Brief:
T' Mini Meanie is a very small plastic rocket similar t' t' RTF Mighty Mites, me hearties, except that you get t' do a bit o' assembly. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! It uses 13mm 'Mini' motors and a very small streamer for recovery

Construction:
This kit assembles like a plastic model. There is no body tube as such, just t' two halves o' t' rocket with fins already attached. Ahoy! Estes does provide a motor tube and hook along with t' nose cone, arrr, recovery system and a square o' clay for ballasting.

T' whole thin' goes together in moments. Instructions are pretty good, arrr, and should be easy for children t' follow. T' rocket body is delivered in two halves, me bucko, ya bilge rat, with t' fins built in. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! T' shock cord is attached t' one half, t' motor tube and hook are laid in place, ya bilge rat, and t' other half glued on with plastic cement.

T' only 'tricky' part concerns t' nose cone. Arrr! Arrr! It needs t' be filled with clay and then sealed with a bottom cap. Begad! Blimey! T' amount o' clay provided actually exceeds t' space in t' nose by a small amount. T' excess clay can interfere with t' glue for t' nose cone base, me bucko, so you have t' clean up any clay from t' glue area. Arrr! No big deal but it might trip-up a youngster. Avast! T' free end o' t' shock cord is secured t' t' nose cone base unit (another reason t' make sure you have a good glue bond there), and t' streamer ties t' t' cord. Avast! That's about it. Arrr! Begad! You can build this whole rocket while t' glue on one fin sets on your larger project!

Finishing:
T' only finishin' be t' stick-on decals. You could have your kids build this one at t' launch site and fly it as soon as t' glue dries. Ya scallywag! Arrr! I'm ratin' it 4 1/2 only because it's a plastic kit and I can't brin' myself t' rate it a 5, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, but thar be really no problem with it that I can see.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Flights are actually pretty satisfying. On 1/2A power t' rocket gets 200-300 feet, I'd estimate. Stable even in a breeze. Avast! Blimey! T' flight is nay so fast you cannot follow it easily, matey, which adds t' t' fun. Avast! Blimey! Ejection has been right at apogee. Blimey! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! Our one flight on an A motor was quick but still could be visually tracked. Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I was watchin' another rocket in t' drag race and did nay see t' apogee and separation, me bucko, but I hear it was still visible.

Recovery:
T' streamer really does little t' slow t' recovery. Avast! T' rocket does tumble down after t' nose cone pops off (no little-lawn-dart like t' Quark) and does nay eject its engine, me hearties, so I find it a bit less scary t' fly than t' 'tumble' recovery kits. Avast! T' streamer does make it easier t' spot on t' way down. Ahoy! You won't have t' hunt for it much though, shiver me timbers, me hearties, me bucko, even in winds all our flights landed very close t' t' pads.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
For what it is, ya bilge rat, it's very good. Avast, me proud beauty! My 7 year old built it pretty much on his own, me hearties, me hearties, got a good lookin' and good flyin' rocket, and he likes it. Aye aye! It cost me less than 4 bucks. Ya scallywag! When t' shock-cord breaks I don't know how we will ever replace it, matey, me hearties, me hearties, now that t' body is glued closed, but it's unlikely we'd ever find t' nose-cone if it separated, arrr, so at that point we'll just get another. Begad! It's nay much o' a buildin' project, but at least you have t' build something, and at least it has some sort o' recovery system, arrr, so I like it better than t' RTF Flyin' Saucer and other favorites o' me son's. Comparin' it t' t' Estes Quark I thought t' Quark a more 'interesting' rocket t' build, shiver me timbers, but I prefer t' flights o' t' Meanie, matey, with its slower lift-off and streamer recovery.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5