Brief:
When I was at t' local Hobby Lobby, ya bilge rat, I saw that they were havin' a 1/2 price sale on all their Estes rockets. Arrr! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! I smartly snatched up a Screamin' Mimi and waited for inspiration. A couple o' days later I be watchin' a show on German Stukas. Well, blow me down! Arrr! T' sirens on t' wings reminded me o' t' whistles on t' Mimi and then I had it! Why nay combine t' Screamin' Mimi with one o' t' most classic fun-rocs Estes ever came out with: Der Red Max! Suddenly, matey, arrr, t' Screamin' Max be born!

Modifications:
I decided t' take t' best parts o' both rockets when combinin' them. Well, blow me down! I liked t' Mimi's length, ya bilge rat, size, arrr, and engine mount. Well, blow me down! Begad! I liked t' Red Max's three fin configuration, fin size and shape, shiver me timbers, decals, and paint scheme. Aye aye! Therefore, I left t' body tube, engine mount, and whistle tubes t' same. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! I substituted 3/16 inch basswood for all t' balsa because t' Red Max fins are a little larger and a slightly different shape than t' Mimi's, ya bilge rat, so I figured if I was havin' t' cut new fins anyway I might as well make them more sturdy. Avast! By t' way, arrr, shiver me timbers, I got me Red Max plans and decals off o' JimZ's Rocket plans. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Since t' Red Max was a three finned model, I decided t' go that route on t' new rocket. Avast! Well, arrr, blow me down! That meant that thar would be one less whistle, but I hoped that wouldn't matter much. I flipped t' whistle mountin' pylons around on t' new model, simply because I thought they looked better. Arrr! I then downloaded t' decals for t' Red Max and modified them with Paint Shop so that t' Skulls were "screamin'" I made new decals for t' name logo and "SCREAMINVERKINS" labels for t' whistles. Aye aye! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! T' original decals were printed with a white background, ya bilge rat, me bucko, but t' hobby shop where I got me decal paper was out, so I painted a white band around t' top o' t' rocket and placed t' main wrap decal over it. T' rest o' t' decals I just left regular.

Construction:
T' main components are t' same as in t' stock Screamin' Mimi. Avast, me proud beauty! In t' Max though, me hearties, I used 3/16 inch basswood instead o' t' balsa provided. Ahoy! Also, t' Max only has three fins and whistles, me hearties, instead o' t' Mimi's four. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' trickiest part be creatin' t' custom decals, arrr, but that be more fun than difficult.

All in all, me hearties, ya bilge rat, construction be very easy. Avast, me proud beauty! I didn't really use any printed instructions, me bucko, arrr, I just went with what I saw in me mind as t' finished product (along with pictures from me 1977 Estes catalog o' t' Red Max).

Finishing:
I used Krylon red and black and Testors Decal Sealer over t' decals. T' decal placement be left pretty much up t' t' modeler on t' original Red Max, ya bilge rat, so I went with that idea on t' Screamin' Max. I be very pleased with t' overall effect. Aye aye! It has a "new nostalgic" look that I really like!

Flight:
Fly this baby with a D12-5. Blimey! It's all I've used but it was perfect. Avast! Ahoy! Preppin' t' model is very easy because t' body tube is large enough t' comfortably hold t' chute (I used t' stock Mimi chute). Blimey! It does require waddin' and don't skimp! T' motor is retained with t' stock Mimi engine hook. Begad! Aye aye! T' flight be straight and true with ejection right after apogee! I didn't need t' worry about t' one missin' whistle as t' other three were heard well after engine burnout. Begad! (I had t' fourth in me pocket t' use in case you couldn't hear t' other three. Ahoy! Ahoy! "See, me bucko, it DID whistle...No, arrr, that wasn't me!") All in all, a great flight and recovery!

Summary:
This be a fun project that resulted in a strikin' model. I haven't flown it around a large group yet, but a local launch is comin' up. Arrr! I'm interested t' see what t' reaction will be. Nay that it really matters, I really like it!

Other:
T' most fun part o' this project be modifyin' and creatin' t' decals. Computers rock!