Estes 2445 Mini Max Flying Model Rocket Kit

The rocket kit comes compete with everything but your normal hobby building tools like: knife, glue, sandpaper, scissors, and paint, and of course the eventually motors and launch equipment (pad, rod, and launch control). I found Estes Kits to be very complete and with detailed directions. It was very easy to assemble but then I have built many of these Estes and Mid powered rockets. Just please pay attention to the instructions. There are a few places that are easy to do wrong: 1) put the fins on the rocket the wrong way. This doesn't harm the flight much but the wood grain direction on the fins when oriented parallel to the body tube makes it very easy to snap the fins accidentally, and 2) not placing the shock cord mount far enough into the tube that the nosecone does not fit. and overall 3) not waiting until the glue has ample time to set up before shoving things into the rocket body i.e. 1hr should suffice for a thin layer.I painted mine like the photo and it came out great. I gave it to my 3 y.o. son who selected this one because he loves rockets and loves 'pirates' (Disneyland ride) and which he calls anything that looks like the poison skull and crossbones symbol. I added about two or three layers of glue fillets to the fin/body interface that made the fins super strong. Alas during a party at our house with lots of kids, one fin did get snapped off by tearing the paper and fin away from the tube. Easy fix and we plan to fly it for the first time this weekend! I also built the medium size Der Red Max Estes 0651 model the same way. While that one is larger and heavier it comes with a nice black and decorated parachute, as the smaller Mini Max being smaller and lighter only needs a bright fluorescent pink streamer for recovery. I am excited to launch these both with my son! Maybe I'll get the large version Estes makes.

I purchased the rocked in 2012 and am still flying it in 2018. Love it. Cool design, and with a mini-engine you get 4 launches for the price of three. Oh, the only negative review is some dude who got his crushed in the mail.

Fun to build, fun to fly. I like that it's a mini-engine powered rocket with an engine hook, so you get reliable recovery system ejection.Reason for four stars instead of five is that it's streamer recovery instead of parachute. I've only launched it twice so far, but was nervous on each recovery by how fast it was coming down, seems a bit heavy for a streamer. I'll probably replace the streamer with a 6" parachute, if it'll fit.

The rocket is easy to build and paint. The decals are a pain but they have never been easy. My son loves the skull and cross bones decals and refers to it as his pirate rocket. It was fun to build and it launches well and is easy to recover.

The Mini Max , i purchased to build and complete my Der Max Rocket family. Estes rockets are some of the best quality and lots of multiple skill levels fun for the entire family.

Great little rocket.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RED3XvGtkeM

5/5 - Great for Beginners and Experts AlikeThis rocket is easy to assemble, and exceptionally sturdy (due to its small size). Be sure to triple- or quadruple-glue the fins for complete redundancy.I have launched it roughly 10 times and never encountered any problems with engines, launch, flight path, or recovery. Due to its streamer recovery system, the rocket doesn't travel a great amount of (horizontal) distance (never more than 50 yards for me), and is a great first-launch rocket at a field to determine wind strength.I say it is great for beginners and experts; beginners will appreciate the ease of assembly, experts will appreciate assembling the rocket within tight tolerance parameters and receiving a near-perfect 90-degrees vertical flight. Being such a small rocket, every single gram of weight (from engines, wadding, paint, what have you) matters in the flight profile.I strongly appreciate this model because it has allowed me to hone my precision crafting skills, while still entertaining the kids with a great rocket flight profile. Highly recommended for all skill groups and all ages.PS - Not to mention, 4x A10-3T motors retail for $7 where I live, making it a bargain to launch again and again.