Upgrading the Estes V2

A while back there was a wave of activity on the NAR Facebook group about painting V2's. I posted a picture of an Estes V2 that I had modified for a contest a few years ago. Well, flash forward to today and I stumbled across a data packet that I made for that model. Therefore, I thought I would share the contents of the packet with my STB readers!

By the way, I would be remiss to not tell you that I got ALL of my data from Peter Alway's "Rockets of the World" and the wonderful site V2ROCKET.COM.

Here are some pics!

The cover page!

A list of the modifications done to make the Estes kit closer to true scale. I didn't mention nose weight, but it's in there!

Here is the data from V2ROCKET.COM

The Alway drawing...

The color scheme from the web site.

...complete with modeling info!

The final product!

There you have it! I hope these resources help you on your next V2 build! Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

A Hidden Surprise

A while back I bought a few model airplane magazines from the 1950's through the 1970's in an auction. Ok, I bought more than a "few." I bought around 300+ or so...maybe a lot more...I'm not sure... Even though I bought them about two years ago, I haven't gone through them all because....dang, there are over 300 of those suckers!

Anyway, occasionally I'll flip through a few and today I got an interesting surprise. Here is the magazine:

April, 1969

 When I flipped through the pages, I found this!:

Yep, right in the middle of the magazine, there was Model Rocketeer magazine! Now, I've been a NAR member since the mid-seventies, and I never knew that there was a time when the Model Rocketeer wasn't a stand alone magazine. So, this raises some questions;

1. Was the Model Rocketeer only available in American Aircraft Modeler at this point?
2. When did it start?
3. When did it become a stand-alone publication?
4. Do I have more of them?
5. Am I too lazy to check?
6. I could really use a drink of water...I should stop typing and get one.
7. Ah...better.

Anyway, there you have it. If anyone has the answers, feel free to comment!

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

My Coolest Rocket

Last week I featured a book on Apollo 7. This week I figured that I would share one of the models that we built for the 40th Anniversary Celebration. We each got to keep one Saturn IB that our team built, and we got them signed! The complete story can be found in Launch magazine from a few years ago, so I'll just share pictures of the model. Here you go!

The mighty Saturn IB stands on my piano. Note the photobombing Moonliner....

Walt Cunningham signed her right in front of me! 

...as did Carl McLawhorn! For those who may not know, Carl owned Semroc (who provided the kits). His passing a few years ago was a real tragedy for the rocket community...

Mark Mayfield owned and ran "Launch Magazine." He had a huge role in planning the celebration!

The day was incredible. I was there with almost every one of my Apollo heroes, including Neil Armstrong and Buzz Adrin (Buzz managed to charm my wife Laurie with about three words...Yep, he's still got it!) And to top it all off, I have this huge memento of the occasion. It doesn't get much better than that!

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

They Wrote the Book on Apollo 7...

...and here it is! As many of you probably know, Apollo 7 resides in Dallas, Tx at the Frontiers of Flight Museum. I was part of a 40th anniversary celebration for that flight a few years back, and I have many very cool items from it (some that I've shared) but this book was just purchased at the gift shop. Here it is:

This book contains almost everything there is to know about Apollo 7!

The book also contains this CD with tons of extras!

...oh, and did I mention Walt signed it? ...'cause he did...right there. 

All in all it's a very cool item that literally anyone who strolled into the museum gift shop could have picked up. I'm pretty sure they're long gone now, but you could call and make sure. I would, but I already have mine. Sorry 'bout that.

So until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

este tlhlngan may'Duj! (The Estes Klingon Battle Cruiser!)

A couple of days ago, James Helman (of NAR Facebook group fame) mentioned that he would like to build an old Estes Klingon Battle Cruiser. This simple statement resulted in a thread that covered where to get one, how well they fly, how hard the build is, etc....

In the thread, I posted this:

Which is my bird soaring into the blue Texas sky! I thought today I'd share a few more...

A top- down view. The lines on this model make it very distinctive!

What you don't want to see in your rear view mirror if you happen to be named "Kirk!"

The power plant bay... I love the angles of the wings and engine pods!

The belly of the beast!

 I also remembered that I happen to have a bagged original release example! Here you go!

The front. Interestingly, the pictures of  Kirk and Spock are the same as on the Star Trek Starter Rocket.

Unbuilt bits and pieces. This is a fun build, but it can be fairly challenging. 

So there you have it! If you haven't built one of these, I highly recommend it! You can find boxed examples of the anniversary edition on eBay for around 30 bucks. I say go for it!

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

The Maxi-Pegasus Revisited

This week I thought I would share one of my earliest upscales that happens to still be one of my favorites....Here are some pictures:

This is the Maxi-Pegasus! It was blown up from the Estes Mini-Brute. Instead of 13mm motors, this one takes 24mm. I still love the size of this rocket, and the overall look of it.

If you want to read about the build, you can check out these links:

http://www.dars.org/newsletters/dsv18n1.pdf

http://www.dars.org/newsletters/dsv18n2.pdf

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

The Return of Violent Cartoon Ducks With Nukes!

Last week I featured the story about how I almost got my "Duck and Cover" rocket signed six years ago. This week, the saga continues! Let's start with this picture, shall we?

 Now, if you saw the blog last week, you may notice something new on the rocket...Here is a closer view:

Yep, that mark at the bottom is actually Stephan Pastis' signature! Oh, and he added a new character as well:

Yep, in addition to Guard Duck, Rat now resides on my rocket!

Laurie and I went to the book signing last Thursday at the Dallas Morning News. Stephan was very entertaining and gave a short talk on his experiences drawing the strip. Then he went into "signing mode!"

We were not at the front of the line. Actually, we were about two thirds of the way back, and there were a LOT of people there. Still, we waited; Laurie with the book and me with the rocket.

When it finally got to be our turn, Stephan laughed as I walked up and said, "Hey, I think I've seen that rocket before!" I explained how six years ago he had "almost" signed it, and he said, "You've waited six years? Man, you are patient!" He gladly signed it and added the picture of Rat as a bonus. Then he signed the book for Laurie. He said, "I was talking about this rocket at a signing a couple of days ago when somebody asked me about the weirdest things I had signed, but I forgot where it was!"

Well, Stephan, now you know...and you can add to the story now!

Here are some pictures Laurie took of the event...

He recognizes the rocket!

Finishing up the job!

Now he knows where the weird rocket guy lives!

The deal is done!

...except for signing Laurie's book, of course...

...which he DID sign!

Well, there you have it, a rocket signing six years in the making! As always, it was great seeing and talking with him. If you haven't checked out "Pearls Before Swine" in the paper or online, I would recommend it!

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!