpit transparencies on either side (just like on the OV-1 Mohawk).  Stores pylons under the wings can remain but that pesky searchlight needs to go unless you want to convert that to your radar pod.  The MAD unit at the rear was trimmed away and sanded so that it is no longer showing as that feature.  I was toying with the idea of adding a ball turret from a B-17 or B-24 to the space previously occupied by the surface search radar since the hole is large enough but doing that means you have to add in another crew member and once inside the turret there is no getting out of it so I ruled that out.  Still it is a possible version to consider if you wanted to experiment with alternatives to a standard S-2 Tracker.
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Offline elmayerle

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Re: Grumman S-2 Tracker and derivatives
« Reply #16 on: August 21, 2013, 01:20:56 PM »
Bob the MAD boom much like the EP-3E bobs the P-3's mad boom.

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Re: Grumman S-2 Tracker and derivatives
« Reply #17 on: August 21, 2013, 01:33:14 PM »
Bob the MAD boom much like the EP-3E bobs the P-3's mad boom.

No need for it in the "strike" mission so it was simple enough to remove and sand the existing features down to blend in with the tail. 
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Offline finsrin

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Re: Grumman S-2 Tracker and derivatives
« Reply #18 on: August 21, 2013, 01:59:05 PM »
And in 1/72, there are conversion sets for Turbo Trackers. LINK!


Now those are something that's going on the shopping list


Nice conversion sets and other stuff  :)      PB4Y-2  :-*
Is there english version?   
Prices in $?
How to order?

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Re: Grumman S-2 Tracker and derivatives
« Reply #19 on: August 22, 2013, 03:46:45 AM »
And in 1/72, there are conversion sets for Turbo Trackers. LINK!
Now those are something that's going on the shopping list
Nice conversion sets and other stuff  :)      PB4Y-2  :-*
Is there english version?   
Prices in $?
How to order?
 

Bill, there is an eMail address on Wolfram Witschel 's "Wolframs Bastelecke" main page so you can contact him directly about pricing and availability.  I am quite sure that his command of the English language is as good as or better than our own attempts :)
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Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Re: Grumman S-2 Tracker and derivatives
« Reply #20 on: August 22, 2013, 04:27:48 AM »
To avoid going further off topic I am responding to the comments made on The FAA go American topic in the The Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda GB so it is not overwhelmed with things that are capable of taking it off topic and allow Harold to continue with that discussion of his rather lovely Panther.  So taking up where we left off over there we have the following from Mike (cliffyB)

Jeff, have you ever seen the Grumman XTB2F-1?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grumman_XTB2F

It was meant to replace the Avenger on board the CVBs but the USN was too weary of running twin engined aircraft off of carriers at the time (not sure why...).

You can't deny that it had some influence on the Tracker and it could certainly be viewed as a ancestral attack version.  It also had a dorsal and ball turret with twin .50s in them along with a 75mm cannon in the nose like the B-25s.  Something to think about maybe?

I have a 3-view drawing of it if you want one.


Hi Mike, yes, I would certainly like to have a copy of that three-view drawing if you want to share it with me.  I had found some information on the XBTD-1 previously and Jon (jcf) has shared some of his references with us in the past on that subject to. 

I would imagine that the big belly Tracker/XTB2F hybrid would not be carrying much in the way of guns if it were to be a strike aircraft.  Maybe a gun package as an option for the bomb bay with a battery of four or six 20mm cannons and a fuel tank for such a mission that could be removed and normal bomb bay doors installed again.  The belly turret was a neat idea but I soon realized that secluding a crew member to the nether regions of the tracker all by his lonesome was kind of cruel.  So I am steering away from a belly turret for any project I undertake with the "Strike-Tracker-Attacker". 

If the attack Tracker were flying at low level the need for a belly turret to defend from below is no longer necessary.  Several forward firing weapons would be desirable for a torpedo attack if only to make the pilot and bombardier feel more proactive about the mission.  So maybe a couple of .50 BMG along the side of the fuselage?  I had thought about the gun packs/package guns that were installed on the B-25 and B-26 bombers for the strafing mission as these would be ideal with the guns clear of the airframe and the ammunition magazine could be installed between the bomb rack assembly and the fuselage.  So four package guns/gun packs with two on each side of the aircraft would provide the desired forward firing weapons in a nice tight group around the outside of the aircraft. 

IRL the Tracker had only a 3500 pound weapons capacity when powered by the R1820's.  If it were powered by R2600's then there should be a corresponding increase in payload should there not? 
« Last Edit: August 22, 2013, 04:30:03 AM by Jeffry Fontaine »
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Offline jcf

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Re: Grumman S-2 Tracker and derivatives
« Reply #21 on: August 22, 2013, 07:07:07 AM »
From Grumman Aircraft since 1929.




“Conspiracy theory’s got to be simple.
Sense doesn’t come into it. People are
more scared of how complicated shit
actually is than they ever are about
whatever’s supposed to be behind the
conspiracy.”
-The Peripheral, William Gibson 2014

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Re: Grumman S-2 Tracker and derivatives
« Reply #22 on: April 22, 2015, 03:17:42 AM »
Perhaps as a competitor to the Grumman Design 55 (XTB2F-1) for the cancelled Avenger follow-on?



Grumman Design 55(XTB2F-1)
Span: 74'
Length: 52'
Max speed: 338mph
Ceiling: 31,600'
Range: 3,060 miles
Two 2,000hp R-2800-22
Two power turrets each with twin .50MG
Two fixed .50MG and 75mm cannon in nose
Two .50MG in each wing
Single torpedo or up to 36 100lb bombs in ventral weapons bay.

'Grumman Aircraft since 1929', Rene Francillon, Putnam/NIP


Mmmm.... off topic, but I could imagine a Tracker bashed into an attack bomber.
Not off-topic now :)
That three-view was what inspired me in trying to find a way to turn the Tracker into some kind of attack bomber/torpedo carrier.
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Offline Volkodav

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Re: Grumman S-2 Tracker and derivatives
« Reply #23 on: April 22, 2015, 07:30:59 AM »
Ideal for a back dated service type too, a carrier based heavy torpedo bomber in 1944/45 also used as a medium/attack bomber against land targets.  Opens up some really good colour schemes, especially if you could have an early 1943 service entry.

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Re: Grumman S-2 Tracker and derivatives
« Reply #24 on: April 22, 2015, 08:54:43 AM »
Ideal for a back dated service type too, a carrier based heavy torpedo bomber in 1944/45 also used as a medium/attack bomber against land targets.  Opens up some really good colour schemes, especially if you could have an early 1943 service entry.
I have carved up a 1:72nd scale S-2 Tracker to see if I could put a full bomb bay into the thing.  That worked out better than I had imagined.  On the Hasegawa kit you have the engraved access door on the right side that will need to be puttied over and smoothed out.  Crew access could be through the bomb bay when it is open or through the top of the cockpit like the A-20 or A-26.  There is a nice big hole in the fuselage where the surface search radar was located, you can keep the radar or opt for the belly turret from the B-17 or B-24 as either one will fit nicely since it is pretty much the same model turret.  I cut up a section from the bomb bay in an Academy B-29 to add four stacks of bomb racks to the S-2 with two sets of racks on each side.  There should be enough room inside to hold two MkXIII torpedoes if you can figure out how to attach the things to some kind of centrally located suspension racks.  If you add guns to the Attack Tracker they could be in the form of those blister packs often seen on the B-25 and B-26 with two on each side.  Another option might be to add a blister to the bomb bay holding four 20mm cannons like the P-70 (A-20) used.  I am pretty sure there are other more radical options that could be considered but I have kept my own modification quite conservative.
"Every day we hear about new studies 'revealing' what should have been obvious to sentient beings for generations; 'Research shows wolverines don't like to be teased" -- Jonah Goldberg