Brief:
When I be at t' local Hobby Lobby, I saw that they were havin' a 1/2 price sale on all their Estes rockets. Arrr! I smartly snatched up a Screamin' Mimi and waited for inspiration. A couple o' days later I be watchin' a show on German Stukas. Begad! 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, t' Screamin' Max was born!

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

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

All in all, construction was very easy. Ya scallywag! Blimey! 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. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! T' decal placement be left pretty much up t' t' modeler on t' original Red Max, me bucko, so I went with that idea on t' Screamin' Max. Ya scallywag! Avast! I was very pleased with t' overall effect. Blimey! It has a "new nostalgic" look that I really like!

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

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