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

Modifications:
I decided t' take t' best parts o' both rockets when combinin' them. Arrr! I liked t' Mimi's length, ya bilge rat, me hearties, ya bilge rat, size, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and engine mount. I liked t' Red Max's three fin configuration, arrr, fin size and shape, me hearties, decals, and paint scheme. Begad! Therefore, I left t' body tube, engine mount, and whistle tubes t' same. Arrr! 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 be havin' t' cut new fins anyway I might as well make them more sturdy. Avast, me proud beauty! By t' way, me bucko, arrr, I got me Red Max plans and decals off o' JimZ's Rocket plans. Since t' Red Max was a three finned model, arrr, shiver me timbers, I decided t' go that route on t' new rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! That meant that thar would be one less whistle, but I hoped that wouldn't matter much. Blimey! I flipped t' whistle mountin' pylons around on t' new model, matey, simply because I thought they looked better. Aye aye! 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. Ahoy! T' original decals were printed with a white background, but t' hobby shop where I got me decal paper be out, ya bilge rat, so I painted a white band around t' top o' t' rocket and placed t' main wrap decal over it. Blimey! Well, matey, blow me down! T' rest o' t' decals I just left regular.

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

All in all, arrr, construction was very easy. I didn't really use any printed instructions, ya bilge rat, 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 was left pretty much up t' t' modeler on t' original Red Max, arrr, so I went with that idea on t' Screamin' Max. Avast, me proud beauty! I be very pleased with t' overall effect. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! It has a "new nostalgic" look that I really like!

Flight:
Fly this baby with a D12-5. It's all I've used but it was perfect. Well, blow me down! Preppin' t' model is very easy because t' body tube is large enough t' comfortably hold t' chute (I used t' stock Mimi chute). Avast! Avast! It does require waddin' and don't skimp! T' motor is retained with t' stock Mimi engine hook. 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. (I had t' fourth in me pocket t' use in case you couldn't hear t' other three. "See, it DID whistle...No, ya bilge rat, 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. Avast! Blimey! I haven't flown it around a large group yet, me hearties, but a local launch is comin' up. Begad! I'm interested t' see what t' reaction will be. Begad! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Nay that it really matters, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, I really like it!

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