During 1980-81, Estes was producing the Patrol Cruiser Excalibur. This was a BT60 kit that used the same nose cone as the Der Red Max.
Then, in 2015, Estes released the Der Red Max as a 4" Pro Series kit! I saw an opportunity to build an upscale Patrol Cruiser using the nose cone from the Der Red Max :)
Instead of doing a kit-bash, I figured I'd had a go at making a mold, so I could produce a few nose cones - and also be able to build the 'Max, too!
Here's the original nose cone and a duplicate made from the mold
The first step of making the mold is to make a surround in order to slit the mold in half.
Under the mold, I've added some supports to help support the nose cone
Here's the nose cone with the first side of fiberglass done
Here the mold has been removed leaving the nose cone in place
And the 2nd half. Why different colours? Helps me see where I have and haven't got resin.
At this point, the mold is done and just needs to fully cure.
With the mold fully cured, holes were drilled around the flange area and bolted together.
With the bolts in place, the excess materials were cut off with a dremel.
See the mould used in part 2 of the 4" Upscale Patrol Cruiser Excalibur Build.