Brief:
 T' Estes MK-104 Patriot Missile rocket kit is one o' four new Estes "Military" kits and a very popular kit at t' flyin' field. Avast! Blimey! I purchased t' Patriot along with t' other three kits and t' version I built was t' "Launchable" kit in t' hard-shell pack from Meijers. It is a very colorful model, appears pretty sturdy, ya bilge rat, and flies on 18mm motors. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Included with t' kit is an "Operation Endurin' Freedom" sticker t' salute our military abroad.

Construction:
In t' package you will find four die-cut fins, three BT-60 body tube sections--one o' which is already colored, plastic nosecone, recovery items, and instructions. I was impressed with t' quality o' components and t' instructions were very well written. Blimey! Blimey! T' kit itself is a basic 4FNC, but just plain looks good once built.

I decided t' construct it stock with only change made t' t' recovery section. I used dual Keelhaul®©™ threads for shock cord and they were directly fastened t' t' motor mount. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! T' top end be tied t' a much longer thirty inch long piece o' elastic shock cord and t' joint was sealed with a piece o' heat shrink tubing. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' shock cord itself was attached t' t' nosecone once t' model was finished.

T' body tube comes in three sections, me hearties, matey, allowin' you t' flexibility t' make a payload section or just use standard nosecone ejection. Blimey! I went with t' latter and did fill t' joints once glued. Next came t' fins; I dry rubbed filler over t' surface o' each fin and used Alphaetic Resin for gluin' t' t' body tube. Blimey! Fillets were added and t' whole model be sanded.

Finishing:
After sandin' t' model came t' primer. Aye aye! Avast! Krylon gray primer was used, ya bilge rat, followed by Krylon white primer for t' upper body tube section. Begad! T' model was painted completely in white, except t' top section which was masked. Avast, me proud beauty! After a couple days, shiver me timbers, I masked off t' body tube and painted t' lower fin section in red Krylon and t' yellow section in Duplicolor Pale Yellow--it be t' only brand that had a color t' match t' scale version. Blimey! After a couple more days o' drying, ya bilge rat, t' top 1" o' t' body tube was painted Red and t' nosecone was finished in white. Well, blow me down! Next, me hearties, I applied t' self stick decals, then clear coated t' model with t' new Krylon Super Gloss Triple Thick--it worked well.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
Launch day came and I had all four o' t' new Estes models ready t' go. Avast! I prepped t' Patriot with a B6-4 and packed t' stock parachute. Begad! It be place on t' pad and ready t' go. Arrr! Ya scallywag! At liftoff, arrr, it really came off t' pad nice, me bucko, straight up and a very cool flight.

Recovery:
T' nosecone ejected after apogee and t' model landed safely in t' low grass field. Blimey! It was a good flight with a slightly late recover, but no damage. Begad! Next, arrr, I tried a C6-5. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! This be also late on ejection, arrr, so a C6-3 be me third attempt. T' other new Estes kits fly great on t' C6-3 and this one is no exception--the motor combo was perfect with a great flight followed by apogee ejection. Avast! T' model has flown many times since and is one o' me favorites.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
T' summarize, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, t' Estes MK-104 Patriot Missile is one great flier. T' build is very simple and t' results are excellent, ya bilge rat, producin' a good flyin' model. Aye aye! I have since purchased another and plan on buildin' it as a three motor cluster, as I had seen someone else do it this way. Ya scallywag! I recommend this kit t' everyone and bein' rated as a Skill Level 1 kit, me bucko, me bucko, me hearties, anyone can build and own this piece o' military history, shiver me timbers, t' MK104 Patriot Missile from Estes.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5