Estes Mega Max Pro Series II F/G rocket announced - due October, 2012

[Jiffycoil]

I will add this to my must have list. I have a 5.5" Smokin Rockets Kit Red Max in my build pile and a Estes Der Red Max too. This would look nice with them.

[MarkH]

Does it come with the X882 decal ?

Mike,

I'll answer my own question, ha ha. From other pictures elsewhere on the ORF, it looks like the nose cone decal is missing, just like the reissue of the Bt-60 version. See the 1980s version for the nose cone decal representation. Hopefully you can include it in the production version so we don't have to buy a supplemental decal from third party decal vendors (no offense to those guys).

...also the iron cross in the R on the fin is transparent in the original, not white.

Thx.


Mark

[

[Zonie]

Can't wait to see that on the pegs at HL!

Just my opinion, but I'd like the option of buying the chute separately. I have enough Nylon chutes in my range box, and buying the chute separately would keep the cost down I presume?

I also learned some folks new to this hobby do buy chutes when they are hanging on the pegs next to rockets only to find one in the kit.

[be69ar]

Mike,

I'll answer my own question, ha ha. From other pictures elsewhere on the ORF, it looks like the nose cone decal is missing, just like the reissue of the Bt-60 version. See the 1980s version for the nose cone decal representation. Hopefully you can include it in the production version so we don't have to buy a supplemental decal from third party decal vendors (no offense to those guys).

...also the iron cross in the R on the fin is transparent in the original, not white.

Thx.


Mark

[

Hi Mark...thanks for your comment and suggestion, but the decal size and layout are fixed, so it will not be an exact copy of the version you are requesting...and to answer the next posting, as it relates to supplying the chute separately, the reason for not offering it as a separate sale item is the minimum order quanity is huge, which also influenced the decision not to include it in the kit. And while we agree it would have been neat to include in the kit or as a separate sale item, it's not going to happen.
Mike

[Zonie]

Hi Mike, I don't understand your answer about the chute. You say you don't offer it separately or in the kit, but in the first post you stated it comes with a chute. I am not talking about a special printed chute, just a regular chute.

My point was with any MPR (or HPR kit for that matter), the chute is non-essential, (to me, anyway), as Many of us buy chutes separately, or even if not, a person with several MPR's of the same basic size and weight then ends up with several chutes of the same basic size, and, as such, is paying for extra stuff not really needed.

I was trying to state that none of the PSII kits should come with the chute, and then Estes offer the Chute's separately. I would assume that all these models being similar size all use the same chute size? I do not know. Just tossing that out there for discussion. I have a bunch of chutes I don't use due to every MPR kit coming with one. I only fly one rocket at a time. Of course, packaging should reflect that a separate chute is required like the Motors...

I have a box full of LPR chutes I never use. (But I cannot throw them way either). I give them to friends at launches when they melt theirs.

[Rex R]

methinks that Estes is targeting a group of folks who don't have a stockpile of chutes(unlike say, madcow rocketry).

[be69ar]

Hi Mike, I don't understand your answer about the chute. You say you don't offer it separately or in the kit, but in the first post you stated it comes with a chute. I am not talking about a special printed chute, just a regular chute.

My point was with any MPR (or HPR kit for that matter), the chute is non-essential, (to me, anyway), as Many of us buy chutes separately, or even if not, a person with several MPR's of the same basic size and weight then ends up with several chutes of the same basic size, and, as such, is paying for extra stuff not really needed.

I was trying to state that none of the PSII kits should come with the chute, and then Estes offer the Chute's separately. I would assume that all these models being similar size all use the same chute size? I do not know. Just tossing that out there for discussion. I have a bunch of chutes I don't use due to every MPR kit coming with one. I only fly one rocket at a time. Of course, packaging should reflect that a separate chute is required like the Motors...

I have a box full of LPR chutes I never use. (But I cannot throw them way either). I give them to friends at launches when they melt theirs.

...first of all the MM "DOES" comes with a nylon chute...30" I beleive...then in a posting right after I put it up, it was suggested that a printed dead head type chute would have been cool and I responded that we had "tried" to make that happen, but cost and minimum order quantity were issues we could not resolve, so we didn't do the "printed chute". I'm not sure how it got interpreted that the MM didn't come with a chute...but it does.
However, as it relates to your comment about Estes not including a chute as some of you have many of them to use, to "not" include a chute in an Estes kit of any size would just not fit well with what does as a model rocket company...and conversely, if I did not (include a chute), I'd take as much heat as we have for "not" including an igniter with the PSII motors...something I hope we can fix down the road.
Mike

[thobin]

I will TAKE ONE! And a parachute toooooo!

TA

[Rex R]

zonie:
the people who buy Estes kits typically do not have a pile of chutes handy, apparently this is the case for most of the Loc Precision rockets too, since they make a point that all of the type xxxx kits come with recovery items(chutes or streamers). madcow does sell kits w/o chutes...but I would guess that most people opt for a chute. I can understand where a person might want save some money by opting to supply their own gear...but for Estes I just can't see them carrying two versions of the same kit, it would just cost to much.
rex

[Marc_G]

@Mike:

Thanks for making sure all this was cleared up. I think your Pro DRM is going to be awesome, whatever minor details around the decals or chutes don't match the original.

You've learned that there's no way you can escape chastisement, but I very much appreciate that you come here and clue us in. Now, just say "thank you, may I please have another?" and tell us that you're planning pro upscales of the Starship Vega, Andromeda, Mars Snooper, Big Bertha, Screamer, and all the other kits of my mis-spent youth! We'll then proceed to tell you what's wrong with your plans, at the same time as we're secretly stockpiling Hobby Lobby coupons...

Marc

[JPVegh]

@Mike:

Thanks for making sure all this was cleared up. I think your Pro DRM is going to be awesome, whatever minor details around the decals or chutes don't match the original.

You've learned that there's no way you can escape chastisement, but I very much appreciate that you come here and clue us in. Now, just say "thank you, may I please have another?" and tell us that you're planning pro upscales of the Starship Vega, Andromeda, Mars Snooper, Big Bertha, Screamer, and all the other kits of my mis-spent youth! We'll then proceed to tell you what's wrong with your plans, at the same time as we're secretly stockpiling Hobby Lobby coupons...

Marc

Seriously, A four inch Big Bertha would be the SHIZ! Hey I can dream can't I?

[georgeb]

Estes is really bringing the cool this year!!!!

I agree,the V-2 is back,an now this.I have the regular Max an the mini,I need this.I didn't want to get into mid power just yet but I will own this. Way to go estes!

[Sdphilips]

Crap.....I want one of those..for sure! Sweet!!!!

Scott

[Shamous]

It is my opinion that not including a black crossbones chute is a mistake. It really puts the wow into this model. At the current price point, paying a little extra would not hurt as long as you could keep it under 100 bucks. Please revisit this decision.

[Devontmp]

I will have one of these as soon as HL gets them in !!! Are the c rings plywood?

[thobin]

my mis-spent youth!

What now? Dont you mean your awesome youth? Doing the geatest hobby on the planet?

TA

[Marc_G]

What now? Dont you mean your awesome youth? Doing the geatest hobby on the planet?

TA

That's the problem... too little of my youth was spent doing rockets. One stint following a rocketry thing in summer camp, and another in high school, far too brief, the both of them, then 2530 years of nothing...

[BEC]

This is very cool, Mike!! You guys are sucking me into MPR and, I expect, Level 1 with these new kits.

To devontmp: the centering rings in the Ventris (I have one that I just shot primer on) are ply, so I'd certainly expect those in this big DRM to also be ply.

[Disaster_Guy]

A major thumbs up to the Estes crew on this one. With a jump to a 4" tube things are heading in the right direction. We now have some very solid MPR kits in the mainstream and this one looks like it may do pretty well on a H133 or similar as well. I think I may need to order one of these for my older daughter when they become available.

[JMies419]

This looks awesome but what would be even better is a 4" Estes Mega Fatboy! Bring it back Estes, everyone loves the Fatboy! Pleeeeeeeease!

[be69ar]

It is my opinion that not including a black crossbones chute is a mistake. It really puts the wow into this model. At the current price point, paying a little extra would not hurt as long as you could keep it under 100 bucks. Please revisit this decision.

...and there in lies the problem...keeping it under the century mark was not going to work...the MOQ and unit cost drove this decision and while we all agreed here at the rocket ranch that it would have a "way cool" fun factor, from a retail standpoint we couldn't get to a retail that "we" were comfortable with. I'm sorry if not having the dead head chute will affect your decision to purchase, but we are going with the plain Jane red chute for produciton.
Mike

[be69ar]

I will have one of these as soon as HL gets them in !!! Are the c rings plywood?

...yup...plywood centering rings included...and as I mentioned in the original posting the fins are laser cut plywood cores (with lightening holes) that you will have to laminate balsa sheets over...and it will have our 29mm motor lock ring system included...this kit is going to be a fun build...not hard, but definitely won't be done in an evening...Mike

[Fe Dude]

...and there in lies the problem...keeping it under the century mark was not going to work...the MOQ and unit cost drove this decision and while we all agreed here at the rocket ranch that it would have a "way cool" fun factor, from a retail standpoint we couldn't get to a retail that "we" were comfortable with. I'm sorry if not having the dead head chute will affect your decision to purchase, but we are going with the plain Jane red chute for produciton.
Mike

I certainly hope the lack of a printed chute is not the major deciding factor when deciding to purchase this kit.

Props to estes on this one for kicking it up a notch, a 4" kit with an oddball nosecone, screw cap motor retainer, and full recovery gear for under a hunski

@Shamous

A plane Jane red chute can be spiced up with a little sharpie marker action

[Marc_G]

Mike,

Have you thought about releasing the chute artwork in the form of a printable PDF to make it easy for folks to enhance / customize their chute with skull & bones? Maybe hold a chute decorating promotion as a contest or something?

Maybe the pdf would be traceable or somesuch? I like the sharpie idea...

[Zonie]

Yeah, mega Fat Boy!

Would be cool to see an upscale Orbital Transport too!

As for the printed chute. Yeah, that would be cool, but not what I was talking about. Too bad the pack-in chute is red instead of black. Could get that screen printed pretty cheaply at a T-Shirt shop if one had the artwork in a .EPS file. The Guy next to my shop does it for $5 each if you have the file.

Also, I didn't mean, stock two versions of the kits, only 1, chuteless. Sell Chutes on the peg next to it. I guess that won't happen.
I also didn't mean sell LPR kits without chutes, just the more expert oriented kits.

As for the Motor-without-igniter, Yeah, I agree, Motors should come WITH them.

Regardless, My hat's off to you, Mike, and the rest of the folks at Estes who are working on this. I hope my "ideas" are not taken as criticism, but just a point of view that may or may not have been considered. Having the ability to discuss this with you is fantastic.

Price/margin are everything in products, especially the fickle consumer market. I saw a wall of boxed, ready to fly modrocs at Michaels the other day, made me sick, but I get it. You need to satisfy the market you serve or we wouldn't even have the kits that we here in this forum buy...

[thobin]

+1 mega fat boy

TA

[k-rad du0d]

Enough of these boring kits. It's time for a G-capable Photon Probe.

[be69ar]

[QUOTE=MarkH;335481]Mike,

I'll answer my own question, ha ha. From other pictures elsewhere on the ORF, it looks like the nose cone decal is missing, just like the reissue of the Bt-60 version. See the 1980s version for the nose cone decal representation. Hopefully you can include it in the production version so we don't have to buy a supplemental decal from third party decal vendors (no offense to those guys).

...also the iron cross in the R on the fin is transparent in the original, not white.

...just a follow up as it relates to the decals for this Mega Max that we'll be bringing out this fall. While proofing the MM decal set sample we received, we used the current 0651 Der Red Max as a guide and noticed that the current 0651 does have the white X882 on the decal sheet, but we somehow left it off the front panel of the smaller kit. Not that this makes a lot of difference, but we will correct the front panel of the 18mm Der Red Max and we are going to add the X882 for the MM as well.
Mike

[MarkH]

Cool, thanks for the follow-up.

The first batch of the re-issue 0651 kit did not have the X882 decal. I have one and remember some complaining about it here on the forum. I guess Estes fixed it. I did not know that.

...I did a search for X882, and found that Estes did correct the decals. See this thread:

http://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?10225

[QUOTE=be69ar;348712]

Mike,

I'll answer my own question, ha ha. From other pictures elsewhere on the ORF, it looks like the nose cone decal is missing, just like the reissue of the Bt-60 version. See the 1980s version for the nose cone decal representation. Hopefully you can include it in the production version so we don't have to buy a supplemental decal from third party decal vendors (no offense to those guys).

...also the iron cross in the R on the fin is transparent in the original, not white.

...just a follow up as it relates to the decals for this Mega Max that we'll be bringing out this fall. While proofing the MM decal set sample we received, we used the current 0651 Der Red Max as a guide and noticed that the current 0651 does have the white X882 on the decal sheet, but we somehow left it off the front panel of the smaller kit. Not that this makes a lot of difference, but we will correct the front panel of the 18mm Der Red Max and we are going to add the X882 for the MM as well.
Mike

[Pheenomx]

I would like to see some realistic military missiles added to the pro series II line or upscaled old Estes models. Such as: v2, Pershing 1A!!!!!, Honest John, Saturn 1b, Mercury Atlas, Mercury Redstone!!!!, Space Shuttle with booster, Patriot, JayHawk, Fat Boy, AIM Phoenix, Titan I II III.