Estes - Der Red Max (651) [2007-]

Brief:
Re-release of a classic Estes rocket! Includes a cool pre-assembled pirate skull 18" parachute!

My first memory of the Der Red Max was a little over twenty years ago. I was between the age of 6 and 8, and my grandfather had given me $20 for my birthday. My parents took me to a mall and I was in Kay-Bee Toy and Hobbies. I was trying to find something to spend my money on, then I saw the model rockets. I remember a few years prior to that my parents bought some model rocket stuff, flew some, but then my twin brother got very sick. Shortly after he recovered, my Dad changed jobs so we moved...and rockets were forgotten. I saw the Der Red Max and thought it looked cool. My dad, however suggested I get a different rocket because he felt that it was too small for the motors he still had. Instead, I chose an Estes Marauder. That was my first of many model rockets!

Construction:
The kit itself is pretty much a standard three fins and a nose cone design. You get a nice white wall body tube that is better quality than many other kits Estes offers. The large fins are laser cut but you will still need to use a knife to loosen them. You also get two nice looking waterslide decal sheets that have a paper sleeve to protect them. I did not like the centering rings. To me, they seemed to be flimsy. Also, the rubber shock cord is way too short. Another interesting note is the kit comes with a jig to help mark the fins locations on the body tube.

Construction of the Der Red Max is pretty simple. I found that the fit of the centering rings on the motor tube to be tight so some sanding was required. I made sure I gave the joints some extra fillets in case I decide to stick a D13 in the motor tube.

Once the fins were loosened from the balsa sheet, I sanded the leading and trailing edges round. I did not bother with the fin jig that came with the kit to attach the fins. Instead I used my classic Estes Fin Alignment guide, which did a great job keeping the fins straight. Once the fins were dry, I attached the launch lugs (which were short) and applied all the fillets. An additional step I had to do was wrap tape around the shoulder of the nose cone because the fit was very loose.

Finishing:
The Red Max's finish was very simple. First I coated the fins with Bondo Spot putty. Once that was dry and sanded, I applied several coats of Rustoleum Light Gray automotive primer, sanding between coats. After a couple Bondo touch ups and more primer and sanding, the Red Max is ready to paint. It is an easy paint job. The booster section was painted red and the nose cone sprayed black.

When the paint dried, it was time for the decals. Care had to be taken when handling these waterslide decals. The film was very thin and wanted to bunch up. If the film bunched up, it creates a crease, and is impossible to straighten out. Other than wanting to bunch, they went on without a hitch. I love the optional "Kills" decal and I made sure it made it on one of the fins of my model. Once the decals were dry, I finished my Red Max with Future Floor Polish. I am very impressed how the finish came out as the polish really makes her shine.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight:
So far I only flew my Der Max once with a B4-4. Very nice liftoff and got a good clip of altitude.

Recovery:
The parachute did not deploy fully because it was cool enough for the plastic to stick, but there was no damage.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
I think this is a great kit. Every collection should have one. Take your time, sand where things are too tight, wrap tape around things too loose, and be careful with those decals!

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight Log

Date	Rocket Name	Motor(s)	Altitude	Notes
2002-05-19	Bill Eichelberger's Estes Der Red Max	B6-6	-
2003-09-20	Bill Eichelberger's Estes Der Red Max	B6-4	-
2003-09-20	Bill Eichelberger's Estes Der Red Max	B6-4	-
2006-07-08	Chan Stevens's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-
2007-09-22	Donald Besaw's Estes Der Red Max	B6-4	-	Great first flight. Didn't get much altitude on the B motor though, maybe 200 feet tops. Landed...
2007-09-22	Donald Besaw's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	Now this is the way this rocket should be flown, excellent flight on the C6-5. Straight boost to...
2007-09-22	Chan Stevens's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-
2007-12-06	Donald Besaw's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	Great flight, nice straight boost. Landed in some tree branches and required some effort to...
2008-01-12	Craig Zicafoose's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	Great flight. Substituted over sized kit chute for small nylon chute. Love the Skull and...
2008-01-26	John Bergsmith's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	Perfect flight, arrow straight
2008-01-27	Chan Stevens's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-
2008-02-23	Todd Mullin's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	Stuck on launch rod... Not really much of a flight!
2008-02-23	Todd Mullin's Estes Der Red Max	B6-4	-
2008-03-09	Todd Mullin's Estes Der Red Max	B6-4	-
2008-03-09	Jason Orosco's Estes Der Red Max	B6-4	-	Wonder flight on this rocket. The parachute on this rocket gives it a nice long and gentle...
2008-03-22	Todd Mullin's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-
2008-03-22	Todd Mullin's Estes Der Red Max	C6-3	-
2008-04-13	Jason Orosco's Estes Der Red Max	B4-2	-	Another great flight.
2008-04-13	Jason Orosco's Estes Der Red Max	B4-2	-	Great flight, Glad Estes released the Der Red Max.
2008-04-20	Bill Eichelberger's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	Who doesn't like Der Red Max flights? I cloned one years ago, but this was my first flight of a...
2008-07-28	George Beever's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	First flight on model, great flight!
2008-08-10	Chan Stevens's Estes Der Red Max	A8-3	-
2008-08-10	Chan Stevens's Estes Der Red Max	B6-4	-
2008-08-30	Todd Mullin's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-
2008-08-31	Jason Orosco's Estes Der Red Max	B4-2	-	Great flight.
2008-10-05	George Beever's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	Great flight, nice motor for this model.
2008-10-12	Todd Mullin's Estes Der Red Max	B6-4	-
2008-10-25	Donald Besaw's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	Great flight, nice straight boost to maybe 600 feet. Long hang time and short drift on recovery....
2008-11-15	Mark Grisco's Estes Der Red Max	C11-3	-	very windy. nice flight. very cold!!!
2008-11-22	Todd Mullin's Estes Der Red Max	B6-4	-
2008-11-23	John Bergsmith's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	Straight boost, nice overall flight. Seems like the 3 second delays work best. Solid performing...
2008-11-26	Mark Grisco's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	really went high. i lost it for a second because of the sun. landed 100 feet from pad.
2008-11-26	Mark Grisco's Estes Der Red Max	B6-4	-	first flight. due to the cold the chute did not fully open until about 50 feet high. no problem.
2008-11-29	Mark H's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	Nominal C6-5 first flight for re-issue DRM. Not too high, maybe 500 feet.
2008-12-20	John Bergsmith's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	Der Red Max is a great flyer period! Nice straight boost, ejected perfectly. Recovered with no...
2009-01-11	Todd Mullin's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-
2009-01-11	Howard Smart's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-
2009-02-15	Howard Smart's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-
2009-02-15	Howard Smart's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-
2009-02-23	Mark Grisco's Estes Der Red Max	C6-3	-	this is my red max with 15 inch extended body tube. weathercocked somewhat.
2009-02-23	Mark Grisco's Estes Der Red Max	C6-3	-	perfect flight. minor fin break on landing.
2009-02-23	Mark Grisco's Estes Der Red Max	C6-3	-	my extended red max. perfect on a c-6-3.
2009-02-28	Todd Mullin's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-
2009-03-28	Todd Mullin's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	Predicted Duration Entry - 45 sec est., 57 sec. actual
2009-03-28	Jason Orosco's Estes Der Red Max	B4-2	-	Good Flight.
2009-03-28	John Venable's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	A perfect spinner to 700. Nice deployment on a 12 X-chute.Nice flight.
2009-04-04	John Venable's Estes Der Red Max	C6-7	-	Nice flight to 700'. Short walk due to the long delay.The LCO sounded like Chris Berman waiting...
2009-04-12	Mark H's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	A little windy. This rocket drifts. Nice flight as usual.
2009-05-05	Mark Grisco's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	perfect flight. straight up with a very slow roll. like i planned it that way. some drift but good...
2009-05-31	Eric Grisco's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	this red max is 25+ years old!! perfect flight. nice to see old rocket rip.
2009-06-04	Mark Grisco's Estes Der Red Max	C6-3	-	more wind, more weathercock. several spectators for my 30 inch red max. fin popped off. this...
2009-06-04	Mark Grisco's Estes Der Red Max	C6-3	-	my 30 red max. straight up. nice flight. cracked fin.
2009-06-06	John Bergsmith's Estes Der Red Max	C6-3	-	Another great flight, recovered with no damage.
2009-06-16	Jason Orosco's Estes Der Red Max	B4-2	-	Great flight.
2009-06-22	Jamie Martin's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-
2009-06-23	Mark Grisco's Estes Der Red Max	C6-3	-	my extended red max. another perfect flight. no damage
2009-06-24	Jamie Martin's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-
2009-06-24	Jamie Martin's Estes Der Red Max	B6-4	-
2009-07-04	Eric Grisco's Estes Der Red Max	C6-3	-	first flight of my extended red max.(standard kit + 18 inch body tube). perfect flight, it took a...
2009-07-04	Eric Grisco's Estes Der Red Max	C6-3	-	another perfect flight on the extended red max!!
2009-07-13	Mark Grisco's Estes Der Red Max	C6-3	-	another perfect flight for my 30 inch red max!! i flew it for 3 young neighbor kids that had never...
2009-07-19	Eric Grisco's Estes Der Red Max	C6-3	-	my brother and i tried to drag race but my weak batteries made for a slow take off. perfect...
2009-07-19	Eric Grisco's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	my extended red max. extra delay was ok today, it was calm. perfect flight
2009-07-19	Mark Grisco's Estes Der Red Max	C6-3	-	like a broken record... another perfect flight for my extended red max.
2009-07-19	Mark Grisco's Estes Der Red Max	C6-3	-	i will say it again.... another perfect flight for my extended red max!!!!!
2009-08-08	Mark Grisco's Estes Der Red Max	D12-5	-	my MEGA MAX. scratch-built red max + 18 tube+ 24mm motor mount. rips on a D-12. lots of wind =...
2009-08-09	Todd Mullin's Estes Der Red Max	C6-3	-
2009-08-15	John Venable's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	Nice fast spinning flight to 750'.Broke fin upon landing. WFA
2009-08-22	Chan Stevens's Estes Der Red Max	C6-3	-
2009-08-29	Todd Mullin's Estes Der Red Max	B4-2	-
2009-09-21	Jim Bassham's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	First Flight of Der Red Max at Blackrock dessert. Used a loaned nylon chute and Dog Barf because...
2009-10-03	Jim Bassham's Estes Der Red Max	B6-4	-	Third Flight at Plumas Lake. Excellent flight.
2009-10-03	Jim Bassham's Estes Der Red Max	B6-4	-	Got a second Red Max kit with the Pirate Chute - attached with a swivel. Perfect flight on new...
2009-10-10	Mark Grisco's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	standard max.. weathercock with all this wind today.. another nice flight.
2009-10-12	Mark Grisco's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	red max = perfect!!!!!!!!!!
2009-10-12	Mark Grisco's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	SEE ABOVE
2009-11-14	Jim Bassham's Estes Der Red Max	B6-4	-	Delay a bit long, but otherwise a nice flight.
2009-11-15	John Bergsmith's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	Another great flight!!
2009-11-21	Monty Liu's Estes Der Red Max	A8-4	125 feet	Got Supprizing proformance from the recently re released A8-4 Motors it Was a first flight so i...
2009-11-22	Jim Bassham's Estes Der Red Max	B6-4	-	Ejected just past apogee, but a nice flight.
2009-12-05	Jim Bassham's Estes Der Red Max	B6-4	-	Ejected just past the top, but nice flight.
2010-02-14	Todd Mullin's Estes Der Red Max	B6-4	-
2010-02-14	Todd Mullin's Estes Der Red Max	C6-3	-
2010-02-14	Todd Mullin's Estes Der Red Max	C6-3	-
2010-02-15	Judy Orosco's Estes Der Red Max	B4-4	-	Great flight, landed on all 3 fins.
2010-02-15	Judy Orosco's Estes Der Red Max	B4-4	-	Good flight.
2010-02-20	Jim Bassham's Estes Der Red Max	B6-4	-	Drag race with Blue Max for EMRR challenge. Nice flight.
2010-03-07	John Bergsmith's Estes Der Red Max	D12-5	-	24mm Blue Max, great flight. Gets some altitude with a D12!
2010-03-07	John Bergsmith's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	Windy, but a great flight!
2010-03-27	Ken Tsai's Estes Der Red Max	F35-8	-	24mm motor mount... wheee!!!
2010-04-18	Jason Orosco's Estes Der Red Max	B4-4	-	Out launching with my daughter today, Good flight.
2010-04-18	Jason Orosco's Estes Der Red Max	B4-4	-	Good flight trying get a shot of a drag race.
2010-04-18	Jason Orosco's Estes Der Red Max	B6-4	-	Another good flight.
2010-04-19	Jim Bassham's Estes Der Red Max	B6-4	-	Nice flight. Happy rocket.
2010-05-15	Ken Tsai's Estes Der Red Max	E15-7	-	Red Max really does love 24mm motors. Might be time to build one that will take 29mm?
2010-05-29	Ken Tsai's Estes Der Red Max	F35-8	-
2010-07-17	Jim Bassham's Estes Der Red Max	D13-4	-	Flew it a Fresno on a D13-4 Composite. Really fast takeoff, but not too high a flight. Really...
2010-08-04	Jim Bassham's Estes Der Red Max	B6-4	-	Fun flight at NARAM 52. Perfect apogee eject and nice flight.
2010-08-15	Todd Mullin's Estes Der Red Max	B6-4	-
2010-08-15	Todd Mullin's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-
2010-08-28	Howard Smart's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	Tangled chute. Minor BT damage.
2010-09-11	Howard Smart's Estes Der Red Max	B6-4	-
2010-09-11	Howard Smart's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-
2010-11-06	Jim Bassham's Estes Der Red Max	B6-4	-	Used Der Red Max to try a Badmitton loft for an upcoming contest. Got an 11 second badmitton toss,...
2010-11-13	Howard Smart's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-
2010-11-13	Howard Smart's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-
2011-02-07	Jason Orosco's Estes Der Red Max	B6-4	-	Nice straight flight,
2011-05-28	Luis Vazquez's Estes Der Red Max	Estes B6-4	-	With the B6-4, Der Red Max flew straight up with minor twisting and reached appogee rather...
2011-05-30	Matthew Bond's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	First Flight of Der Red Max! Also the first flight of what turned out to be a perfect day on the...
2011-05-30	Matthew Bond's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	Nice second flight of Der Red Max. Quick boost, arcing over at the top of the climb. Past apogee,...
2011-05-30	Matthew Bond's Estes Der Red Max	D10-5	-	Last flight of the day, decided to send Der Red Max for a ride on an AT D10-5. Tried to light it...
2011-07-03	George Beever's Estes Der Red Max	Estes C6-5	-	Good flight.
2011-08-05	Chris J Taylor's Der Red Max	B4-4	-	Solid maiden flight, no damage next time C6-5 will push the limits
2011-08-20	Dale Marshall's Der Red Max	C6-3	-	This is a beauty of a rocket and it flies great. This was a great flight in light winds.
2011-09-06	Matthew Bond's Estes Der Red Max	C6-5	-	Nice boost, smooth and straight. Arcing over, still climbing a little at ejection. Nose cone...
2011-09-06	Matthew Bond's Estes Der Blue Max	D12-5	-	First Flight of the 24mm Blue Max. Great boost, fast and high. Arcing over at the top of the...
2011-09-11	Douglas Hurstell's Der Red Max	B6-4	200 feet	Still has only a coat of primer, but it was a nice straight boost, and a nice soft landing. ...
2011-09-16	Kirk Mona's Der Red Max	B6-4	-	Maiden flight. Not very high on this engine. Parachute came out but did not unfurl. I think it was...
2012-01-14	Matthew Bond's 1.61x Upscale Der Green Max	F40-7	-	First Flight of the upscale Der Green Max, with the cool decals from Stickershock! Nice boost,...
2012-01-15	Luke Wolski's Der Red Max	B6-4	-	Motor burned through on the side, and the ejection charge blew about 30 feet in the air.
2012-03-10	Matthew Bond's 1.61x Upscale Der Green Max	G53-7	1870 feet	Nice second flight for Der Green Max. Wind starting to pick up a bit. Flown off the low power...
2012-03-17	Hans "Chris" Michielssen's Estes Der Red Max Clone	Estes C6-5	-	Perfect Red Max flight. No damage on recovery.
2012-03-24	Kirk Mona's Der Red Max	C6-5	-	Beautiful straight ascent. Excellent engine choice for this rocket. Drifted far, approx 300 feet...
2012-03-31	Luke Wolski's Der Red Max	B6-4	-	Good flight
2012-04-15	James Hamilton's Der Purple Max	Estes C6-5	-
2012-04-28	Matthew Bond's Estes Der Blue Max	D12-5	-	Doubled up the nomex chute protector to try and avoid some of the "toasting" seen on the last...
2012-05-06	George Beever's Estes Der Red Max	Quest C6-5	-	Perfect flight!
2012-05-12	Hans "Chris" Michielssen's Estes Der Red Max Clone	Estes B6-4	400' est. feet	The 18" parachute was switched out for the 12" chute from the Pipeline rocket. Good thing - the...
2012-05-19	John Bergsmith's Der Red Max	Estes C6-3	-
2031-05-05	Eric Grisco's Estes Der Red Max	B4-4	-	weathercocked a good bit so not to high. no damage.

Comments:

D.R. (January 16, 2008)

I never had one of these back in the day, but now, as an adult, I suddenly appreciated the unique and colorful character this rocket has, so when Estes re-released it last year, I jumped and added it to the fleet. The building process is fairly unremarkable, your basic 3FNC sport model, but it's the decals and finish that make this baby. My only criticism is that the Estes supplied decals are WAY too thin and hard to work with. They also aren't true repros of the original decal set. I've flown mine once, on a conservative B6-4, and it flew like a dream, arrow straight, with no spinning or arcing, and came down within 50 feet of the pad. I'm looking forward to it's second flight, this time on a C. So I didn't have one as a kid like most other BARs did. But I'm proud to own one now, and I'm looking forward to passing it on to my own son when he's a little older!

J.T.S. (May 11, 2009)

I had one of these back in the day and have to say it was the most reliable all around flier in my fleet. As an adult I built a clone right down to modifying the nose cone to a proper profile. I had just a few (awesome) flights on it when Estes reissued the kit. Just my luck. My clone was lost to a swamp landing and my new wife needed an intro to the hobby soooo.... The new kit builds and flies like the original, ROCK SOLID! The laser cut balsa fin sheet is a marked improvement over the old die-cut sheet. Assembly is quick as one would expect with 3FNC, and we had it ready to launch in one evening. Flight was just as I remembered with a B6-4. It currently has 9 flights without a single problem. The only complaint I can lodge is with the decals. In a word, THIN. Too thin. a coat of Krylon Crystal Clear fixed this. That and the omition of the 'X882' for the nose cone.

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