EXPjawa
Well-Known Member
I recently finished this modified Mean Machine project:
It is, not surprisingly, difficult to fit into a camera frame. I tried to imagine what you'd get if you cross-bred a Mean Machine with a Der Red Max, and this is what I came up with. Both rockets use BT60 tube and the same nose cone. To make the MM more Max-like, I went with three fins rather than four (I modeled it in Rocksim first to verify it wasn't a problem). I thought about actually using Red Max fins, but I didn't like how it looked. The other fin modification was the adoption of TTW tabs which, combined with thick expoy fillets, should help prevent shedding fins. Further playing on "Max" - as in maximum - I replaced the upper 18" section of tube with two 14" sections, the net change was 9" added length. I split it between those two upper sections and the rest so that recovery is two-piece, then nose with a 12" chute and the body with an 18" Der Red Max chute. Oh, and along the same lines, I replaced the 24mm mount with a 11" long 29mm mount, and added an Estes threaded motor retainer. And lastly, I painted like a Red Max, and combined decal sets from the two to give the final product you see here. It'll be some time in spring, unfortunately, before I get to fly it...
It is, not surprisingly, difficult to fit into a camera frame. I tried to imagine what you'd get if you cross-bred a Mean Machine with a Der Red Max, and this is what I came up with. Both rockets use BT60 tube and the same nose cone. To make the MM more Max-like, I went with three fins rather than four (I modeled it in Rocksim first to verify it wasn't a problem). I thought about actually using Red Max fins, but I didn't like how it looked. The other fin modification was the adoption of TTW tabs which, combined with thick expoy fillets, should help prevent shedding fins. Further playing on "Max" - as in maximum - I replaced the upper 18" section of tube with two 14" sections, the net change was 9" added length. I split it between those two upper sections and the rest so that recovery is two-piece, then nose with a 12" chute and the body with an 18" Der Red Max chute. Oh, and along the same lines, I replaced the 24mm mount with a 11" long 29mm mount, and added an Estes threaded motor retainer. And lastly, I painted like a Red Max, and combined decal sets from the two to give the final product you see here. It'll be some time in spring, unfortunately, before I get to fly it...