Review copied, matey, with permission, arrr, from Sky High Hobbies.

Brief:

T' Zenith 2 Payloader is a high flyin' 2 stage rocket with a clear plastic payload bay. Arrr! It still lives on today as a slightly larger Zenith 2 Payloader rocket from QUEST Rockets. Ahoy! This be one o' t' molds that Quest bought from MPC when they went out o' business.

It's a fairly straight forward design with 3 slightly larger fins on t' first stage, and 3 smaller sharper fins on t' 2nd stage boost rocket. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' nose cone and coupler that joins t' booster t' t' clear payload bay are both made o' balsa.

T' kit contains:

T' Zenith 2 Payloader is one o' t' Mach 10 series o' MPC rocket kits. Arrr! It comes in a card board box and doesn't have vacuum formed detail parts that t' plastic packaged MPC kits have. Blimey! It does come with a block o' permanent flame proof waddin' and a good amount o' water slide decals. It has some roll patterns and you can choose t' deck it out as a NASA bird or an Air Force bird.

Construction:

Assembly began by gluin' t' booster joiner tube into t' first stage tube. Aye aye! Begad! Once again correct measurements on these parts and t' engine mounts is critical for gettin' all o' t' stages t' fit together properly. Blimey! T' engine mounts were assembled and glued and set aside t' dry. Begad! It's very important t' follow t' instructions t' get t' engine mount centerin' rings in their proper position so that t' stages will seat together correctly. As they were dryin' both sets o' fins were cut from their sheets. Each set o' 3 were pinned and sanded t' be identically sized. Well, blow me down! Then they were unpinned and formed by sandin' compound angles into t' leadin' and trailin' edges. T' booster and 1st stage tube were put together and t' lines for t' fins were measured and drawn on both stages together. Blimey! When t' fins were ready t' be glued on I followed what I normally do t' get multistage rockets t' look and perform their best. Which is . Begad! When mountin' t' fins on this, or any other, multistage rocket, shiver me timbers, I've found that it is best t' do it while all o' t' stages are fitted together. Aye aye! I start with t' last stage and work me way up t' rocket. Avast! When all o' t' fins are secured t' t' last stage I move t' t' next progressive stage makin' sure each fin is lined up with t' fin behind it. Begad! This makes for a very neat and precise appearance. It also insures that t' rocket will have very stable flights.

I painted t' payload tube coupler before gluin' it into t' payload tube. Aye aye! Blimey! Use plastic cement, arrr, nay wood glue, t' join t' coupler t' t' plastic payload tube. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! T' metal eye screw was then screwed and glued into t' center o' t' bottom o' t' payload coupler. T' nose cone is nay glued on but it must have a nice snug fit. T' get t' best fit, Sand it or add scotch tape as you may need. You don't want it poppin' off at apogee and spewin' your payload bay's contents out at 2000 feet AGL. Begad! I assembled t' 10" six sided parachute usin' t' latchin' swivel hook and it gets attached t' t' eye screw on t' payload tube coupler. Blimey! Blimey! T' shock cord is also tied t' t' eye screw and mounted t' t' booster tube by, arrr, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, again, threadin' t' cord through 3 holes in a piece o' card stock and gluin' it into t' booster tube far enough in so that it won't interfere with t' chute or nose cone. Begad! I gave this high flyin' bird A Great yellow and red paint job in keepin' with it's classic scheme.

Summary:

After havin' built many Quest produced Zenith 2 Payloader rocket kits, I really enjoyed gettin' me hands on t' original. It’s a lot o' fun workin' with t' older style balsa parts like t' nose cone and coupler. Begad! Most o' these types o' parts are plastic on modern kits. Well, blow me down! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! It takes a little bit o' skill and a lot o' care t' get t' fins lined up just right, me hearties, but it is nay too difficult t' do. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Once you do get them all lined up nicely, and get a smooth shiny paint job on it, you may agree with me that it’s one o' t' best lookin' rockets in t' MPC line-up.