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kuririn

kuririn

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Not a build thread, just wanted to share. Picked these three up when Leading Edge Rocketry relaunched a few months ago. Missed out when they closed up shop a few years ago: Micro Max, Micro Goblin, and Micro Starlight. Downscales of classic iconic designs. Assembled these yesterday. Here are my impressions, warts and all:
0817190509_HDR.jpg

0817190458.jpg

Assembly of the Max and Goblin was straightforward, but there was one small problem:
0817190532_HDR.jpg

Length of motor + length of nose cone shoulder + width of rolled up streamer = YIKES!
This does not even take into account the width of wadding. The main tube of the Max is too short to accommodate the laundry. Instead of cutting down the NC shoulder and streamer, I'll just leave the streamer off. Prior experience is that the lighter models do just fine with nose blow featherweight recovery.
(BTW the toothpick glued to the centerline of the rear of the motor is for fin alignment purposes, since I don't have a micro jig. Not my idea, wish I could remember where I saw it).

Another thing, all the fin alignment wraps were slightly too short. Wound up making my own.

When building the Starlight I ran into a bigger problem. The main fins are nearly as long as the body tube, so there is no room for the aft stabilizer ring on the tube. Had to extend the runner fins past the end of the tube for the ring, which means I will have to load and unload motors with a needle nose plier. Hmm.
0817190504_HDR.jpg
Here the two rings are dry fitted to allow for easier finishing.

0817190501a_HDR.jpg

And here is the Micro Goblin next to the Semroc MX Goblin for comparison.
Another thing, the Leading Edge models do not come with decals. I'll be home printing down scaled decals and trying out a new laser printer in the next few days.

Left an email for LE cust. svc. about the Starlight fins, awaiting response.
At the end of the day I had three good looking rockets, albeit not without doing some modifications for the Starlight. To quote Clint Eastwood, "Improvise, adapt, and overcome!" (Heartbreak Ridge).
Laters.
 
Last edited:
Whoops, overlooked this one in my build pile, so I slapped it together this morning: Micro (Citation) Patriot.
Also does not come with decals, although the illustration would lead you to think otherwise.
Will update in a few days after filling, primer, paint, and decals.
Tally ho.
0818190425a.jpg
 
I got a response from LE cust. svc.
The Illustration for the Micro Starlight on the instructions is dated and inaccurate.
The front tips of the main fins need to be sanded down and rounded, shortening them enough to bring the aft stabilizer ring even with the end of the body tube. This is not mentioned in their instructions, they will look at updating them.
I appreciate the response.
 
Very calm, beautiful conditions.
Will be launching more MX models at the earliest opportunity since the park is only a mile or two away.
 
kuririn said:
Not a build thread, just wanted to share. Picked these three up when Leading Edge Rocketry relaunched a few months ago. Missed out when they closed up shop a few years ago: Micro Max, Micro Goblin, and Micro Starlight. Downscales of classic iconic designs. Assembled these yesterday. Here are my impressions, warts and all:
View attachment 390736

View attachment 390738

Assembly of the Max and Goblin was straightforward, but there was one small problem:
View attachment 390740

Length of motor + length of nose cone shoulder + width of rolled up streamer = YIKES!
This does not even take into account the width of wadding. The main tube of the Max is too short to accommodate the laundry. Instead of cutting down the NC shoulder and streamer, I'll just leave the streamer off. Prior experience is that the lighter models do just fine with nose blow featherweight recovery.
(BTW the toothpick glued to the centerline of the rear of the motor is for fin alignment purposes, since I don't have a micro jig. Not my idea, wish I could remember where I saw it).

Another thing, all the fin alignment wraps were slightly too short. Wound up making my own.

When building the Starlight I ran into a bigger problem. The main fins are nearly as long as the body tube, so there is no room for the aft stabilizer ring on the tube. Had to extend the runner fins past the end of the tube for the ring, which means I will have to load and unload motors with a needle nose plier. Hmm.
View attachment 390743
Here the two rings are dry fitted to allow for easier finishing.

View attachment 390744

And here is the Micro Goblin next to the Semroc MX Goblin for comparison.
Another thing, the Leading Edge models do not come with decals. I'll be home printing down scaled decals and trying out a new laser printer in the next few days.

Left an email for LE cust. svc. about the Starlight fins, awaiting response.
At the end of the day I had three good looking rockets, albeit not without doing some modifications for the Starlight. To quote Clint Eastwood, "Improvise, adapt, and overcome!" (Heartbreak Ridge).
Laters.
Click to expand...
Those are some pretty major kit mfg. mistakes 😧 Glad you're flexible and found some good workarounds.
 
Assembled the motor mount and left to dry.
1122201609[1].jpg

Using the supplied pattern, cut the dowels to proper length and angles and glued the fin assemblies together.
1122201201[1].jpg

WTF?! The centering rings are the wrong size!
1122201611[1].jpg
I should have dry fitted and checked. They are much too small.
I might have 2.5 - 5 centering rings in my MMX parts stash.
I'll have to check.
Don't want to call LE customer service unless I really have to.
But geez............
Wrong size centering rings.
:rolleyes:
In the meantime,
1122201642[1].jpg

Tacked on the fins.
TBC
 
Assembly complete.
Thought about adding little foot pads like the original but kept it stock for now.
1127200853[1].jpg

Slowly getting paint on these puppies.
1127200900[1].jpg
The Yellow Jacket and Scrambler on the right were purchased before Leading Edge closed up the first time.
Scrambler is a 3 motor cluster. Hasn't maidened yet.
Gotta find some mejiro eggs.
Just kidding.
Working on the decals, need to cram several on one sheet to minimize waste, decal paper is not cheap.
Laters.
 
Last edited:
kuririn said:
Assembled the motor mount and left to dry.
View attachment 439384

Using the supplied pattern, cut the dowels to proper length and angles and glued the fin assemblies together.
View attachment 439385

WTF?! The centering rings are the wrong size!
View attachment 439386
I should have dry fitted and checked. They are much too small.
I might have 2.5 - 5 centering rings in my MMX parts stash.
I'll have to check.
Don't want to call LE customer service unless I really have to.
But geez............
Wrong size centering rings.
:rolleyes:
In the meantime,
View attachment 439389

Tacked on the fins.
TBC
Click to expand...
Bummer. Kit must have been packed on a monday.
 
kuririn said:
Not a build thread, just wanted to share. Picked these three up when Leading Edge Rocketry relaunched a few months ago. Missed out when they closed up shop a few years ago: Micro Max, Micro Goblin, and Micro Starlight. Downscales of classic iconic designs. Assembled these yesterday. Here are my impressions, warts and all:
View attachment 390736

View attachment 390738

Assembly of the Max and Goblin was straightforward, but there was one small problem:
View attachment 390740

Length of motor + length of nose cone shoulder + width of rolled up streamer = YIKES!
This does not even take into account the width of wadding. The main tube of the Max is too short to accommodate the laundry. Instead of cutting down the NC shoulder and streamer, I'll just leave the streamer off. Prior experience is that the lighter models do just fine with nose blow featherweight recovery.
(BTW the toothpick glued to the centerline of the rear of the motor is for fin alignment purposes, since I don't have a micro jig. Not my idea, wish I could remember where I saw it).

Another thing, all the fin alignment wraps were slightly too short. Wound up making my own.

When building the Starlight I ran into a bigger problem. The main fins are nearly as long as the body tube, so there is no room for the aft stabilizer ring on the tube. Had to extend the runner fins past the end of the tube for the ring, which means I will have to load and unload motors with a needle nose plier. Hmm.
View attachment 390743
Here the two rings are dry fitted to allow for easier finishing.

View attachment 390744

And here is the Micro Goblin next to the Semroc MX Goblin for comparison.
Another thing, the Leading Edge models do not come with decals. I'll be home printing down scaled decals and trying out a new laser printer in the next few days.

Left an email for LE cust. svc. about the Starlight fins, awaiting response.
At the end of the day I had three good looking rockets, albeit not without doing some modifications for the Starlight. To quote Clint Eastwood, "Improvise, adapt, and overcome!" (Heartbreak Ridge).
Laters.
Click to expand...
Are the LE mmx kits still available?
 
Thanks for pointing out that Leading Edge makes Micro Maxx models. I grabbed one of the Scramblers (just in case that it becomes discontinued too).

As Kuririn pointed out, Semroc has a line of MMX kits, including the Goblin. They have MMX versions of the Cherokee-D, Orbital Transport, Mars Lander, and more. http://www.erockets.biz/micro-1/
 
kuririn said:
Assembled the motor mount and left to dry.
View attachment 439384

Using the supplied pattern, cut the dowels to proper length and angles and glued the fin assemblies together.
View attachment 439385

WTF?! The centering rings are the wrong size!
View attachment 439386
I should have dry fitted and checked. They are much too small.
I might have 2.5 - 5 centering rings in my MMX parts stash.
I'll have to check.
Don't want to call LE customer service unless I really have to.
But geez............
Wrong size centering rings.
:rolleyes:
In the meantime,
View attachment 439389

Tacked on the fins.
TBC
Click to expand...
Is that a Qualman fin guide?
 
I wonder if they are going out of the MMX business or are their MMX stock just got low?
 
Saluki said:
I wonder if they are going out of the MMX business or are their MMX stock just got low?
Click to expand...
They used to have several different mmx kits available, but are only showing one mmx kit available now. I’m thinking they’re dropping the mmx kits. Hopefully they offer more in the future.
 
For me, the three most MMX rockets that I liked that they made were the Micro Starlight, MicroExplorer, and the Micro Eclipse. The Micro Eclipse had a unique fin design and placement. the other two were nice ESTES designs scaled down. If they're doing away with the Micro Maxx line I will miss them.
 
Very nice model. I'm retired and I still don't have enough time to build the kits I've got. On top of that, I have ADHD when it comes to building rockets and keep skipping from kit to kit. (I'm sure I'm the only one with this problem.) So I'm just trying to keep up with what I have.
I have a few designs I would like to build as MMX rockets. Who knows I might try one.
 
Hey, Kuririn, Would you do me a favor? I have a Leading Edge Starlight I'm starting to build. Would you measure the body tube length? Does the ring go below the body tube? I believe the ESTES body tube and the ring tube were even with each other on the original rocket. I'm trying to decide which way to do it. I may have to lengthen the body tube.
 

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