MicroMaxx Gallery

[Micromeister]

Keeping on the same Spinning Odd-Roc kick, the next three models are a micro downscale of Scott Branche 13mm creation from back in the day. I modified the design slightly to use a single MMX-II motor on Micro Spin Ring Thing-1 motor just for fun. after loosing the first Micro Spin Ring Thing-2 motor on top of a building. Thing-2 motor-b was constructed a bit heavier using a different 2.005" OD Coupling.

These flying rings with 8- 60° tiny canted fins are very fast off the pad, Way to fast to catch anything but blurs with the camers. Get way up in the air quickly then come down nearly as fast spinning maddly all the way. At 6.8, 9.4 and 6.3grams LOWt. they are still coming down fairly briskly after burnout as attention to their flight path really needs to be followed.

Pretty neat Odd-rocs but need a controlled recovery area devoid of personal for max safety:2:

 

[Micromeister]

This one I classify as an ODD-Roc simply because of size.

a minimum diameter T2+ (.281") and only 2.0" long and only 2.9g of liftoff mass, this model was for awhile my smallest Micro model. I call it the No See-Em as I expected it to teleport into never-never land on the first flight. I have to say to my surprise not only did I somehow catch a photo of this thing taking off, it was also recovery for a 2nd and 3rd flight. it's still in the fleet awaiting another opportunity to fly.

Sometimes we just like to see how little they can get LOL!!!

 

[Micromeister]

Single disc spool rockets have always fasinated me... when I saw this model somewhere I really can't recall where... I knew I had to build a couple in micro scale. I think the original was standard CD disc size, so I was kind of torn as to weather I'd be 3X downscaling the CD model or 3X Upscaling a full size carpet tack LOL!

T2+ body (.281" dia) pin, on a .030" x 1-3/16" dia disc head with an overall length of 9/16". it's a funny looking micro model rocket to be sure.
with motor hanging out the back 1/2" it's overall length is a bit over 1" Like the nano-dot we'll look at a little later I've yet to recover one of these tiny models which by design are supposed to spool like tumble recovery. So far I've made, flown and lost 6...now #7 is sitting in a baggie waiting for another chance to be "seen" on the way down.

Funny to watch the kids at launches searching the sky and grass after they intently stare... 5-4-3-2-1--woosh...pop! GONE!

 

[Micromeister]

Back in the late 60's early 70's the full size Estes Falcon BG was sort of a beginning & frustrating point for me with Boost Gliders. I won't bother with the story except to say building this model per the instructions will give you grey without the help of Mr Mark Bundick! Just a couple years back Mark told me about adding 2° incidence to the forward edge of the wings on these models to correct a transtions problem that had confounded me for years.
Same holds true for the micro model...adding these tiny 2° slivers truely make the difference between a model that boosts and transitions to glide and one the doesn't.
By oversizing the motor pod just slightly using T2++ .316" OD tubing a 3/4" x 3" surveyor's tape streamer can be taped directly to the motor casing which also makes the motor casing kicking glider Contest compliant.
Once Trimmed these little Jewel gliders turn in some very nice glide times...just watch out for thermals or you'll be building another after watching it raise compeletely out of sight. I'm now on my 5th LOL!
Of all the downscale gliders I think I like the one the most.

 

[Micromeister]

Moving into another Odd-Roc set, Looking at many of the Landmarks around the world..some seem like they'd make decent and Funny Flying Objects.
To that end the Eiffel Tower all cardstock model was my first excursion into this Phase.
The Seattle Space needle, Washington monument, Big Ben, Empire State building, a Pyrimid and several others are all in various stages of design build.

the Eiffel towel flys just like you'd expect..draggy as it is not very high but feather light is takes longer to come down then go up LOL!!!!

 

[Micromeister]

Heres an Oldie that really great for adding to your Night Flying micro collection.
built around Pratt Hobbies 10.5mm super light weight vacuum formed nosecones with a .444" clear Polyethylene mailing tube payload section the Micro Constellation can handle three 1-1/2" Cylume fishing lure light sticks or a custom LED light package.
it's a very nice flying Micro model at T4 size. because it's a bit slower you might even catch a lift off shot every now and then

 

[Micromeister]

What could be more fun then micros.... combine em with Clustering of coarse LOL!
really this one I did just cause I had to see what it would do. At BT-20 this is one of my largest diameter Micro models. As a 3 fin, 3 Motor cluster it's not a bad flying model either.
Empty wt is 23.8g Liftoff is 27.1g even so it Screams off the pad.
With all that surface area it was really fun to paint and decorate as well.

 

[Micromeister]

This 2.4x downscale was a ture labor of love... This Design has been a favorite for decades and just had to be done with micro power.
I first wanted to try to make it work on a single MMX-II motor but with all the transitions add-on parts and multi-color paint it came out just a little heavier then I wanted.
Yes, it flew as a single stage model but only to about 10-12 feet just not good enough for this Majestic classy model. My first inclination was to just increase the size of the three outboard rocket booster pods to T2+ making the model a 4 motor cluster but that would change the outline more then I wanted so I decided to build a second lower section with a built-in two motor cluster.
This worked out well making the model more the fight worthy getting respectable 35-45 feet on a pair of MMX-II's.

 

[Micromeister]

when first laying out this Downscale I wasn't sure it would work at all. Back in my First Fleet days I had one of these very Neat flying MPC models.
Downscaling to T3 made this model pretty good size but still quite light weight loaded it's only 9.3grams.
Even trimming small gliders like these was not the chore I expected. I'm very happy to report this is a fantastic flying Micro! Gets very nice 70-80foot altitiude on a single MMX-II motor. At ejection both gliders tend to stay in the vacinity of the long streamer recovery core vehicle. Both gliders are generlly within 10feet of the core on the ground.
It is as much fun flying as I remember the original MPC model with far less of the wide ranging recovery headache.

 

[Micromeister]

Most 13mm BT-5 (T5) size models can be converted for MMX powered flight. the question is which ones are worth the trouble. The General rule of thumb for this decision is "Can I expect to Loose this model on a 1/2A3-4T motor? If the answer is yes Micro Maxx conversion is often a pleasant flying surprise.

Estes Quark is such a model. the addition of the Nosecone anchored 90lb Kevlar shockcord and T2+ to T5 motor pod makes and gives plenty of room for a good sized 3/4" x 18" Teflon Streamer attached to the motor pod between the centering rings. With this method it is possible to use other Streamer materials without fear of melting or burning. By adding the Shockline it also helps somewhat de-stabilize the quarks Lawndarting recovery tendancy. Still comes down somewhat nose first but not quite as ballistic.

 

[Micromeister]

A pretty nifty design I wanted to downscale this Custom rockets creation for a while.
bought a couple of the kits and went for there. I've alway likes tapered body rockets and this one does not disappoint.
Based on T3 body tubing this little jewel is very quick off the pad, draggy as all gee-wiz it doesn't go all that high before kicking the motor and feather weight floating back to the ground.

 

[Micromeister]

Another of the All time Classic's from the 60-70's is the Estes Trident.
Just a super design and well thought out unique ejection venting idea.
The venting techinque works so well i've used it on several Cluster conversions with outboard boosters. I have to admit at this scale it is somewhat tedious, but the end result has been worth the effort.
it's a very large micro model 11.75" in length and spanning more the 4".
even with those large dimensions the Painted and decaled model LOWt is only 14.3grams.
Flys nicely on a single MMX-II motor recovering under a 5" mylar chute.
I'm very happy with the way this model turned out.

 

[Micromeister]

In the MicroMaxRockets yahoo group we've discussed at length how sometimes miniaturization of certain things does not always work as well or sometimes at all like the full size version.

The Wee Wacky Wiggler seems to be one of those occurrences. While building much attention was paid to fit and finish of the original 7 section all plastic model. While The finished model Looks as close to the original as practical in flight it just will not seperate into all seven segment. Generally is pops into only 4 sections. Still wiggles and wobbles on the way down but just not as KEWL as the bigger rocket
Truth be told it's also a PAIN in the backside to prep and get on the launch rod at this scale LOL!!!
If lost I'd build another just because of the silly factor but as a flying micro: Flight is pretty good (50-60 feet) but recovery isn't as wiggly

 

[Micromeister]

Halloween Odd-Roc's are always fun! Micro Maxxing them is no less of a joy.

Take a 1" diameter styrofoam micro Sputnik, cover it with a little Fabric Stiffened cheesecloth and Bam! you have a Spooknik flying ghost. Add a couple little googly eyes and your done.
Fly...sure it flys just like the larger ghosts fly. DRAGGY Super slow and fairly low (about 20feet). But FUNNY as all gee-wiz.
Getting the igniter/motor in the thing is a little bit of a trip but with some igniter extension leads it's not a deal breaker.
Great little crowd pleaser.

 

[Micromeister]

George Gassaway gave us a very unique "qualifier" for most Helicopter Duration NAR competitions with his "NO MOVING PARTS" HD entry The Tasmanian Devil. I don't actually recall if the original was designed for 13 or 18mm motors? I've only built a couple over the last 4 decades mostly 13mm versions.
When I started looking at HD for the 1/8A motor class I naturally wanted to also offer a "Qualifier" to our MMX flying club members so I downscaled "Tas" to T3 body with proportional rotors 3-1/8" long.

Much to my surprise when I first launched the MM model on a MMX-II, immediately after an A3-4T powered 13mm version The got almost the Exact same flight time.
I thought HUMM prehaps I can increase the alitude a bit by reducing the Rotor span so I built a second T3 based Micor Tas with 2-1/8" rotors. while it did slightly increase the altitude the Flight time remains just about the same. LOL!
These are super fun to watch spin up, flip over and spin down. A great Design George...Thanks for allowing us all to share in the fun

 

[Micromeister]

Another version of Helicopter Recovery is what many refer to as Maple Seed spin recovery.
In this scheme the model usually seperates into at least 2 pieces each of which then transition into a flat spinning Autogyro decent.
This T2+ minimum Diameter MM version works just like other 10.5, 13 and 18MM versions i've seen.
Because of it's size and EXTREME Altitude gain...no more Transports to at motor ignition, it's best to have several extra sets of eyes on it at launch.
Very Quick off the pad. Get a lot of head snapping "Wow's".

 

[Micromeister]

Just a great looking, fun flying downscale.

 

[Micromeister]

Many may not realize the recently "re-released" Flutter-by Estes is selling is actually a 70's Centuri design.
A year or so back while I was trying to get a group of Mapleseed type Helicopter recovery models together and downscaled for micor maxx flying. The Ol'E Flutter-by had to be included.
This one was to be sure a challange to get balanced and beefed up enought to take the mighty micromax motors initial kick. during testing I must have lost a half dozen lower units either to out right OUT OF SIGHT lose or shreading during boost.
the model pictured is the final form, having flown only once so far...even with the silver and fluorescent Yellow/orange coloring it's was a bear to follow and recover. Thank goodness for the flasing of the silver in the sun. Had it been overcast I'm sure i'd have lost the upper half.
sorry no flight pics as this little 2.5" long x 1.75" wide model is just toooooo quick to stop with my digital.

 

[Micromeister]

the Only "Deuce" I have in my fleets is this one.
At BT-5 (.544"OD) it's really pushing the outside of the body size for a two motor micro. If you get this model it should be built as light as practical and finished Sparingly. I went HOG-wild with the spraypaint and to be honest the model suffers for it. With a lift off weight of 12.6grams even with both motors she's just a little on the heavy side. Getting OK altitude as finished would have been better with a few fewer layer of paint, which would most likely have kept the model at or just under that magic 10grams mark
I love flying it anyway it's has very interesting smoke trails.

 

[Micromeister]

Another super design from Fliskits is the T3/T4 TOG. Super KEWL space design model.
A good skill building kit, with the usual super instructions and superior parts. I large model at .448" OD and a tad over 10" long but even when well finsihed (some might say overfinished) it's a very good flying model with a LOWt of 11.2g.
As has been my practice, I replaced the light weight kevlar thread with a heavier 30" x 90lb shockline and installed a 1/2" x 10" yellow teflon streamer/wadding in place of the supplied mylar streamer that requires adding wadding for each flight.
Which ever way it's built, the Micro TOG is highly recommended.

 

[jflis]

Some GREAT shots of the TOG in flight I love that little beast! It was one of the first micro models I designed that was designed AS a micro model. Popular demand resulted in the US (up scale) TOG that is also popular

 

[Micromeister]

Some GREAT shots of the TOG in flight I love that little beast! It was one of the first micro models I designed that was designed AS a micro model. Popular demand resulted in the US (up scale) TOG that is also popular

Thanks Jim! The Tog always gets a lot of attention on the field...regardless of size. A really outstanding design.
I wasn't aware it was designed as a micro first...that makes it even KEWLER LOL!!!

Ok! stepping away for kit models for just a bit. One of the only TRUELY tumble recovery designs I can recall is the Estes SCOUT the very earliest version and a bit later the Scout-II as well had a unique kick-back motor retainer hook the changed the after motor burn CG making the model unstable allowing it to really tumble slowing it's decent greatly. I wondered if this effect would "SCALE down" so I built a T3 version hoping the slightly larger size would allow the model to be seen during it's hopefully tumbling decent.
A 3-3/8" long with a 1-9/16" finspan it was going to be a challange to see so bright fluroescent Red to orange paint was chosen. With a lift off weight of only 3.5grams Micro Scout-1's first flight was on an MMX-I motor across the street from my house.... Wow! super quick off the pad but I was able to catch the smoke trail & see the pop whick allowed these old eyes to follow her to the ground. I knew the second flight with a MMX-II motor we'ed need as many extra eyes as we could possibly have so I scheduled it for a club sport launch.

Set up and count down....5,4,3,2,1, Wow! did that thing Teleport or what! Heard the faint Pop Way Up There but have no idea of the altitude, didn't see the smoke trail or ejection cloud. We all scanned the sky for what seemed like forever...looking.....Looking there it is! someone shouted, then another, then the better 2/3rds found the model tumbling down and I caught it about the same time. Yup it flies and tumbles just like the original LOL!!! but is a LOT harder to see during flight! A very nifty little downscale.

 

[Micromeister]

TRF's Own Sandman put out a few of these small combination BT-5 bodytube wrap kits a couple years back. One is this Micro T5 Little Joe-II kit. a pretty neat little package. Overall about 4" long it ends Up with a Ewt of just at 3.0g. flys well for it's girth.

 

[Micromeister]

While paper and Cardstock are often used construction and detailing materials, I've not often one who builds the entire model from them.
the Free down-load fliskit Midnight Express is one I wanted to add to the Micro Max fleet. To that end I played around with the full size patterns to get the full size layout to print at T4 size which on my printer turned out to be 55%. I chose 67lb light cardstock and just followed Jim's excellent instructions, adding a 1" T2+ motor tube and a pair of his super T2+/T4 centering rings, with 30" of 70lb kevlar and a 1/2" x 9" teflon streamer. flys like a champ and seems to withstand the ejection heat and gas well by adding a layer of Chrome Trim Monokote to the inside inch just above the forward centering ring. The model has 11 flights on it and still looks pretty good... tip of the Nose is a bit blunted from landings but seems to be sound in the cardstock body.

Another quick and easy addition to the Micro model fleet if ya want one
Sorry about the fuzzy photo..it's the only one I have of this model. the rest are super fuzzy liftoffs of the smoke trails which I won't bother you with LOL!
I really must remember to get this model out of the range box and snap a static shot.

 

[Micromeister]

another just for fun Odd-roc. Had an empty K-Mart brand chapstick tube about to go in the trash when I said...HUMMM I wonder....a little bit of scrap tubing and basswood later I had another addition to the Trash flying series

 

[Micromeister]

Can I downscale a Spool Rocket? Will it back tumble like the full size CD spool rockets? Had to find out..
My Micro Spool consists of two 1-1/2" x .040" Clear Polycarbonate discs covered with adhesive backed Party pack metalflake mylar. core tube is standard T2+ with an outer sleeve of T2++ between the discs covered with silver adhesive backed mylar. epoxied the discs at the ends of the motor tube with the spacer sleeve epoxy mounted between the disc. 3/16" T2 motor stop allows the MMX-II motor to extend 1/8" for the 1/8" projecting T2+ motor tube allowing friction and external taping.
a simple .052" hole beside the OD of the core tube aligned in both disc's serve as Launch lugs. Total Ewt = 3.9g LOWt: 5grams. Max altitude 25feet and yep at apogee it flipps backwards, spinning wildly all the way to the ground. KEWL in any size

 

[jflis]

another just for fun Odd-roc. Had an empty K-Mart brand chapstick tube about to go in the trash when I said...HUMMM I wonder....a little bit of scrap tubing and basswood later I had another addition to the Trash flying series

I'll dig my "chapstik" rocket out and get some pix. I used clear fins. Problem is, several times now, I've picked it up, popped the nose cone off and ripped the fins off trying to open the darned thing to apply the chapstik... man... LOL

 

[Micromeister]

I'll dig my "chapstik" rocket out and get some pix. I used clear fins. Problem is, several times now, I've picked it up, popped the nose cone off and ripped the fins off trying to open the darned thing to apply the chapstik... man... LOL

I know what ya mean! I had the Wood finned K-Mart chapstick sitting on the table while working on preparing another model for flight. One of the Kids at the launch came over. while talking to me about the the model I was working on picked up the chap-stick Opened it and was trying to put some on LOL!! snapping a fin trying to turn the bottom...I mean really she couldn't see the fins???

 

[Micromeister]

Since we have the only know remaining example of the Atlantic Research Iris sounding rocket outdoors locally at the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. This model is particularly special to me.
It was a couple years ago now that Per Karlsson (Balltip of TRF) did a wonderful build thread on his all Scratch built model using most of the dimensions I took from the above mentioned full size vehicle.
He also did a very Nifty T2+ minimum Diameter (1:44.7 Scale) paper wrap and fin micro model page. It's a wonderful flying model I enjoy flying often.

 

[Micromeister]

While I'm not much into paper wraping bodytubes TFR's own gpoehlein supplied Another fun MM Bt-5 body warp of the old red,white & blue color scheme Alpha from back in that day.
To use another Home make Slush mold formed Resin hollow PNC-5V made by rockitflite I just had to combine the two along with my own brand of internal building to make a fairly light nice flying BT-5 micro model. Even with the hollow cast resin NC the model ended up only weighing 7.2g.