PMMS
Trumpeter
SA-2 Guideline Missile
on Launcher

1/35 Kit No. 00206
Review by Terry Ashley

Trumpeter

The Vehicle: (The SA-2 and ZIL-157 Truck)
The SA-2 missile which became operational in 1959 is the most widely used air defence missile in the world. The Western NATO code name is SA-2 “Guideline” (SA meaning surface-to-air) but in the former USSR was called the V-75 Dvina.
The SA-2 has a maximum range of 31 miles, a maximum operating altitude of 82,000 ft, and speed of Mach 3 and usually carries a high explosive warhead of 430 lbs.

The SA-2 is a two stage missile measuring 10.6m long, the booster stage is 0.65m in diameter and the missile itself is 0.5m diameter with a large solid propellant jettisonable tandem booster stage fitted with four large clipped delta stabilising fins. The missile has four clipped delta-shaped wings with a second set of small fixed fins at the nose and a third set of slightly larger moving control fins at the tail.

The guidance system consists of automatic radio command signals transmitted to the missile from the ground “Fan Song” radar unit which detects and tracks the target.

The SA-2 and later variants were used by the former USSR and at least 29 other countries and has seen extensive use in combat with an estimated 13,000 being fired. This was the missile shipped to Cuba in 1961 that brought on the Cuban missile crisis.

The missile and its trailer were usually hauled by a ZIL-157 cross-country truck but it should be noted that the missile was not fired from the trailer, only transported to a fixed firing platform site.

The SA-2 gained most notoriety from its use in Vietnam and in the Yom Kippur War of 1973 and of course the 1960 shooting down of the Powers U2.

The Kit:
The kit contains 158 parts in olive plastic (light grey for the missile parts), a short piece of copper wire, a decal sheet and small instruction sheet.

The missile is the same as with kits 00204 and 00205 so I will just describe the firing platform.

The base consists of a large central section with two separate side legs which are movable and can be folder if required. There are many smaller detail parts to be added to make a simple but well detailed assembly.

The two large side control panels have an outer shell with separate inner wall and again there are many smaller detail parts to be added. Some of the doors on the control panels are separate parts, this is more for detail definition as there is nothing inside to show if left open.
The central control box is located between the two side control panels and again has simple but well defined details.

The large launch ramp is in four main parts with additional details added and this is trapped between the two side control panels which in turn are attached to the missile base with the whole assembly being able to rotate freely.

Finally there is the large flame deflector and its base which is added to the rear of the main assembly, held in place by short lengths of copper wire included with the kit.

The instructions are very straightforward and easy to follow with painting guides indicating Desert Yellow for an Egyptian launcher or Russian Green for North Vietnamese or Russian launcher while the missile is in light grey.

Trumpeter Instruction sheet pages.
Click on image to view larger images.
This will open in a new window, don't close that window until you have finished viewing the instruction sheets.
Use the Back | Next buttons to move between the sheet pages.
Note:The missile assembly pages are from the #00204 kit as they are the same for this kit.

Decals provide plenty of stencilling for the missile with the instructions showing the placement of these.

Trumpeter

Conclusion:
A very simple yet well detailed little kit which will look good on its own or used in conjunction with either of the full truck and missile kits for an impressive diorama.

The Sprues:

TrumpeterTrumpeterTrumpeterTrumpeter
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Goto the SA-2 'Guideline' Missile on transport trailer review:

References:
On the WWW
http://www.fas.org (Detailed information and image gallery)
Flying Frog's Scale Models Club (French site with superb walkaround on the SA-2 and fixed firing platform)
HQ-2 Surface-to-Air Missile (Chinese Defence Today site)
Centro Modellistico Torinese



Page created 30 August 2003

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