Brief:
HPR Der Red Max, ya bilge rat, 2.458X upscale. Well, blow me down! Begad! 48" parachute recovery.

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

This be a fairly easy rocket t' build. Avast, me proud beauty! It makes a good scratch project for a newbie. Well, blow me down! (like me!) Construction proceeded usin' standard HPR techniques. Aye aye! I built a special shish-ka-bob rack for construction and painting. Aye aye! 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! Blimey! Internal and external fin fillets were both 30 min. Avast, me proud beauty! epoxy. Avast, me proud beauty! After about 10 days o' sanding and fillin' o' t' fins and fillets, me hearties, it was finally ready for primer. Aye aye! I laid on 3 coats o' Rustoleum sandable auto primer, arrr, shiver me timbers, sandin' in betwixt each coat. Next, I laid on 3 coats o' Krylon Banner Red Gloss. After dryin' for 24 hrs. Avast, me proud beauty! I masked off and painted t' black stripe around t' top on t' body tube with Krylon Gloss Black. Blimey!

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

Flight:
Well, I planned t' fly this model on G-40 and G-80 motors. I smartly found out that "Big Red" was just too heavy for that. Arrr! Avast! I believe that this "heavy weight" condition is due t' t' heavier PML airframe and the fact t' DRM has HUGE fins. Aye aye! I also used 3/16" ply for t' fins, me bucko, so that did nay help either. Avast! Ahoy! 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, arrr, arrr, not everyone has one either!

Cons:

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