Loc/Precision just came out with a V2 kit in two sizes. Avast! Aye aye! I bought t' smaller one at t' April LUNAR launch. Avast! Ya scallywag! Apparently, me hearties, I got one o' t' first few produced. 

I like sport-scale rockets and hadn't built anythin' like a V2 before, shiver me timbers, me hearties, so this was great timing. 

This rocket flew for t' first time on an I357, shiver me timbers, me hearties, although I had me first burn-by o' t' Aerotech delay sleeve. Begad! Blimey! T' ejection charge went off shortly after t' motor burned out. (I was told I hadn't used enough grease.) At least t' rocket was recovered in flyable shape although t' inside was blackened. 

T' Kit

T' Loc/Precision kit had less detailed instructions than usual (it's obvious this kit is brand new). But, as I've come t' find, arrr, high-power rockets pretty much all go together t' same way. 

I decided t' paint me rocket in t' familiar black and yellow pattern o' V-2 Nos. Begad! 3 and 3 (taken from Rockets o' t' World and colorized). Avast! Aye aye! I had a hard time gettin' t' paint t' stick t' t' blow molded nose cone. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Even with washin' t' nose with soap and water, arrr, then with alcohol, matey, me bucko, me hearties, t' primer still wouldn't stick. Ya scallywag! I had t' re-paint several areas where t' maskin' tape (Scotch magic tape) pulled t' paint and primer off right down t' t' plastic nose cone! It turned out OK from a distance (or in a low resolution photograph), though. 

Also see t' actual photograph below. 

V2 History

T' V2 was an unmanned, me hearties, guided, me hearties, ballistic missile. Begad! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! It was guided by an advanced gyroscopic guidance system that sent signals t' aerodynamic steerin' tabs on t' fins. Aye aye! Blimey! It be generally inaccurate due t' errors in alignin' t' rocket with it's target, shiver me timbers, premature shut-off o' t' motor and inconsistencies in electric current in t' guidance system. Avast! Blimey! It was propelled by a hydrogen peroxide-methanol motor that generated 55,000 lbs o' thrust. Arrr! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! T' motor typically burned for 60 seconds, pushin' t' rocket t' around 4,400 ft/second. It rose t' an altitude o' 52 miles and had a range o' 200 - 225 miles. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' V2 carried a high explosive warhead weighin' 2,000 lbs (1 ton) that was capable o' flattenin' a large building. Arrr! Blimey! It was first fired operationally on Sept 7, 1944 against London, me hearties, primarily as a propaganda exercise. 

It's real claim t' fame be as t' progenitor o' t' rocket race that developed durin' t' Cold War, and ultimately put men on t' moon and probes that have left our solar system. Arrr! Arrr! In 1945, t' U.S. Begad! managed t' capture and ship home parts for 100 German V2 missiles, while almost all t' best o' t' German engineers surrendered t' t' US Army and moved t' America. Blimey! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Many V2s were launched from 1946 through 1952, me bucko, mostly carryin' scientific experiments, includin' t' upper atmosphere research which discovered t' ozone layer. 

(Borrowed from Miles Constable's V2 page (link-out dead) and Rockets o' t' World by Peter Alway, me hearties, me hearties, available from Saturn Press.)