Brief:
After havin' thrown out most o' me RTF flyin' micro bricks, I started lookin' for interestin' Micromaxx rockets that are fun t' build, matey, attractive designs, and reliable fliers. I couldn't resist t' Micro Classics assortment pack, ya bilge rat, which includes 3 different downscales o' Estes classic designs, me bucko, all for t' bargain price o' $12.

T' assortment pack includes a 1/3 scale Alpha, a 1/5 scale Der Red Max, and a 1/5 scale Big Bertha. Avast, me proud beauty! Scales are approximate as can be seen positioned next t' their full-scale counterparts.

Construction:
T' components come bunched together in a single bag so you'll need t' be careful t' sort them out and use t' right parts as you go. Aye aye! Ahoy! Some o' t' parts, shiver me timbers, such as t' main body tubes were labeled in pencil so this helps. Avast, me proud beauty! Each rocket is built from 8mm plastic tubin' for t' body, styrene sheet for fins, and wood nose cones. T' good news on t' cones is they're hardwood. Begad! T' bad news is they're dowels nay cones so you'll need t' spend some time with a power drill or lathe t' sand them down on your own.

Recovery is all Keelhaul®©™® cord and mylar streamer. Each kit also includes a cardboard coupler tube used as a motor block.

T' instructions are rough. Well, blow me down! There's a single page with hand-drawn exploded parts view for t' 3 kits. Blimey! There's a second sheet that includes construction steps for t' 3 rockets, me hearties, each in sequence. Arrr! There are virtually no illustrations though these are fairly simple designs and if you're an experienced builder you probably don't need much guidance.

Rather than lay out construction for each one, shiver me timbers, matey, shiver me timbers, I'll describe t' basic procedure used across all three. First, clean up t' rough cuts on t' body tubes. Ya scallywag! Next, matey, cut out t' fins from t' styrene stock usin' templates provided. Blimey! The templates were also hand-drawn, arrr, and on t' Red Max incorrectly labeled as callin' for 4 fins, me bucko, nay 3. T' instructions suggest airfoilin' t' fins, matey, which I found amusing. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! T' best I could do in such small scale was just round t' leading and trailin' edges a bit.

Turnin' o' t' nose cones was a pain for me as I don't have much experience rollin' me own, so to speak. Ahoy! Aye aye! Blimey! I used a power drill and sandin' block with 100 grit sandpaper, but found each cone took me about half an hour. Begad! There are outlines for t' cone shape provided on t' parts list sheet and I came fairly close t' those, but close scrutiny will show that I really left some room for improvement. Arrr! Blimey! If you don't have a lot o' patience and experience or really want t' make sure t' cones are done right, you might consider springin' $5-10 and havin' Balsa Machinin' Service turn t' cones for you.

Tubes are marked usin' hand-drawn wraparound markin' guides. Avast! I attached me fins usin' liquid plastic cement (much better than t' squeeze tube stuff) though thin CA would probably work well also. T' kits include two sizes o' launch lugs so you can select t' one appropriate for whichever size rod you have (various Quest starter kits offer different sized rods).

T' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord is anchored on t' aft around t' coupler that's used as a motor block, ya bilge rat, and on t' forward end glued into a you-drill-it hole in t' nose cone shoulder. Begad! None o' these required any nose weight.

Finishing:
With all-plastic construction other than t' cone, I didn't have any seams, me bucko, grains or spirals t' fill. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I applied a thin coat o' white primer as a base then followed t' original standard paint scheme for each. Begad! On t' Alpha, me hearties, I followed the 1225 version with a white base, red nose and one blue fin. Avast! For t' Red Max, it's red base and black upper/nose section. For t' Bertha, ya bilge rat, I went with yellow base and black nose plus a couple black fins.

T' kit did nay include decals. Arrr! Instead it is suggested that you use markers for detailing. Well, blow me down! While that might look OK, I decided t' run a set o' these on me own color laser printer. Well, blow me down! That worked out great for t' Alpha and Bertha, me bucko, but the color laser can't handle t' white o' t' Red Max decals. Arrr! Phred at Excelsior and I swapped emails and scans on and off for about a year, matey, when he came up with a very nice set. Begad! Arrr! Unfortunately, he set it up t' print a sheet o' about 40 sets for $10, and as much as I like t' Red Max, ya bilge rat, I really couldn't justify buyin' an extra 39 sets o' decals.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
Not a lot o' motor choices for these--there's only one "current" MicroMaxx motor and it has a delay that generously rounds up t' a one second delay. Avast! Ya scallywag! Each o' these flew great--straight and incredibly fast although they would have benefited from a longer delay.

Recovery:
Recovery on each is mostly tumble with a tiny mylar streamer included just for effect. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! You'll want t' fly these over short grass as they go so fast you might nay be able t' spot them flyin' and could easily lose them in tall grass. Ahoy!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
These are a very nice value and good reproductions in miniature o' some o' me favorites from t' classics.

Cons would include fairly rough instructions and t' lack o' decals. Begad! Sure you can hand paint or marker instead of the decals, but if you're goin' t' do somethin' like t' Red Max, you've got t' have nice skull and crossbones.

I've got t' say t' 3-pack for $12 with such cool mini rockets is a great deal and a welcome addition (albeit small) t' t' fleet.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5