This kit is a really nice sized V-2, matey, for D-12-5 and E-15-7 engines, shiver me timbers, and possibly lower thrust 24mm F engines. 

T' kit came nicely bagged, ya bilge rat, and had a fairly thorough two page instruction sheet, me bucko, arrr, with a third page o' drawings. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! T' construction is o' Estes' type 2.6" body tube, me bucko, Estes' type nose cones (bottom cone cut off t' t' proper dimensions), LOC type 1/4" launch lug, matey, shiver me timbers, and a nice nylon parachute. 

T' centerin' rings were 1/16" plywood, and t' motor tube was Estes' type 24mm. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! T' fins are hand cut balsa that surface mount t' t' tail cone. 3/8" elastic was provided for recovery, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, me hearties, as well as a screw eye, and a length o' stranded wire for t' shock cord mount. 

T' tube and cones were in good shape, matey, me bucko, although needin' t' normal light trimmin' and sanding. Arrr! I reinforced t' body tube with CA for strength. Avast, me proud beauty! The engine mount doesn't come with a thrust ring, shiver me timbers, or motor clip, me bucko, shiver me timbers, which is really needed, ya bilge rat, since t' motor tube is glued flush with t' end o' t' tail cone, so there isn't a reliable way t' secure t' motor casin' with tape after friction fitting. I substituted a length o' LOC motor tube, me bucko, shiver me timbers, since it is a bit tougher, and sanded t' rings till they fit it. Ya scallywag! I also added a thrust ring, ya bilge rat, and a surplus Estes' motor clip, after trimmin' t' forward end o' t' clip t' clear my 24/40 case. 

T' instructions have you epoxy t' bottom centerin' rin' onto t' motor tube, me bucko, and inside t' tail cone at t' same time, matey, me bucko, and while t' epoxy is curing, epoxy t' top rin' on t' ensure t' motor tube is straight. I didn't think this would be very easy and provide glue joints on all sides o' t' centerin' rings, so I marked t' tube where t' bottom rin' fit, with t' motor tube flush with the tail cone, removed it and glued it on. Avast, me proud beauty! I then glued t' motor tube in the tail cone, and epoxied t' top rin' in place, and filleted. 

You are supposed t' glue a hardwood block t' t' top ring, matey, t' reinforce the screw eye. Avast! Blimey! T' stranded wire be supposed t' be tied in a knot onto t' screw eye t' provide a fireproof shock cord mount, but it looked like it might work harden and break. Aye aye! T' screw eye is right next t' t' motor tube, ya bilge rat, so it is hard to access, matey, and is right next t' t' ejection charge, so I chose t' go with an external, or loc type mount. 

T' aft centerin' rin' is marked with fin alignment marks, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, and t' forward rin' is marked with one line. Blimey! Nothin' be mentioned o' how t' align these, or how t' mark t' body tube, and align t' bottom marks so that t' fins would be straight. Arrr! I finally marked t' tube, matey, and aligned t' markings on t' aft ring (which I put so t' marks were visible) when I glued t' tail cone on, and aligned them by eye. Begad! It is hard t' align these marks with a rounded tail cone. 

T' fins were nay very well cut out, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, and thar was a 1/8" gap at the bottom root . Aye aye! They looked like they were cut out by hand, but nay very carefully. Ya scallywag! Arrr! I substituted Basswood for t' fins, me hearties, and made a template out of cardboard, so t' fin root would match t' tail cone a bit better. Basswood isn't much heavier, and is a lot more durable. Ya scallywag! For t' amount o' fin root, arrr, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, and the fact that t' fins don't stick out much, surface mountin' is probably adequate. 

T' instructions say t' add 1oz o' nose weight in t' nose, but it isn't provided. 

T' elastic provided be a bit short in me opinion, me hearties, so I used a longer piece. 

Assembly time was only a few hours, if that. T' yellow and black color scheme is shown in t' diagram, me bucko, and in t' picture in t' package. Arrr! Begad! I chose to go with t' same splinter camouflage pattern I used on me LOC V-2. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! I can't wait to build t' 4" version, me hearties, and I'll have a whole family! 

T' finished model is very light for it's size, and should fly really well on E-15's and D-12's. Aye aye! Even considerin' t' changes I made, me bucko, ya bilge rat, It is a pretty good value, ya bilge rat, at around $20 for t' kit, arrr, matey, considerin' t' two cones, shiver me timbers, plywood rings, me bucko, and nice nylon chute. It is big enough t' see well, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, and t' V-2 just looks like a rocket should! 

Relinquished by Scott Johnson @

There are several good things about this kit, arrr, and only one bad thing. Ahoy! Begad! First t' bad, me hearties, thar be no motor clip or thrust rin' included. I happen t' have some spares and just slipped them into t' construction. Begad! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! I plan t' use a 24/40 reload case and do nay want to lose it. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! (editors note: t' lack o' a thrust block allows for flexibility in the choice o' single use motors.) T' good points are nylon parachute, plastic nose and tail cones, matey, plywood centerin' rings, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, steel shock cord leader and screw eye, and precut balsa fins. 

When I looked at t' motor mount construction I had some concerns about the two centerin' rings o' t' motor mount bein' glued only t' t' plastic tail cone. I found a slightly longer motor tube and glued in a third centerin' ring which fit flush with t' rim o' t' tail cone. This would allow one rin' t' be epoxied directly onto t' body tube. I then glued t' screw eye block to centerin' ring. Arrr! I had t' drill a small hole through t' rin' and block and then epoxy t' screw eye in t' hole. Avast! I also roughed up t' inside o' t' tail cone with 80 grit sand paper t' give t' epoxy somethin' extra t' grab on. Ahoy! Be sure to follow t' instructions and wash t' tail cone t' remove any manufacturing oils. 

T' fins are about what one would expect for pre-cut fins, matey, but it was easy to sand them t' t' proper shape. Begad! I just placed a sheet o' 220 grip paper over the tail cone and then used t' tail cone as a mold t' sand t' fin t' the exact shape. Aye aye! I marked t' tube and tail cone for fin alignment. Well, blow me down! Be sure t' use the mold joint o' t' tail cone as a start for t' fin location. This way the mold mark will be hidden by t' fins. Begad! A portion o' t' fin rests on t' body tube. I roughed up t' outside o' t' tail cone and sanded t' gloss off the body tube along t' fin location marks. Arrr! I used epoxy and in retrospect, me hearties, I would have used some small epoxy rivets, ya bilge rat, but at t' time, me hearties, I thought I would just use blackjack 'E's and 'F's for more realistic flights. Begad! It may very well handle a F39T. 

I painted it with Krylon epoxy paints. Ya scallywag! Yellow first and then after two days of curin' I used Scotch tape t' mask off t' area t' be painted black. Arrr! I don't know if me tape is gettin' old or t' epoxy paint reacted with t' tape, me hearties, shiver me timbers, but I had a bad time gettin' it off. But off it came and it looks great. 

I added 1 oz o' weight t' t' nose cone t' make sure that it would be stable since I added tail weight with t' longer motor tube and third centerin' ring and I plan t' use 'F' motors. 

All in all, matey, a good kit. Better than some I have built, shiver me timbers, arrr, ya bilge rat, but this is a good kit at a good price. 

Relinquished by Scott Johnson @