Scale Model V2
 

Has anyone built a scale model of a V2 rocket? I have been looking into building one and was hoping to see some end results of other peoples. Any suggestions on which route to take?

Depends upon how "scale" you need to be. There are a number of close to scale models that are kitted. If you can find the Etses Canadian Arrow you have all the requisite parts plus an extra length of BT. ASP has a decent semi scale model for 18mm and 24mm. There are also a few close to scale in the larger motor range. It is up to you and the level of detail you wish to achieve.

If by scale model, you mean a plastic non-flying model, check out the 1/48 scale plastic model from Pegasus Hobbies EZ Snapz line. It is around $10 at LHS or under $8.00 from Hobbylinc.com. It is designed for beginners, but it is a nice model.

If you mean a flying rocket, check out the X-kit of the Estes rocket from Semroc. You'll get all the parts but need to download the instructions.

SEMROC's kit is a near exact copy of the Estes K-22 kit that ran from around 1966 to 1977.
http://www.semroc.com/Store/scripts...asp?SKU=XES-K22

www.rocket.aero has a link to spacemonkey rocketry that offers a plastic V-2 that can be modified for flight. I saw a build thread somewhere. Anyway, the model uses blow-moulded and injection molded parts.

Chas

I love V-2s.

The Bumper WAC V-2 is Centuri size (1/40) based on a Series 16 tube. Semroc has the nose, tail, tube and laser-cut fins. I actually have parts for 4 (!) more laying around. Its the perfect size for 18 mm motors, usually C6-3.

The German prototype paint job is the Estes BT-80 size (1/24). I cut down the fins to scale size and added actuator fairings on the fins. It is the best flying, most rock-solid rocket I have ever built. Dead straight on boost, tough enough to handle a desert landing. All flights are on a D12-5. This one flew last year at NSL 2010. I just bought Excelsior Hoochie Mama scale decals for this round. If I could build and fly only one more rocket kit for the rest of my life, this would be the one.

The big Yellow monster is the Estes Maxi V-2 (1/19) in White Sands scheme. I bought this one used and damaged. I took the whole thing (including the fins) completely apart and rebuilt it using a replacement body tube from Semroc and sheet plastic for fin cores. I set it up for 24mm reloads. I have the Excelsior Hoochie decals for this one, too. Got to have a decal day here pretty soon . . . .

"Hoochie" decals? Please continue with your explanation. :rolleyes: ;)

I have one of the old Estes Maxi V2s that I found cheap, dusty and forgotten in a local hobby shop that had phased out rockets some time before. (The V2 was the only rocket in the store. The owner was thrilled to be unloading it.) I had no real interest in it at the time, but I couldn't just leave it there, and since the price was friendly, I bought it. Not long after I picked up a copy of Peter Alway's Scale Bash, a book that I'd highly recommend. Scale Bash had a Blossom V2 featured as one of the projects and it became the first Scale Bash bird I started. That was 2001/02. :o Still not finished, but I'm in the mood to revisit it now, so we'll see what I find.

"Hoochie"?

An American slang term, ca. 1930, for female "parts" or a woman of fallen virtue found in blues recordings of the era.

The Germans were fond of painting logos or "nose art" on the test rounds. Often these took the form of partially-clothed women. The paint scheme I have was the third round known as A4-V3 which was a partial success. It featured a witch riding a rocket. A4-V4, the next round, featured a nude woman, in stockings, sitting on the moon (Die Frau im Mond). This was the first successful flight of an A4. This is the paint job on the V-2 at the Smithsonian but the curators removed the panel with the girl on it so visitors could see the rocket engine inside.

Coincidence?

The yellow V-2 was the third V-2 assembled in the US after the war and the first successful test flight. It featured a more modestly clad young lady wearing a bikini. This is the round featured in the May 1946 Life magazine spread. I am unaware of any other American launched V-2s having a logo of any kind.

Sandman (Excelsior Rocketry) makes decals for these rounds in 1/49, 1/40, 1/25 and 1/19 scale corresponding to BT-55, Series 16/BT-60, BT-80 and BT-101 sized rockets.

Anyone considering a V-2 build should take a look at the 1/24 scale model available from Spacemonkey Models:

www.spacemonkeymodels.com/

This is marketed as a static scale kit, but the molds were developed for the US FAI Scale Altitude team. As such, the model can (and has been) modified for flight. Kevin Johnson is currently doing a PM mod of the kit over on TRF:

http://rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?t=22364

Here's a great shot of the model converted to the Bumper WAC config boosting out of the tower (photo by George Gassaway):

http://www.rocketrylive.com/WSMC-20...e/IMG_10078.JPG

Please buy several, so I can move on to Kit #2!

James