questions about quest and micromaxx
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If I understood correctly, Aerotech recently posted here that they’re selling their existing stock of MMX motors, but not planning to produce anymore. So I can understand if they’re not promoting them. I got the impression they have enough stock to last a while, but I don’t know what that translates into on the calendar.
Plenty of other vendors still selling and promoting kits though.
Plenty of other vendors still selling and promoting kits though.
guess i got into the game late (riding the pine lol). the packages i got indicate quest as a toybiz company, so maybe rcs/aerotech didn't really care about that part of the acquisition? sad to see this stuff fade away. hopefully some other enterprising group of merchant model makers will pick up the slack.
It looks to me like Aerotech/Quest are basically out of the BP motor business, all-in on composites with the Q-jets.
Starter Sets & Accessories (questaerospace.com)
MicroMaxx Motors & Igniters (questaerospace.com)
MicroMaxx Parts (questaerospace.com)
Also check out erockets, Fliskits, Aerospace Speciality Products, and our own tjkopena's Rocketship Games for kits and supplies.
MicroMaxx Motors & Igniters (questaerospace.com)
MicroMaxx Parts (questaerospace.com)
Also check out erockets, Fliskits, Aerospace Speciality Products, and our own tjkopena's Rocketship Games for kits and supplies.
user 35280
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https://jonrocket.com/shop/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=135_155
https://www.asp-rocketry.com/ecommerce/ASP-Micro-Maxx-Model-Rocket-Kits.cfm?cat_id=135
https://www.fliskits.com/WPRESS/product-category/motor-size/mmx/
https://www.erockets.biz/micro-1/
https://www.erockets.biz/newway-rocket-kits/
https://rocketshipgames.com/store/#!/Model-Rockets/c/92440315
https://www.erockets.biz/micro-rocs/
https://www.asp-rocketry.com/ecommerce/ASP-Micro-Maxx-Model-Rocket-Kits.cfm?cat_id=135
https://www.fliskits.com/WPRESS/product-category/motor-size/mmx/
https://www.erockets.biz/micro-1/
https://www.erockets.biz/newway-rocket-kits/
https://rocketshipgames.com/store/#!/Model-Rockets/c/92440315
https://www.erockets.biz/micro-rocs/
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I am 100% ready for the MicroMaxx v3 composite motor.
The conversation mentioned above starts here, and here is the most recent assertion that there's a lot of stock on hand. I take Quest/AeroTech at face value that there's MMX stock to last a long time. There are threads on here from several years ago in which MicroMeister relayed the same message from Quest: We're not making more, but there's stock for years to come. They don't seem to be talking about a dwindling supply with an end in sight. I've been assuming they've got a Raiders of the Lost Ark style warehouse filled to the brim with MMX stuff, and only now and then does a modest box of it get shipped out.
A related anecdote: I recently signed up as a Quest/AeroTech retailer, though seemingly it'll take a good while for the first shipment to arrive. In figuring this out I wound up talking briefly to the VP of Sales/Marketing. Nice guy, very friendly, excited to have someone interested from the East Coast, wants to know if I'm a "shooter" myself or a non-participating store owner/etc. (had a moment's consternation on that, I don't know if I've ever heard model rocket enthusiasts referred to as "shooters"). Then he asks if I'm looking to eventually get into high power. I say no, for the foreseeable future I'm really just interested in MicroMaxx. His response is about as close as you can get on a phone call to a cartoonish "Wait, what?" double-take. Clearly---but inexplicably!!---not a prime mover among their product lines.
Thanks for the links, kuririn & TigerHawk.
Sadly, Aerotech has already said 13mm composite motors would be more trouble than they are worth. That doesn't bode well for a composite micro maxx.
I am becoming more and more curious about how big that last production run was, and why they would have made enough to last for years and years.
That is very weird.
heada
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It has been a LONG time since I've heard/looked into MMX motors but I remember early in that they were imported as a shipping container. A full shipping container of MMX......that amount could last the hobby for a decade.
They should go straight to 10mm (FAI like) motors.
A full shipping container of nothing but MMX motors is nuts. Why would it not be sharing the container with other stuff? A company would not normally purchase so much excess stock, it's financially disastrous.
I'm not saying you're wrong but it sounds mighty strange to me.
user 35280
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On the face card of the quest aerospace micromaxx motors it states that the motors are made in Germany and the igniters are made in China. Motors made in Germany, I’m thinking, made by Klima for quest maybe?
I assume the apparently huge production volume was driven by the plastic ready-to-fly models. Especially at that point, almost 25 years ago, such manufacturing would require a substantial upfront investment and only be worthwhile to do for a very large quantity. So they had a matching volume of motors produced. Basically, I figure with MicroMaxx Quest was making a huge bet on creating a whole new slice of the industry, possibly with the goal of making inroads into more mainstream distribution. For a variety of reasons it didn't really pan out but didn't kill them either, and now they have a ton of stock and a product line that's not worth literally throwing out but also not worth investing in further.
i just bought a pack of mmx motors from quest, more to just say thanks for a kindness they did me than out of need, but now i'm glad i did, knowing that there is a ceiling on the supply. seems to me an ignored opportunity to just bag the idea entirely. those motors could power other types of toys, like a rocket pack for an action figure, or a guillow type construction of a small car or plane, et al.
That seems like a very good guess:
https://eurospacetechnology.eu/inde...ite=micromaxx-motoren-12er&controller=product
And see the rightmost picture here, those are MMX starter rockets:
https://www.raketenmodellbau-klima....klima&SessionId=&a=catalog&t=23&c=2341&p=2341
The text on that page says:
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user 35280
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Luckily there was a translate to English button on the website
The igniters are the old style that fit into a slot in the old launch pad.
So the motors must be the original version 1 as well.
Wondering if that's what they mean by discontinued, or does it mean the whole propellant line as well, including the v.2 motors and igniters?
kitbasher99
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Randy said that he was told they have 100s of thousands of the motors still in stock. I don't think Quest will be running out in the near future
True, but a factory fire is not unheard of.
At the rate that I have been using them, my stash could last longer than my ability to see and recover them.
Did Quest ever offer kits specifically for the MicroMaxx? I'm only seeing starter sets and spare parts on their site. If so I think it could be cool to try flying one of those one day.
There are others but you'll want to check Semroc (erockets.biz) or fliskits (fliskits.com) for the most micromaxx kits.
they had several, sold in pairs mostly. lots on ebay. starter sets are a great deal, from my perspective. i got the saturn v/ shuttle set. cool as heck. several artful vendors creating kits, new and old classics. one group, rocketship games, frequents this site.
The plastic RTF micro maxx rockets that Quest sells in pairs have a well-deserved reputation for not flying well. I do not recommend them. Fliskits offers a micro Saturn V that flies straight rather than in loops.
sometimes a man wears stretchy pants. sometimes he buys crappy stuff just 'cause it's cool. sometimes both.
The only Quest-made MicroMaxx official kits I've seen mention of---as opposed to the plastic ready-to-fly starters---are in this classroom bulk pack:
https://www.questaerospace.com/Boingo_MicroRocs_Value_Pack_with_12_rockets/p4193205_16424709.aspx
I have not seen them in person, and actually have only come across a single meaningful mention of them on this forum, blogs, etc.. It is however a very comprehensive and well produced review, including a RockSim model:
https://www.rocketreviews.com/rocksim-quest-micro-roc-boingo.html
I don't really want a dozen of these rockets so I haven't picked it up. But they seem to fly fine based on that video. I'd pick up one or two if that was an option, just to see what they're like, particularly the materials. The foam ear plug nosecone is clever. Instructions seem very slick and polished.
Again with no further insight, the existence of this seemingly well produced classroom kit but AFAIK no other official traditional kit ever being made is part of my theory that MicroMaxx was a big bet by Quest that never really got off the ground. Also part of my theory of why it did not.
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That pretty much sums it up.
user 35280
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