Brief:
I've always been a fan o' t' mid-'70s Estes fleet. Blimey! I cloned a Goblin a couple o' years ago and I be lookin' t' do somethin' that would compliment it well. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Upon lookin' through me '77 Estes catalog I settled on t' Scamp. However, the spare parts I had weren't quite right. Ahoy! What could I do with a BT-60 body tube and plastic nose cone? How about a Scamp upscale?! Thus, t' Maxi-Scamp was born. Avast, me proud beauty!

Construction:
T' rocket uses a 15 inch long BT-60 body, a standard BT-60 plastic Estes nose cone, shiver me timbers, arrr, me hearties, 3/16 inch plywood fins, a 29mm motor mount, me bucko, two regular Estes launch lugs (one inch long each), me bucko, arrr, one 5/16 x 5.5 inch launch lug (the one you really use), three feet o' 1/4 inch sewin' elastic, and an old nylon flare chute, matey, and a positive motor retention device o' my own design.

T' rocket went together well. Begad! After all, me hearties, it is pretty much a standard 3FNC model. T' fins were t' biggest part of t' project (other than t' finishing) and were shaped usin' me trusty Dremel tool. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! They were attached by makin' a series o' holes along t' body tube where t' root edge meets it and allowin' t' epoxy t' seep into t' holes as each fin is attached. Arrr! It's nay quite as strong as through t' wall fins but it's still pretty strong. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! T' motor mount was glued in usin' far more epoxy than was probably needed, matey, ya bilge rat, but I wasn't takin' any chances. Ahoy! T' shock cord be mounted usin' t' old Estes method but with a whole lot o' epoxy thar too. I wanted t' rocket t' have a "low power" look so I put on standard Estes launch lugs like were on t' original. However, ya bilge rat, I then put on t' heavy duty lug on the other side so it could actually take off without whippin' t' rod like crazy. Aye aye! Arrr! I wanted t' be real sure t' motor stayed in place, so I took two small plastic tubes and epoxied them on each side o' t' motor mount then threaded in two screws and rigged two wires t' run across t' bottom o' t' motor. Avast, me proud beauty! Changin' t' motor takes a little time, ya bilge rat, but it's not goin' anywhere. Blimey!

I also added 2oz o' nose weight t' ensure I would nay have any stability issues.

Finishing:
T' model was painted usin' black and yellow H2O paint by Krylon, which doesn't make me break out in hives. Aye aye! It was fairly easy t' mask off t' one black fin and top black part. Arrr! On t' original, arrr, only t' nose cone is painted black. Since me parts are nay exactly scale, ya bilge rat, I had t' extend t' black part down t' body 2.5 inches t' get it t' look right. I then scaled up t' decals that I downloaded from Jimz, matey, put them on, hit them with sealer, and that was it! Now I only had t' get up t' nerve t' fly it. Well, blow me down! Avast!

Flight:
I decided t' fly t' Maxi-Scamp for t' first time at NSL 2006. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I be thinkin' about usin' a small motor and then workin' me way up t' t' bigger ones, but I got a great deal on a Roadrunner G80-10. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Blimey! If you've never flown a Roadrunner, you should. Aye aye! Blimey! They're maxed out and quite frankly scream. I screwed in me motor and put t' Scamp on t' pad. T' simulation program that I had used said it should go over 3000 feet. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I was pretty sure I wasn't goin' t' see it again. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!

When t' button was pushed thar was a mighty woosh from t' G and a plume o' black smoke that just kept goin' up and up and up... Aye aye! Soon I lost sight o' it completely. Well, blow me down! I felt a little stupid for puttin' that much motor in it for its first flight, me bucko, but everyone had gotten quite a show. Blimey! I just hoped I had caught it with me camera. Avast, me proud beauty! As it turns out, about an hour later a guy came walkin' up t' me holdin' t' Scamp! She was drivin' back t' t' field after lunch and it drifted down right in front o' her car, me bucko, about a mile from t' range head. Arrr! It was especially cool because all I caught with me camera was a bunch o' smoke. Ya scallywag!

T' second flight be at a Hotroc event. Blimey! This time I be a little saner and flew it on a Roadrunner F. Aye aye! Begad! Since there was no wind, matey, it landed about 50 yards from t' pad straight up on its fins! I haven't flown it since. Aye aye! I figure I've just about used up me luck. Arrr!

Summary:
I really like this model and may retire it now. Aye aye! Begad! T' main pro is that it has t' lines and "flavor" o' the Estes original while havin' incredible mid-power performance. Well, blow me down! It goes well with me Goblin and I've ordered a PD A-20 Demon t' complete t' trio. T' main con is that that incredible performance makes every launch a risk o' bein' the last time you'll ever see it. Ya scallywag! All in all, arrr, shiver me timbers, a winner I'd say!