Brief:
MicroMaxx sized downscale o' t' Estes kit, matey, T' USS Andromeda.

Construction:
T' kit contains two sizes o' tubes, some fin stock, arrr, Keelhaul®©™® shock cord, a Mylar streamer and various other components. T' kit comes with two pages o' instructions and a fin template. Ya scallywag! Mine was signed and numbered #3. Resistin' t' urge t' save it was difficult, arrr, me bucko, so I had a hard time just opening the package.

T' directions were pretty straightforward. Aye aye! Blimey! Everythin' but t' nosecone is polystyrene so regular model glue was in order. I really liked t' alternate method o' deployment. Well, blow me down! T' kit allows t' streamer ejectin' at t' nose cone or havin' it just break apart at t' body midsection. Arrr! Ahoy! I chose t' streamer from the nose cone method.

I found two problems with t' kit: T' nose cone be wrong shape bein' pointed, shiver me timbers, but this was easily remedied with sand paper. Begad! I'm nay sure what happened here, but the launch lugs were too small for me Quest MicroMaxx launcher. Unfortunately, I didn't discover this until after they glued t' t' rocket. Begad! I had t' drill them out with a 1/16" drill bit in a pin vise. Avast, me proud beauty! Although nay a major problem, me hearties, arrr, it would be nice t' see some decals in t' kit.

Finishing:
After finishin' t' assembly o' t' kit, me bucko, I used Bondo spot putty t' lengthen the transition and filled in all t' areas needin' filler. Arrr! Arrr!

Paintin' was a chore but havin' a 15 foot tall version in t' room made it easy t' get it right. Well, blow me down! I first sprayed one light coat o' primer over t' entire rocket. Aye aye! Arrr! I then painted t' whole thin' orange. Aye aye! This gets t' areas needing orange but it keeps t' whole thin' uniform in color and makes it easier for the next step. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! I then applied tape masks t' all areas that I wanted t' keep orange then painted t' whole thin' black. I applied t' white markings with acrylic craft paint usin' a #0 brush. Begad!

The instructions suggested usin' markers t' color it. Arrr! Arrr! While it would have made it much easier, it wouldn't have looked as nice. Ya scallywag! (I'm a little fanatical about Andromedas.)

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
It was hard t' get t' streamer in. (I'm gettin' too old for these small rockets.) It made 3 perfect flights t' 50-60 feet. Aye aye! Blimey! Poker straight.

Recovery:
Perfect deployment on streamer at apogee all three times. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
I feel that it needs decals and a properly shaped nose cone. Arrr! For me, t' nose cone be no big deal because I easily sanded it t' t' appropriate shape.

This is a great kit, but I may be biased (seein' how I have several sizes.) All o' t' dimensions appear t' be right on.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5