OK as someone who lives right behind the tread
I can offer a little advice.
First is PRACTICE..... lol
I have a small toon ALL the time, and while this makes NO difference in whether or not you get hit with flying gears, it helps keep the trajectory lower for getting the pies in the box.
You really need to change your view as stated above, again it is done by hitting the tab button three times from the default view. This gives you a really nice long distance view of the VP and his head. This is
needed to not get hit by the cog gears he throws.
The best place to stun is from behind him, behind the left side tread. You want to stay close to the tread and offset from the box, so it wont hit you when it opens. Now angle yourself so that the pies are hitting the box and keep throwing at it. I use the mouse click on the pie icon on top method. I let the bar get all the way full and then retract, and I let go when the bar goes to the far left. This is where the practice comes in also
{The reason you want to stun from behind is that you will never get hit with the spewing gears that he throws ONLY out the front.
Now the trick to not getting hit from him directly is to get up right next to the tread (as close as you can without touching him), then hit the back arrow ONCE QUICKLY to move a step backwards. Now throw the pies and watch the VP's head. You will see that he turns and looks at you for about 3/4 second before he throws at you. Stop throwing and hit the forward arrow once to step closer to him and the gears that he throws will go OVER your head EVERY time
{You will be angled toward the box and move in that direction, and that is fine, it still works)
The next step is to practice....
and practice and practice...... When you first start trying this, only do it from the back otherwise you will continue to get pounded by the flying gears and end up frustrated, I should know
After you get the hang of it you can then go to the front and do it. But there should ALWAYS be at least one toon (pref. 2) in the back stunning as it doubles your chances of stunning him.
Good luck, and if I end up in a VP with you I can show you first hand....