Estes V2 (Frau Im Mond Version) The Build

[SteveA]

The Build
I was really happy to see Estes re-release this kit, I had one of the Maxi-versions years back and is with most things, the passage of time and several household moves took its toll. When mine arrived, I was somewhat disappointed to find the body tube egged on both ends, but no worries, I was able to bring it back to shape with a little bending and forming. Estes' version is modeled after a captured V2 and I believe is now on display at White Sands. I chose to model mine after one of the initial V2s at Peenemünde that was christened "Frau Im Mond" (Girl In The Moon) after the Fritz Lang silent movie of the same title in which explorers travel to the moon in search of gold. (great movie, it's long, but the model work on the rocket is outstanding and was a Herman Oberth design. Interestingly enough, the Nazis confiscated the models, the plans, and all the film footage and declared them a state secret.)

What You Get
The kit comes with a molded nose cone and boat tail, body tube, balsa fins, motor mount, centering rings, and a jig for fin alignment as well as clay for nose weight. The Frau Im Mond decal mock-up is mine and a big thanks to Sandman for tracking down an image of the original "nose art".




The Prep Work
I began my work by removing the plugs from the boat tail and the ttw fins slots with a razor saw and then cleaned up the cuts using a miniature file and course grit sanding sticks.



I wanted to get a feel for how she was going to look so I dry-fitted the main components and compared it to a 1/96th scale paper model I have of the same vehicle. If you're interested, you can download this model here: http://www.nielspapermodels.com/v2_A4V4P.htm In looking at the two, it seems I may need to enlarge the Frau a tiny bit to get the correct look.



So far it has been a very smooth build. There are a few issues though. To me, the body tube seems very thin and flimsy and in my example, the mold for the nose cone and boat tail must have been a bit off because where the seam line is, there is actually a trench that required the use of a lot of acrylic glazing putty to correct. Aside from these small issues I feel that anyone with moderate experience could build this rocket. More later.



Steve

[SteveA]

I'd read someplace that the roll patterns on the V2s were inspired by the roll pattern on the Friede rocket from Lang's movie, has anyone else heard of this and has it ever been truly verified?

[dlazarus6660]

Can't wait to start mine!

[Massrokit]

The Build
tracking down an image of the original "nose art".

Steve

You actually mean "tail art" A liitle bit of tail for the tail.

[closet astronaut]

Very sweet build, do you happen to know the scale?

I have a nice paper model of this and want to build it but I want it big enough for a C or possibley a D engine. I really like this rocket and have been wanting to build one to add to my collection.

[SteveA]

Hey CA,

Estes has it as a semi-scale and measures 22.4 x 2.6 and will fly on an "E" motor. The paper model is 1/96th.

Best wishes
Steve

[adrian]

The real A4 was about 1.6m diameter (actually 1.65m). Estes BT-60 is about 1.6" diameter. You can therefore get pretty close to around 1/40 scale by finding plans dimensioned in metres and measuring in inches.

A model based on BT-80 is therefore 66/1650 = 1/25 scale.

[closet astronaut]

The real A4 was about 1.6m diameter (actually 1.65m). Estes BT-60 is about 1.6" diameter. You can therefore get pretty close to around 1/40 scale by finding plans dimensioned in metres and measuring in inches.

A model based on BT-80 is therefore 66/1650 = 1/25 scale.

Thats great info, I'll be on the watch for it.

[adrian]

By the way, that picture of the "Frau im Mond" logo comes from the full size replica on display at Peenemünde, which I visited in 2007. It's probably as accurate as you're going to get without finding a time machine and going back about 70 years to photograph the original.

[SteveA]

Yep, that's the one I'm using. Sandman had found it on a German web site and I cleaned it up a bit.

[SteveA]

For the first time in three weeks, it hasn't been 106 degrees in the garage...I mean...the assembly building, until nearly midnight! In fact, it was a very comfortable 77! This gave me a window of opportunity to get stuff ready for the upcoming fair and launch night as well as, getting back to the V2.

I'd mentioned before that the molds seemed to have slipped on my example and required the use acrylic glazing putty to fill the trench and adding shape to the top of the nose cone. After filling the tube seams the first time, I noticed that the second set of seam wraps were slightly recessed as well and also required filling.


The motor mount assembly is very straight forward and I was really happy to see that Estes used a heavier tube for the motor mount as opposed to the flimsy and lighter ones they often have.



The motor mount assembly dry-fitted to test for fit and it was a nice fit.



I applied several coats of sanding sealer to the fins and will go back through and apply a thin coat of wood filler over that to hopefully get the smooth surface I want. It may seem like overkill, but to me it seems like this method cuts down on warp in the fins. I dunno, maybe I just think it does.


This is a nice kit and I intend to purchase another to build as the White Sands example. If you're thinking of getting one...do. It's worth it.

[SteveA]

Finally, after all this time, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. She's fully primed, all the divots and blemishes that kept popping-up and driving me crazy are all filled and sanded. One final sanding of the primer and she's ready for the first color. A word of advice, don't start a project that you really looked forward to and then have a heart attack...Really takes the shine off of it.

[cat5752]

Very nice job! I am so glad Estes released this kit again. When I started in rocketry, the only V-2 kits were 29MM and up. I ended up scratch building a 3" and used G-10 for fins, although I didn't have the foresight at the time to go through the wall (through the reversed nose cone actually). It was a great flyer, and very realistic on 24MM reloads but you could pretty much guarantee a lost fin every time.

Most time consuming PITA paint job I have ever done.

[Chuck]

I flew mine this morning on an aerotech E 20-7. It was its first flight and flew great. For my next flight I'm thinking about CTI's 24mm E75 Vmax. This is a great kit!

[dlazarus6660]

Heart attack huh, how ya doing now?

[SteveA]

Heart attack huh, how ya doing now?

Had it in April actually and took me most of the summer to recover fully. I still have "side effects" that plague me, most notably I get cold easily. Other than that I'm good. Thanks for asking!

[cat5752]

SteveA,
I sincerely apologize. I missed completely that you posted you had suffered a heart attack. I wish you the best for a full recovery.
Andy

[SteveA]

SteveA,
I sincerely apologize. I missed completely that you posted you had suffered a heart attack. I wish you the best for a full recovery.
Andy

No, it's fine. I had it in April. I am recovered. I just now have had a chance to finish what I started. No need to apologize.

[cat5752]

I am very glad to hear that. Did you get it painted yet? I am following this closely as I have an Estes V-2 kit, although mine is the earlier #1904 kit, back when they were still stamping the fins.

[SteveA]

Did you get it painted yet? I am following this closely as I have an Estes V-2 kit, although mine is the earlier #1904 kit, back when they were still stamping the fins.

No, I'm letting the primer gas-out for a few days then I'll shoot the white. Let it gas-out and then the black. Hope to see yours when you build it.

[cat5752]

Paint is something I am dreading, as I was never any good at it. I've got three rockets to paint and I haven't primered any of them.

I got the fins for the V2 sanded today, but I got to over thinking it like I used to when I did this a lot. lol I will do a build thread, but I'm going to try to stay pretty close to the plans except for maybe different fin construction and I will put a baffle in it as I hate wadding.

[SteveA]

Paint is something I am dreading, as I was never any good at it. I've got three rockets to paint and I haven't primered any of them.
.

You know what they say about practice makes perfect. I don't mind painting so much. I usually shoot the primary color with a rattle can, do the masking and shoot secondary colors with an airbrush. More control, less paint pressure and no bleeding under the masks. Actually, I really like painting them and then peeling the masks. It's like opening a Christmas present! Of course, once in awhile you get socks and underwear. I like baffles too, but instead of using the sheet wadding I went to dog barf. A whole bale lasts a lifetime.

[closet astronaut]

The Build












Steve

I just noticed something, looke like some one's working on Greelt's 1/48 Sat-V there in the back ground.

[SteveA]

I just noticed something, looke like some one's working on Greelt's 1/48 Sat-V there in the back ground.

Ton's Sat V, but I do have Greelt's launch pad for it. Went through a lot of paper and toner trying to figure out how it all went together. HA!

[86mustang408w]

It was a little bit of a long tunnel? I'm just kidding, it looks good. I have myslef to put together soon I can't wait to get it finished! Well good jo/build pixs and luck with the launch. Michael B.

[SteveA]

It was a little bit of a long tunnel?

Yeah, I know. I also have a tendency to get a bit carried away and do nothing but eat, sleep, and drink rocketry and then I hit the wall. It takes me awhile to get back to it. Plus, I build plastic scale models as well. The problem is, I can't serve two mistresses. I'm selling off the bulk of styrene collection (500+ unbuilts) and going pretty much all rocketry.

[86mustang408w]

Yeah, I know. I also have a tendency to get a bit carried away and do nothing but eat, sleep, and drink rocketry and then I hit the wall. It takes me awhile to get back to it. Plus, I build plastic scale models as well. The problem is, I can't serve two mistresses. I'm selling off the bulk of styrene collection (500+ unbuilts) and going pretty much all rocketry.

Styrene? Anyways I added a 15 L body tube instead of the supplied one to my V2. It looks a little different. Ill have to post some pictures up when I get it finished. Good job and luck on your launch. Michael B.

[SteveA]

Styrene?

Scale models. I have a little over 500 kits I'm dumping. Yeah, I look forward to seeing yours! And thanks!

[bradycros]

You know what they say about practice makes perfect. I don't mind painting so much. I usually shoot the primary color with a rattle can, do the masking and shoot secondary colors with an airbrush. More control, less paint pressure and no bleeding under the masks. Actually, I really like painting them and then peeling the masks. It's like opening a Christmas present! Of course, once in awhile you get socks and underwear. I like baffles too, but instead of using the sheet wadding I went to dog barf. A whole bale lasts a lifetime.

I'd like to try my hand at some air brushing. How about some begginers tips like pressures, distances and some easy to use paint names/types?

[SteveA]

I'd like to try my hand at some air brushing. How about some begginers tips like pressures, distances and some easy to use paint names/types?

I plan to build my Rocksim cluster design pretty soon and will more than likely do it with an airbrush. As far as down and dirty information, the average pressures used is between 15-25psi. Shoot from between four and six inches from your subject. As far as paint goes, I prefer enamel. You can even use Krylon decanted into a color cup. In that case you wouldn't even need to thin it.... Otherwise I use Testors' hobby enamels. But I could do a build log with an airbrush tutorial or a standalone airbrush tutorial if anyone were interested.