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

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

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

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

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

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

The instructions suggested usin' markers t' color it. Begad! While it would have made it much easier, me bucko, shiver me timbers, it wouldn't have looked as nice. (I'm a little fanatical about Andromedas.)

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

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

Recovery:
Perfect deployment on streamer at apogee all three times.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
I feel that it needs decals and a properly shaped nose cone. Arrr! For me, ya bilge rat, 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