Estes Red Max Build, Part 1, Parts

Sometimes it's a nice break to build a 3FNC rocket.
The Red Max fits the bill with great tacky decals.

Parts were good overall, except for the parachute. I was expecting the special print "Skull and Cross Bones" parachute but an all white 18" chute was in the bag. I found some skull and bones chutes on Ebay and ordered two of them.
The launch lugs seem small. I thought about doing on larger one, like Semroc did on the Goblin. The Goblin had two small lugs in the original version. I'll probably go with the two in line.
The 1/4" wide shock cord is only 18" long, too short for this or any rocket. I'll find some 1/4" black elastic.

I'll be building two of these, the other will be a bit different.

Der Red Max, "Vely Eenteresting!"

Looking at the new instructions for the Red Max, something is missing - your German skull guide.

In the late 1960s, Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In was a hit on TV. Arte Johnson played a continuing part as a German soldier.
Hogan's Heroes finished it's TV run in 1971. There was plenty of broken English and bad German accents.
The Estes Red Max was introduced in shortly after in 1972. The Arte Johnson influence was found in the instructions.

Throughout the instructions you were guided by a wisecracking German skull that would compliment you on completion of each step. That German skull was based on the Arte Johnson character.
In each step he dodged bullets, but eventually got picked off. His eyes follow the action -

Step 8 was a head shot, cracking his Colonel Klink monocle.

The Red Max might have been politically incorrect. Well, it still is.
Over the years the instructions have mellowed quite a bit.
To see the original instructions, CLINK HERE, DAS IS GOOT, YAH?

MPC Red Giant Build, Finished

Even though the box says "Ready To Fly In One Hour" I doubt it. It would take most people 20 minutes to assemble the parachute alone.
I also doubt the claim of 230 feet altitude with a C engine. It should go higher, we'll see. A C6-5 is the only recommended engine.
With the weight near 3.5 oz. it should be okay as a schoolyard rocket with a B6-2. It's nice to have a few you don't have to worry about after a hard landing.

Semroc Saturn 1B Available!

ERockets has announced the return of the Semroc 
SATURN 1B Kit!

There is 30 1B kits in stock - CLICK HERE
This is the large, 1/70 scale model based on the old Estes kit -  CLICK HERE
To see the Semroc instructions - CLICK HERE
It has the Apollo capsule with the tower you assemble from dowels.
For the capsule and tower instructions - CLICK HERE
For the original Estes catalog page - CLICK HERE

I built one of the originals in the early 1970s but never launched it. I remember not being very happy with the way it turned out, I didn't have the patience I have now. Will I be doing a blog build of this Saturn 1B? Maybe - If I can pick one up cheap!

Quest Magnum Auction Finish

The EBAY Auction of the
Quest MAGNUM Sport Loader
finishes up tonight -
Friday, July 15 around 10:00 p.m., E.S.T.

Stop by and make a bid - CLICK HERE

Thanks for supporting the blog!

MPC Red Giant Build, Part 5, Parachute

That 18" diameter parachute is way to big for this rocket. The older I get the less I like to chase down drifting rockets.
I'll cut it down to 12". Set a ruler down, find your center and cut six smaller sides.

The tape disks are transparent and a little harder to visually place.
These instructions were old school, simply laying a shroud line and pressing a sticky dot over it. I prefer tying the shroud lines to the chute.
After these were set down holes were made using the rotary punch.

When cut down, you end up with a BIG MPC logo!
I didn't like the looks of the big logo and will install a 12" Odd'l parachute instead.

I rarely use a tri-fold shock cord mount. I was concerned about the "X" brace at the top of the adapter, the obvious place to tie on some Kevlar. The Kevlar might break through the thin plastic. Heck, the heat of the ejection charge could melt the "cross hair" brace in the adapter.

A tri-fold mount was cut out of 110 lb. cardstock and glued into the plastic tube using the Beacon Fabri-Tac glue. I don't think white glue would adhere the the plastic tube.

MPC Red Giant Build, Part 4, Fins and Adapter

The stick-on fin decor is best done off the model where it's easier to line them up.

The inset picture shows vertical pencil lines to help line up the RG-1 sticker. The pencil line on the right lines up the root edge of the fin, The line to the left lines up the left side of the sticker.

The fins are slipped into the fin can slots dry - no glue yet.

A drop of thin CA is set on the back and runs inside the root edge.
(That drop of CA in the picture is pretty big, use a smaller amount of glue. The drop grew too large as I was trying to get the picture.)

The wider end of the black adapter was loose in the lower tube.
The narrower top was too tight in the upper tube. The edges were rounded off and the fit was then about right for gluing.