Brief:
Upsized motor mount t' hold Estes E-9. Blimey! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Substituted fin design, paint scheme and Tango Papa decals for Der Red Max. Begad! Blimey! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Blimey! Omitted super sonic whistles and related fins, although I seriously considered includin' them t' make a "Der Screamin' Red Max." Length o' t' rocket is 26 inches, ya bilge rat, rather than 25.5 inches for t' Screamin' Mimi. Also, replaced shock cord with a Keelhaul®©™®/elastic combination. Begad! Blimey! Installed screw eye with JB-Weld into t' hole in t' nose cone base. Ahoy! Blimey! Used basswood for fins. Modified an old Estes E-motor engine hook t' fit the newer E-9's. Avast! Blimey! Basically, arrr, t' only thin' I used from t' kit was t' main body tube, nose cone, me bucko, centerin' rings, me bucko, engine hook retainer, matey, and engine block, but I got it at a 1/2 price sale at Hobby Lobby for $5.50.

Modifications:
T' motor mount was installed with yellow glue, then JB-Weld was coated around the outside o' t' upper and lower centerin' rings t' harden them and then filleted - this may be overkill, but I believe I can send it up with an F-21 without any problems. Ahoy! Aye aye! A screw eye was inserted into t' center o' a piece of cellophane tape, me hearties, then a glob o' JB-Weld was inserted into t' hole in t' base of t' nose cone, me bucko, then t' screw eye was inserted into that with t' cellophane tape holdin' it in place and keepin' t' JB-weld from seepin' out, shiver me timbers, and then inserted t' nose cone into t' body tube t' allow t' JB-Weld t' seep down to the base o' t' nose cone - makes a much stronger shock cord attachment point than t' standard plastic hook on t' base o' t' cone. T' cellophane tape is easily removed after t' JB-Weld dries. Well, blow me down! Also, I installed 1/8-ounce o' clay into t' nose cone before installin' t' screw eye, ya bilge rat, arrr, just in case I decide to fly that F-motor. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! As usual, Estes' standard shock cord is too short and must be frequently replaced. T' avoid t' issue, matey, I installed t' Keelhaul®©™® cord into t' shock cord mount so that it extended outside t' body tube, ya bilge rat, then formed a loop that placed t' center at t' top edge o' t' body tube. Ya scallywag! Arrr! Blimey! I attached t' elastic shock cord t' that and then t' t' nose cone. Well, blow me down! Also, I soak in a little CA into t' top lip o' t' body tube for improved strength there. T' loop with t' CA seems t' minimize t' potential for "zippering" when that motor delay isn't just right. I've used this method on rockets that I've launched many, arrr, matey, ya bilge rat, many times without a problem. I installed t' fins using yellow glue, then created JB-Weld fillets. Avast! Use a plastic bag over your finger to smooth out t' JB-Weld t' make some really nice fillets. Avast! Blimey! Here again, ya bilge rat, the JB-Weld fillets are probably overkill, matey, but I feel better about them when that F-motor kicks in. Aye aye! I had t' hammer out t' end o' t' old Estes E-engine hook and then reform it t' fit t' new Estes E-engine - pretty easy with a vice and hammer, shiver me timbers, just go slowly so you don't break it.

Construction:
1-BT-60 18-inch body tube, shiver me timbers, 3-3/32-inch basswood Red Max fins, me hearties, 1-RA5060 centerin' rin' card, 1-engine hook retainer (30160), 1-RA2050 engine block, 1-6-inch BT-50 tube for motor mount, 1-E-engine hook, matey, me hearties, 1-1mm X 8-inch Keelhaul®©™® cord, me bucko, 1-1/4-inch X 42-inch elastic shock cord, 1-standard Estes shock cord mount, arrr, 1-PNC 60 (71043)1-SE-2 screw eye, matey, me bucko, shiver me timbers, 1-1/8-inch X 1 1/4-inch launch lug

Except for t' shock cord, ya bilge rat, Estes kits are always nice and t' instructions very easy t' follow - even t' ones for t' old Der Big Red Max. T' packaging is cool, me bucko, and all t' parts were thar and all in great shape. Well, blow me down! T' decals for the Screamin' Mimi are o' t' peel and stick plastic variety. I don't particularly like them, me bucko, ya bilge rat, but I grew up with water-slide decals. O' course, I used Tango Papa's water-slide decals for me rocket. Well, blow me down! This was me first time to use his decals. They are extremely thin and took some time gettin' used to, me bucko, but they lay down nicely and look very nice - almost as if they're painted on. Begad! I was glad he put some extras on t' sheet, because I tore a couple before gettin' used t' t' thinner decals. Since I didn't really build t' Screamin' Mimi, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, I can't really comment on any other aspects o' t' kit.

Flight:
I haven't flown it yet, but I used t' same construction design and techniques on a Big Bertha and it flies great.

Other:
Tango Papa decals are nice!