Revisiting the Estes Maxi Brute V-2...

[James Duffy]

ONe looks at what he does with the details on that tail section and despairs of ever doing anything that fine...

Thank you, but it is actually very easy to do! You can see the technique for the access panels back in post #48.

There are no difficult techniques at play here, just a whole bunch of simple things taking place in a logical sequence.

James

 

[Blast it Tom!]

Thank you, but it is actually very easy to do! You can the technique for the access panels back in post #48.

There are no difficult techniques at play here, just a whole bunch of simple things taking place in a logical sequence.

James

I shall repair thither on the instant, and ed-joo-ma-cate my poor pea brain!

 

[James Duffy]

Basic construction of booster #3 is essentially complete less than two weeks after starting work. With all of the problems solved on previous builds things are clipping along pretty quickly. It sure is nice to have all of the templates, patterns, and such at hand and ready to be used.

The WAC sustainer currently atop the booster is one from a previous build used to verify fit after slotting the V-2 nose. An 18mm glass tube for a new sustainer has already been laid up and construction of that sustainer will begin this week. The panel lines on the nose also need to be laid out and scribed.

More later,
James

 

[James Duffy]

Construction of the third Bumper WAC continues, with the last few days devoted to scribing and detailing the nose of the booster. This was largely done as described earlier in this thread, but with a couple of tweaks. First, the patterns for the wood antenna insulator panels were tweaked with curved horizontal shapes, allowing them to fit against the curve of the nose cone without distorting. The revised template is attached below.

Next the demarcation between the upper nose section and the slotted petals of the WAC adapter was scribed. I never really cared for the raised half-round detail installed on the earlier model (described in post #161 of this thread). First, the line was defined using the jig shown in post #148. A razor saw was then slowly and carefully dragged along that line, then refined using a panel line scriber and sanding sticks. Here's the final result, which is far superior to the previous iteration.



More later,
James

 

[James Duffy]

Here's another thing we're doing slightly different on build #3. Back in post #207 the tape lines surrounding a number of access hatches were masked and airbrushed. After that was complete I decided that the lines were just a bit too wide, and made a note to make them narrower on any future build. That was made simple by purchasing a roll of Tamiya masking tape in a 2mm width (!!!) to define the tape lines.


The process was the same as last year, but the 2mm tape results in narrower tape details.

The servo access doors in the fin roots were also painted, as were the upper edges of each shroud cover.

The next steps will be to paint the simulated openings on the shrouds and install the turbine exhaust and pneumatic connector details (same as post #225). Finally, the dry transfers will be installed and the whole thing will get sprayed with Tamiya semi-gloss lacquer. The plan is to fly this at the World Championships in Romania this October. The judges at FAI events have traditionally frowned on any sort of weathering, so this particular model will remain clean.

Model #3 should wrap up later this week.

James

 

[James Duffy]

I still need to add parachutes and the turbine exhausts, but here's the completed model. By one measure, construction took only about 160 hours over 44 days. That quick build time was largely due to the fact that this was the third Bumper I've done in this scale, and could leverage various parts, molds, jigs, decal artwork, and other hoohah that previous builds left behind in their wake. By another measure this project has taken almost two decades, as it is at least the fifteenth Bumper WAC that I've done since 2002, in several scales.



Thanks to Chris Flanigan, Matt Steele, Steve Kristal, Mike Nowak, and the Guzek/Muzek brothers (the "Guzii") for suggesting at NARAM that I pursue this little project. Will I do another one? Perhaps...

James

 

[TheAviator]

Thanks to Chris Flanigan, Matt Steele, Steve Kristal, Mike Nowak, and the Guzek/Muzek brothers (the "Guzii") for suggesting at NARAM that I pursue this little project. Will I do another one? Perhaps...

James

Can't wait to see it fly. See you in a couple of weeks!

 

[James Duffy]

I've had a request to document the roll pattern used on these models a bit more clearly. This pattern was pinned down by Peter Alway, who notes that it is used on pretty much every White Sands V-2 round with a black/white pattern. The first view starts on the quadrant with the hatches, and each subsequent view rotates the fin can 45º to the left. I am told that there is some sort of binary number magic taking place with these markings, but my tiny brain cannot comprehend nor explain the witchcraft at play.




This pattern can also be used for the various White Sands "gate guard" paint schemes, for instance. FYI, Peter's monograph "The V-2 Modeler's Painting Guide" is pretty much indispensable. You can get a copy from Andy Jackson at ASP Rocketry, as well as Jack Hagerty at ARA Press:

https://www.asp-rocketry.com/ecommerce/The-V-2-Modeler-s-Painting-Guide.cfm?item_id=1383&parent=22
https://www.arapress.com/the-v-2-modelers-painting-guide/
James

 

[James Duffy]

Why do the V-2 boosters used on Bumper WAC round B8 and B7 feature so many tape features on the aft surfaces? Common wisdom among the modeling community has been that this was due to the much higher humidity found at the Cape Canaveral launch site used for these launches. While packing my model earlier today to take to the 2023 FAI World Championships for Space Models, I chanced across a solid reference that confirmed this as fact.

The following text is from a 1951 Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) document, “Development of the Corporal: The Embryo of the Army Missile Program.” In a section of the report detailing the Bumper WAC program, the writer describes the challenges humidity and water intrusion presented to the launch team during the Florida campaign.

“The first attempt to launch BUMPER Round 7 was unsuccessful because of moisture collected within the missile. It was returned to the hangar, dried, rechecked, and successfully fired on 29 July, 1950.”

We can safely assume that a major element of the moisture management protocols developed for the Florida Bumper WAC launches included the application of tape on critical hatches and panel seams, especially on the fin can section of the vehicle below the liquid oxygen tank. To this day, crews preparing launch vehicles for flight at Cape Canaveral must consider the effect that humidity, rain, condensation, and water intrusion will have on their work.

 

[James Duffy]

Bumper WAC #3 has flown! Successfully, even!

The most recent example of Bumper, which was nothing more than a few scraps of balsa, some fiberglass sheet, and paint still sleeping in jars just three months ago, has flown at the World Spacemodeling Championships in Romania. The model ended up in the middle of the pack (as expected), but flew extremely well in the 49º/10C temps and 20kt winds. Here's a slow-mo video of the liftoff captured by Matt Steele.



There's a bit of damage to a couple of the fins due to the rocket being dragged across the field after landing, but that's easy to fix. Also, the sustainer took off in the wind and probably landed somewhere in Bulgaria. No problem, I can make another.

My focus now will shift to the 2023 World Championships, which will be held here in the USA. You all got that memo, right?

James

 

[James Duffy]

Here's a little bonus that some of you may enjoy. There's a new FAI scale rule that will go into effect next year that will require each entrant to supply a "cyclogram," essentially a documented mission plan or profile. The idea here is for the modeler to provide the judges with a graphical briefing of the flight plan before flight. I decided to get ahead of the curve and provide it a full year before the rule goes into effect.

Attached below is a .pdf of the printed document that was supplied to the judges before flight. The judges seemed to appreciate it, and it was probably good for a couple of additional flight points.

James

 

[TheAviator]

Wonderful photo of James's flight by Theodor Tudose, the official photographer for the event.

 

[James Duffy]

Necrothread alert!

Just for grins I whipped up a little video showing how the vacuform fins for these projects have been constructed. C'mon, dig that old kit out and get to work!



I recommend that you watch at full screen, in order to get the full crunchy goodness of high-def.

Enjoy,
James

 

[Art Upton]

Yes that is what I saw you present at vNARCON this weekend. When I saw you do that I said "I've seen that before?" then I saw this thread I read a few years ago. Thanks for bringing it back James !

 

[Arsenal78]

I wish Estes would bring back the Maxi V2. The hobby could really use a nice lightweight midpower V2.

 

[Scott_650]

I wish Estes would bring back the Maxi V2. The hobby could really use a nice lightweight midpower V2.

There is the ASP 24mm and the Space Monkey versions - the ASP is smaller but a nice size, the Space Monkey with the conversion kit is a bit pricey but it is the most accurate one you can buy

 

[Art Upton]

I have the Space Monkey version with the V2 DVD , awesome DVD

 

[Cape Byron]

You can do a flying conversion on the Spacemonkey kit with stuff out of your parts bin, but... the Apogee conversion is, I think, good value. The Spacemonkey V2 is a brilliant piece of work. One on the desk, two in the build pile. Added bonus, @James Duffy 's build videos are superb. I built my first without instructions ('cause I put them in a safe place... ) with no major dramas at all just by watching and following the videos. I really can't say enough nice things about that kit.

I really, really like that kit.

A lot.

Can you tell?

 

[James Duffy]

More necrothread activity...

My daughter has expressed a desire to try out for a spot on the S7 Team for next year's World Championships to be held here in Texas, so we're been pulling some parts together for her to build her own V-2. One improvement that we're incorporating into the build is a more sharply defined panel line between the WAC adapter and the nose cone body. In previous builds this has been done with a raised detail or an engraved detail. Neither approach satisfied me.

It occurred to me that it might be possible to chuck up the nose cone on a lathe and use a parting tool to engrave the line, so we embarked some some experimentation. The lathe has been sitting unused in a hay barn for over a decade, so the first task was to replace the drive belt. A three-jaw expandable chuck was used to mount the aft end of the cone, and a live center was used on the forward end. The tip of the cone was sawed off so that the point of the live center could be inserted.



Here's a closeup of the engraved panel line. The cone was surprisingly non-circular, so the depth of the engraved line varied a little bit. With the line accurately defined it was easy to refine the shallow areas with a scribing tool, though.


After a bit of sanding the line should be ideal.

James

 

[Joekeyo]

More necrothread activity...

My daughter has expressed a desire to try out for a spot on the S7 Team for next year's World Championships to be held here in Texas, so we're been pulling some parts together for her to build her own V-2. One improvement that we're incorporating into the build is a more sharply defined panel line between the WAC adapter and the nose cone body. In previous builds this has been done with a raised detail or an engraved detail. Neither approach satisfied me.

It occurred to me that it might be possible to chuck up the nose cone on a lathe and use a parting tool to engrave the line, so we embarked some some experimentation. The lathe has been sitting unused in a hay barn for over a decade, so the first task was to replace the drive belt. A three-jaw expandable chuck was used to mount the aft end of the cone, and a live center was used on the forward end. The tip of the cone was sawed off so that the point of the live center could be inserted.

View attachment 524303

Here's a closeup of the engraved panel line. The cone was surprisingly non-circular, so the depth of the engraved line varied a little bit. With the line accurately defined it was easy to refine the shallow areas with a scribing tool, though.
View attachment 524304

After a bit of sanding the line should be ideal.

James

Now that you have breathed new life into that old lathe, it will be interesting to see where else you use it in pursuit of new ways to make scale rockets.

 

[Blast it Tom!]

Now that you have breathed new life into that old lathe, it will be interesting to see where else you use it in pursuit of new ways to make scale rockets.

After all, one good turn deserves another! Nice job.

 

[Terry Kosel]

Holy hell, James, this is amazing! I recently snagged a Maxi V2 reissue and wanted to do a bumper WAC version. Not sure if I'll drill down to the rivet level (!), but there's a lot here that's within my reach. Beautiful work, and thanks for sharing!

 

[OldGuy1967]

James thank you for this great build thread. I just picked up a Maxi-brute V2 and began looking for build's and came across this one that address's all the questions. Just a big shout out.

 

[cat5752]

A couple of weeks ago I pulled the early 2000s reissue of the Estes Maxi Brute V-2 kit off of the shelf, having stashed it years ago in anticipation of building a Bumper WAC with an operable second stage. In starting assembly I elected to radically change the recommended procedure for fashioning the vacuform fin components, and thought readers here might be interested.

To begin, here's a shot of a completed fin can.

View attachment 317901

I was so impressed with the way this assembly turned out that I promptly hit eBay to buy another Maxi Brute V-2 kit so that I could document the process. Hedging my bet, I bid on two separate kits, one an original '70s release, the other a second 2001 re-release. Naturally, I ended up winning both auctions, so there are three of these beasties in the workshop now. One intriguing difference is that the blow molded parts for the 2001 kit are quite a bit heavier than the original version.

70s nose cone: 88g
70s tail cone: 88g
2001 nose cone: 128g
2001 tail cone: 102g

Other than the mass difference and the fact that the newer kit will accept longer 24mm motors, they are pretty much the same.

One other observation: the 1/19 scale listed on both boxes and in every Estes catalog is wrong, as the kit is closer to 1/16.5 to 1/16.7. I'm measuring everything as I go along, and will choose a precise scale as things go together. (Yes, I am one of those 'scale obsessive' types.) Intriguingly, the directions included with the original issue of the kit make reference to the kit being 1/16 scale. In discussing this with Matt Steele he suggested that this may be due to poor communication between various departments at Estes. The folks who designed the kits were not the same people who produced the assembly instructions and packaging, apparently.

More later,
James

I know this is an old thread. Your attention to detail and thoroughness is incredible! Very well done. In this picture, is that an ejection baffle on top of the fin can?

 

[James Duffy]

I know this is an old thread. Your attention to detail and thoroughness is incredible! Very well done. In this picture, is that an ejection baffle on top of the fin can?

Thank you for the kind words! No, that is not an ejection baffle, just a web of cutouts in the centering ring to reduce mass.