They look really good. Might have to get one for myself.The kits I ordered arrived today, so I dry fitted them.
Both kits are all 3D printed plastic, no cardboard tubes.
No motor tubes, the engine is held in place by circular flanges up front in the airframe and in back built into the motor retainer.
Motor retention is a screw on 3D piece printed with the nozzles of each kits' booster engines.
Display/flight modes:
Vulcan Centaur: a booster ring holds the six boosters and snaps onto the main body for display. A fin ring replaces it for flight mode.
Falcon 9: Articulated legs in the extended position for display. Folded up with a fin ring locked between the motor retainer and cap for flight. Grid fins can be in the locked (flight) or extended position as well.
Recommended motor: it only says to use a C class motor for each kit.
There is a scripture passage printed on the last page of each instruction book.
(Not complaining, just an observation).
Thoughts:
The articulated legs and grid fins on the Falcon 9 look cool, but I would be worried about losing parts under thrust or on landing. I will probably permanently glue those in place.
The recommended shock cord anchor point is a crosspiece in the bottom of one of the tubes. Looks thin and flimsy. I may use another method.
The slots on the Vulcan fin ring are too narrow for the fin tabs to fit into all the way. Will have to sand those wider.
A little concerned about fin flutter. Those fins are plastic but mighty thin. And the fin rings look pretty delicate as well.
The airframes are thin as well. Can they hold up to the pressure and temperature of repeated ejection charges? We shall see.
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Emailed him; he was quick to respond, really cool about it. He's gonna send me a new centaur module and repair the tip. It's apparently ABS.
What was wrong with the original parts?Update: he hit me up with the fixed parts! They feel pretty good!
Shoulder too short on the Centaur model--nose wouldn't stay on at all.What was wrong with the original parts?
CrownUK, that was me........... I just wanted to alert you that later this evening (here in the States) I will be posting a video of the maiden flights of those Max Q rocket kits. I appreciate the kind words and if you thought the build was nice, you're gonna love the flight footage! Oooops, slight spoiler there........I also watched an excellent video a fellow Rocketeer has put on YouTube. Lots of detail and has pointed out a few small modifications that are well worth doing to make the kit even better.
CrownUK, that was me........... I just wanted to alert you that later this evening (here in the States) I will be posting a video of the maiden flights of those Max Q rocket kits. I appreciate the kind words and if you thought the build was nice, you're gonna love the flight footage! Oooops, slight spoiler there........
That's great to hear! I received the clear Vulcan ones last week and am quite impressed! I should be getting the Falcon 9 fins tomorrow. I hope to get out this weekend to test them all out. You are absolutely correct, Max Q is continually striving to perfect their kits. Glad to hear they beefed up your shock cord mount as well! Can't wait to see what's next in their choice of new rockets!I caught your video a few days ago before seeing your post here, but your video was enough to convince me to order the Falcon 9. I also ordered the clear fins from Estes, but to my surprise the fins that arrived with the Falcon are now clear, and the cross brace for the shock cord mount seems much more substantial than in yours, so it seems Max Q is evolving.
Here's my latest Launch Days video, which includes the maiden flight of the new NASA SLS. In my "humble" opinion, this might be my best flying rocket in the 24mm x 70mm category. The rocket was perfectly balanced right out of the gate and had a straight vertical ascent. It easily held a 30" chute in it. Keep in mind, I fly off hard desert/rock terrain so my rockets take quite a licking on touchdown, so I can assume most folks have better landings than I have. His new fins are labeled indicating which rocket they go to which is a nice touch.
If you watch my build video on the Falcon 9, you can see that the payload by a slip on fit. Its pretty tight, so it probably wouldn't be an issue, but I elected to run a nylon bolt through it anchoring it on just as a safety measure. A screw on payload bay on the Falcon 9 is an interesting idea. The only negative about that would be that the threads decrease the inside diameter of the bay which may or may not limit the payloads, but that is hardly an issue.
Kevin
Thank you sir!Love these videos, keep up the good work!
Your Doorknob has lead an interesting life
Did it cost you to have the power company rescue it from the power line(s) ?
Thanks for the videos @Ronz Rocketz !
-- kjh
Great video of your Falcon 9
launch !!
Yes you’re right just need to be similar thickness to Estes ones .
I think the whole idea was to keep everything as thin as possible to keep the weight down, but where you need strength you need strength, don’t want to have to keep gluing them.
They have excellent customer service, and when I do place my order for the SLS they are going to send me a couple of clear fins for Falcon 9 s as I have the original black ones with mine .
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