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

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

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

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

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

Summary:
Pros:

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

Cons:

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