Brief:
HPR Der Red Max, 2.458X upscale. Begad! Ahoy! 48" parachute recovery.

Construction:
All materials are PML. Blimey! I used 4" Quantum tubing, shiver me timbers, cut and slotted for me by PML. Begad! T' body tube be cut t' 20.8 inches, while t' fin slots were 4.6 inches long, 3/8" from t' end o' t' tube. T' fins and centerin' rings were made from 3/16" ply. Avast, me proud beauty! T' fins were fiberglassed for extra strength. Blimey! The rocket has a 29mm phenolic motor tube that be cut t' 12". Aye aye! A PML motor retainer was also used. Ya scallywag! T' nosecone is a PML PNC 3.9. Well, blow me down! Begad! Recovery is via 12' of tubular nylon with a 48" PML parachute.

This be a fairly easy rocket t' build. It makes a good scratch project for a newbie. Begad! (like me!) Construction proceeded usin' standard HPR techniques. Aye aye! I built a special shish-ka-bob rack for construction and painting. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! This rack allowed me t' work t' fin fillets without havin' t' fuss about t' position of the rocket. I could rotate t' rocket anyway I needed t' have it. Avast, me proud beauty! Internal and external fin fillets were both 30 min. Well, blow me down! epoxy. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! After about 10 days o' sanding and fillin' o' t' fins and fillets, it be finally ready for primer. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! I laid on 3 coats o' Rustoleum sandable auto primer, sandin' in betwixt each coat. Avast! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Next, I laid on 3 coats o' Krylon Banner Red Gloss. After dryin' for 24 hrs. I masked off and painted t' black stripe around t' top on t' body tube with Krylon Gloss Black. Begad!

After allowin' sufficient time for t' paint t' dry, I applied t' decals. Aye aye! I had Tom Prestia o' Tango Papa decals make t' 2.458X upscale decals for me in self-adhesive vinyl. Avast, me proud beauty! Tom's decals are excellent! Applyin' them was easy. Ahoy! After all t' decals were on, arrr, I applied 2 coats o' Rustoleum Crystal Clear Gloss. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' clear does nay react with this type o' decal at all, me hearties, and gives t' model a nice glossy coat. Arrr!

Flight:
Well, shiver me timbers, I planned t' fly this model on G-40 and G-80 motors. Aye aye! I smartly found out that "Big Red" be just too heavy for that. Aye aye! I believe that this "heavy weight" condition is due t' t' heavier PML airframe and the fact t' DRM has HUGE fins. Begad! I also used 3/16" ply for t' fins, shiver me timbers, so that did nay help either. Ahoy! I have nay flown this rocket yet due t' motors being unavailable. Aye aye! I plan t' fly it on a H-128 with 4 sec delay.

Summary:
Pros:

• T' Der Red Max is awesome, me bucko, shiver me timbers, no doubt about it!
• While upscalin' one o' these beauties is nay a terribly original idea, arrr, shiver me timbers, me hearties, not everyone has one either!

Cons:

• Cost! I spent about $195.00 total buildin' this model. Well, me bucko, blow me down! This includes paint, me bucko, supplies, arrr, decals, shiver me timbers, arrr, etc. If you just want t' fly, me hearties, ya bilge rat, buy a kit - it's much cheaper. Well, blow me down!
• Weight. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! If you build one based on me construction, shiver me timbers, consider usin' G-10 or 1/8 ply for t' fins.