Intro:

T' Aerospace Specialty Products (ASP) V-2 is a scale model rocket kit o' t' German Vengeance Weapon 2 (V-2) that was developed before and durin' World War 2. Ahoy! Ahoy! It is approximately 1/40 scale, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, uses 24mm motors, arrr, (or 18mm motors with an adapter) and stands just over 14" tall. Arrr! This kit requires a 3/16" launch rod as well.

Construction Rating: 5

T' V-2 kit arrived in t' familiar clear plastic bag. Avast! It was shipped from ASP in an express mail (great service) box that shielded t' components from any shippin' damage. All o' t' parts were in t' kit and none were broken. Ahoy! Included in t' kit is a pre-weighted balsa nose cone, shiver me timbers, arrr, pre-drilled balsa tail cone, a sheet o' basswood for t' fins, two basswood strips for detail pieces, elastic shock cord, ya bilge rat, a heavy duty Mylar parachute kit, arrr, shiver me timbers, and t' usual assortment o' cardboard tubes for t' body, shiver me timbers, motor mount, matey, and various adaptor rings.

T' instructions are printed on four sheets o' 8.5x11 paper, and thar be another sheet o' instructions that comes with t' parachute kit as well. Begad! Aye aye! T' instructions are presented in a logical order that be easy t' follow and made sense. Begad! Arrr! There are 20 steps t' build t' rocket, arrr, ya bilge rat, arrr, and 15 illustrations t' help you along t' way. Ahoy! There is a sheet o' templates used in t' buildin' o' this kit. Ahoy! T' templates are included for t' fins and servo pods, me bucko, and thar are markin' guides for t' fins and tail cone.

This is nay an easy kit t' build. Begad! T' instructions rate t' kit as beginner/intermediate, I would rate it as intermediate/advanced. I did nay find it difficult, shiver me timbers, but time consumin' in t' build process. Avast, me proud beauty! This kit required patience t' complete as many o' t' steps are time-consuming. Begad! Aye aye! I shouldn't have t' say this, but, me hearties, read t' instructions thoroughly. Aye aye! You will be glad that you did. If you follow t' instructions thar should be no Gotchas or surprises along t' way. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! Take care in markin' t' tail cone as this be t' critical alignment for t' fins that will be attached later. T' fit o' t' parts is up t' t' builder. Arrr! Blimey! Most o' t' wooden pieces are cut, arrr, carved, sanded, matey, or otherwise shaped by t' builder. So it is up t' t' builder t' ensure that they fit properly.

This is nay your pre-fab- shake-the-bag rocket kit. This is a kit for a craftsman t' build t' get good results. Avast! All that takes is time, arrr, arrr, do nay rush t' assembly o' this kit. Aye aye! A good suggestion in t' instructions be t' use o' a palm sander for t' shapin' o' t' fins. Avast! This is a real time-saver as t' fins are hard basswood and do nay shape as easily as balsa.

T' only complaint I have be t' relative weakness o' t' balsa nose and tail cones relative t' t' basswood fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! I found myself fillin' and refillin' various dents that randomly adorned those pieces. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! They are very soft. Avast, me proud beauty! A harder balsa, or even basswood for t' nose cone (it needs t' weight anyway) would be a nice change t' this kit.

No special tools are needed for t' construction o' t' V-2, however as previously mentioned, an electric palm sander really helps in shapin' t' basswood parts. Arrr! Blimey! I personally would nay want t' attempt this kit without one.

T' model is finished with your standard rocket techniques. Aye aye! T' instructions include steps t' guide you through those steps if you are unfamiliar with them. Avast, me proud beauty! I used thinned "Elmers Wood Filler Putty" in many places on t' model. There will be gaps around t' servo pods that sandin' sealer will nay fill. Blimey! I also used t' putty t' create fillets for t' fins. Aye aye! I followed pictures o' t' real V-2 t' get t' proper lookin' joint. Blimey! While I was at it I also added a rather large fillet around t' launch lug with t' putty as well. Ya scallywag! This helps t' lug blend into t' body better.

In t' instructions thar are two different paintin' diagrams. T' simpler one is a version used by t' Germans in testin' o' t' rocket. Arrr! T' more complex one is a version that was test fired at White Sands. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! There are almost as many paint patterns for this rocket as thar are pictures o' it. Blimey! T' Germans had many various versions for their test firings, arrr, and at least four completely different camouflage schemes before they settled on a basic olive drab durin' t' last weeks o' t' war. Ahoy! I chose t' second "ragged camouflage" scheme as illustrated in t' book "V- Missiles o' t' Third Reich T' V-1 and V-2" By Dieter Holsken, me hearties, a book worth gettin' if you are interested in t' V-2, as it is full o' good photographs, me bucko, and diagrams.

It stands t' reason since thar are many paint configurations o' t' V-2, shiver me timbers, that thar are no decals included in this kit.

Take your time buildin' this rocket and t' result is one beautiful V-2. Well, blow me down! I'm almost too scared t' fly it.

Flight Rating: 4

T' recovery system in this rocket is your standard elastic shock cord that is attached t' a screw eye in t' nose cone, and t' t' outside top o' t' engine mount. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I have me concerns here since I have seen many a shock cord burned through by t' ejection gasses. Ya scallywag! I would be more comfortable seein' a Keelhaul®©™ tether attached t' t' engine mount. Begad! Arrr! Blimey! T' Parachute is a 15" mylar heavy duty ASP kit. Ahoy! Blimey! T' heavy duty kit has shroud lines that go over t' top o' t' canopy for added strength. Ahoy! t' parachute comes with a heavy duty swivel snap for ease o' removal o' t' parachute.

Preparation follows t' standard procedure, but includes insertin' t' waddin' into t' engine tube. This is a necessity as thar be nay much room in t' body for t' parachute, shiver me timbers, matey, or anythin' else. Take extra care t' ensure that t' shock cord is well protected from t' ejection gasses.

Motor retention is by friction fit. ASP recommends t' D12-5, E15-7, me bucko, and E30-7 motors. Blimey! Begad! Blimey! They also suggest t' use o' t' B4-2, B6-2, matey, C5-3, and C6-5 motors with t' appropriate adapter installed.

T' first flight used t' C6-5 motor with t' 24mm t' 18mm adapter. There be a slight wind and t' pad be set slightly into t' wind. Blimey! Well, blow me down! T' V-2 weather-cocked and launched on a ballistic path, arrr, much like t' real rocket, shiver me timbers, fortunately ejection was still high enough in t' air for a good recovery, unfortunately t' parachute tangled and t' model hit t' ground rather hard. Blimey! Begad! Damage consisted o' t' loss o' t' first 1/2" o' t' nose cone, and t' rest o' t' rocket was in good shape. Begad! T' assembly o' t' parachute has t' shroud lines goin' over t' top o' t' canopy o' t' parachute, these are held in place by squares o' tape at four points on their path. I concluded that these shroud lines must be taped t' entire length o' t' run t' eliminate t' possibility o' future tangles, me hearties, t' last thin' I want t' see is this rocket headin' t' t' ground without a parachute, me hearties, matey, again. Avast! A trip t' t' local hobby shop provided me with a roll o' gold mylar pinstripe tape that did t' trick. Aye aye! Once t' parachute was fixed then I added some more putty t' t' nose cone t' eliminate t' truncated shape and make it look BC, arrr, or Before Crash.

T' second flight used t' modified parachute and a D12-5 motor. Launch was spectacular, fast, arrr, straight, matey, arrr, ya bilge rat, and nearly out o' sight. Well, blow me down! At apogee, me bucko, or very close, arrr, matey, t' parachute was deployed and this time it worked (yea!). T' parachute gives this model a pretty good rate o' descent, and it floated clear over t' junior high school and landed on t' football field on t' other side. Begad! Blimey! T' only damage from this flight was a small scorched section o' one fin, matey, me bucko, next time I will put t' rocket higher off o' t' blast deflector. Aye aye! I also noted that t' shock cord is a little singed. Begad! Blimey! It will be a matter o' time before this part fails.

Overall Rating: 4

Everythin' considered, ya bilge rat, this is a very nice kit o' a historic rocket that most everyone will recognize. Well, blow me down! Take your time and this is a kit t' proudly display, and fly. Replace t' elastic shock cord with a nice long Keelhaul®©™one and this will be a great kit. As it stands, arrr, shiver me timbers, take care in launch preparation, especially if you are usin' those D or greater motors, shiver me timbers, and inspect t' shock cord often and you should be fine.