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

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

All in all, shiver me timbers, construction be very easy. I didn't really use any printed instructions, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, 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. Well, blow me down! T' decal placement was left pretty much up t' t' modeler on t' original Red Max, ya bilge rat, me bucko, so I went with that idea on t' Screamin' Max. Well, blow me down! Arrr! I was very pleased with t' overall effect. Arrr! It has a "new nostalgic" look that I really like!

Flight:
Fly this baby with a D12-5. Ya scallywag! It's all I've used but it was perfect. Preppin' t' model is very easy because t' body tube is large enough t' comfortably hold t' chute (I used t' stock Mimi chute). It does require waddin' and don't skimp! T' motor is retained with t' stock Mimi engine hook. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! 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. Ya scallywag! (I had t' fourth in me pocket t' use in case you couldn't hear t' other three. Well, blow me down! "See, shiver me timbers, it DID whistle...No, ya bilge rat, that wasn't me!") All in all, a great flight and recovery!

Summary:
This be a fun project that resulted in a strikin' model. Well, blow me down! I haven't flown it around a large group yet, but a local launch is comin' up. Begad! Aye aye! I'm interested t' see what t' reaction will be. Ya scallywag! Nay that it really matters, I really like it!

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