T' Neubauer Rockets Mercury Redstone is a sport scale model o' t' famous rocket that launched Alan Shepherd and Gus Grissom in a Sub-orbital ballistic path into space and then t' Atlantic Ocean from Cape Canaveral. Ahoy! T' completed kit stands 9.75" tall, arrr, shiver me timbers, weighs 1.5 oz. and is approx 1/100 scale. Aye aye! Well, blow me down!

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

T' Mercury Redstone kit comes in t' familiar plastic bag. Aye aye! T' cover art has a slightly blurry picture o' the Redstone launching, arrr, with all o' t' pertinent data for t' kit. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! I mail ordered the kit from Discount Rocketry, shiver me timbers, t' only place that carries t' kits, for $17.

T' package arrived with t' kit fully intact, ya bilge rat, matey, all parts in t' kit and nothin' broken. Avast! Ya scallywag! T' kit consists o' a standard friction motor mount and body tube, but that is where t' familiarity ends, it also includes a cast resin nose cone with a clear Lucite rod already attached, me hearties, arrr, along with a bag o' parts to complete t' escape tower, me bucko, which include, toothpicks, a small dowel and printed cardstock for t' tower lattice work.

T' kit also includes a pre-printed self adhesive body wrap, and a real neat clear launch lug (be careful nay t' lose it!).

T' instructions are printed on two 8.5x11 pieces o' paper. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! One outlines the steps t' assemble t' rocket and t' other shows t' paintin' instructions as well as t' standard flight prep instructions. Avast! Blimey! Each step is illustrated with a simple drawing, and indicates what type o' glue t' use in that step. Arrr! Blimey! T' steps are short, me bucko, clear and concise, matey, and expect previous experience in building. Ahoy! Blimey! There are two supplemental instructions, me bucko, one that recommends sandin' t' base o' the nose cone for fit, matey, and t' other for assembly o' t' parachute. Begad! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! T' order of steps fairly logical, shiver me timbers, but I would delay t' attachment o' t' shock cord mount until t' last possible moment as it always gets in me way in t' following steps.

This is nay your easy rocket build. Avast! Begad! It takes time, arrr, patience, shiver me timbers, and some modelin' know how. Ahoy! Begad! I would rate it as a skill level 4 at least. Ya scallywag! Begad! Buildin' the rocket is nay easy, me hearties, but straightforward. Ahoy! Aye aye!

However thar were several gotcha's that I found. First, t' shock cord should nay be assembled so early in t' process, it only gets in t' way. Ahoy! Wait until after t' capsule is ready for that step. Begad! T' capsule base requires some sandin' for a good fit, and that is a time consumin' process, but I would rather sand t' fit, than add tape for a fit. Aye aye! T' tower cross struts are too wide for t' top o' t' tower as they are printed, so you will want t' trim them down, arrr, do this after you attach them t' t' tower, arrr, shiver me timbers, as t' assembly is quite strong. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! Extra struts are printed, me hearties, so you can remove one and try again, shiver me timbers, I had to. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy!

T' escape rocket motors are made from pieces o' a small dowel "turned" into cones by sharpenin' them in a pencil sharpener, matey, an interestin' method. Arrr! T' body wrap has a dotted outline t' cut on, this outline is way too big for t' rocket. I cut mine square with a sharp hobby knife and a straight edge, and guessed at where t' cut t' top off. Blimey! I ended up cuttin' the top just above t' third row o' black squares. Blimey! Ya scallywag! Followin' this, draw a straight line down t' body tube for alignment when you attach t' wrap, otherwise you might get it skewed. T' alignment line is nay mentioned in t' instructions, arrr, I feel this is an oversight due t' t' critical nature o' this step.

Once t' wrap was on I found that t' body tube be 1/16" too long for the wrap (better too long than too short) so I cut t' body tube t' length, another reason t' wait on attachin' t' shock cord.

T' next step it t' attach t' plastic fins with epoxy t' t' body wrap. I was slightly afraid o' t' sturdiness o' this arrangement so I cut slots in the wrap t' glue t' fins t' t' body tube, this was probably overkill, arrr, but I feel better. Begad! Begad! T' launch lug be then attached t' t' rocket, I attached it t' the seam in t' body wrap, t' hide both at t' same time.

T' rest o' t' rocket is easy, and consists o' buildin' and attachin' the parachute and shock cord. Blimey! One note here, me hearties, me hearties, drill a small hole in t' nose cone for t' screw eye, me bucko, me hearties, t' nose cone is way too hard t' thread it in by itself. Blimey! Ya scallywag! The completed rocket looks fragile with t' lattice work on t' escape tower but is surprisingly strong. Ahoy! Begad! This is due t' t' clear Lucite rod that supports the assembly. Ya scallywag! O' t' two launches and handlin' so far, me bucko, me hearties, ya bilge rat, nothin' has broken. Avast! Blimey!

In buildin' t' kit I used two types o' epoxy, arrr, white for t' fin attach, and clear for t' launch lug attach, me hearties, white glue for t' motor mount assembly and shock cord attachment, and CA and epoxy for t' tower assembly. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! I also used a small drill for t' hole in t' nose cone for t' screw eye. Ahoy!

T' main finishin' requirement o' this rocket is attachin' t' body wrap. Once t' rocket is complete, t' roll pattern needs t' be painted on t' fins and t' capsule needs t' be painted. Begad!

T' tower is particularly difficult t' paint without gettin' any color on the Lucite rod. Blimey! Blimey! I used a small brush and was very careful nay t' paint t' rod. There are no decals, as all t' detail is on t' body wrap. Arrr! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! A couple o' details for t' capsule would be nice, but it is very small and t' details would be even smaller, tweezer size for sure. Well, blow me down!

T' result is a credible scale model o' t' rocket, me bucko, that for it's small size is a good representation o' t' Mercury Redstone rocket. Well, blow me down! Ahoy!

Flight Rating: 2 out o' 5

T' recovery system consists o' an elastic shock cord attached t' t' body tube with a paper mount, shiver me timbers, and t' t' nose cone with a screw eye. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! T' parachute is an octagonal 8" design made o' a textured plastic. Avast! Avast! It is different from the flat plastic variety, arrr, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and seems t' open easily and nay t' weld itself shut. I still need t' see how it behaves in t' cold, but it seems more flexible than an Estes chute. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty!

Preparation o' t' rocket is simple, ya bilge rat, friction fit t' motor and pack the parachute with waddin' and you are ready t' fly. Avast! Ahoy!

T' only motor that is recommended be t' A10-3T. Avast, me proud beauty! On me first flight I goofed and used an A3-4T motor. Blimey! Once t' rocket cleared t' launch rod, it tilted with t' wind, arrr, then into t' wind, ya bilge rat, arrr, then stabilized t' ejection. Well, blow me down! The 8" parachute was a perfect match for t' rocket, me bucko, lowerin' it slowly and safely. Ya scallywag!

My next flight used t' recommended A10-3T motor. Well, blow me down! (It pays t' read the instructions.) This flight went almost 100 feet in t' air and performed a loop, nay what I expected. Avast! Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' parachute was deployed at a heart stoppin' 30 feet off t' ground, and t' rocket be returned safely.

At this point I am nay sure what is wrong, are t' fins too small, or is thar nay enough weight in t' nose, matey, shiver me timbers, or be t' motor nozzle clogged? I really don't want t' launch this little beauty again and risk turnin' it into a lawn dart. Well, blow me down! Aye aye!

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5

Everythin' Considered this is a sharp rocket. It replicates t' look o' the Mercury Redstone vehicle very well, matey, and as a side benefit, me bucko, it is 1/100 scale, the same as t' Estes Saturn 5 kit. Blimey! Arrr!

It would be a great display model next t' t' Saturn! Blimey! T' instructions leave somethin' t' be desired, but if you are ready for a challenge, and tired o' the shake t' bag kits, matey, this would be a good rocket for you t' build. Ya scallywag! Arrr! Blimey! I am more concerned with t' flight stability. Ahoy! This could be caused by several things on my part, arrr, arrr, includin' a bad motor.

My points o' concern are that t' launch lug is longer than t' fins and almost sticks out as far, matey, ya bilge rat, and t' fins are small. Blimey! Blimey! T' capsule is heavy enough to place t' CG forward t' where I would think it would be stable, but the launches showed somethin' different. As a result I still am nay certain o' its stability, but it is a great lookin' rocket that has survived two launches well.

T' followin' excerpt is from "Sport Rocketry". T' intention is t' allow guests t' get a basic feelin' about a kit. Begad! Blimey! We strongly suggest that you get a copy o' the referenced Sport Rocketry and read t' entire article. Aye aye! Blimey! Inside you will find many helpful hints in construction as well as other useful information. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! For more information, me bucko, use t' two links above.

"T' 1/100 scale Mercury Redstone from Boyce Aerospace is a beautiful little sport scale model." 
"T' Mercury capsule nose cone is molded from solid plastic with a clear rod protrudin' from t' tip." 
"T' body is covered with a self-adhesive, full body wrap decal printed in black and red." 
"T' A10-3T be t' only suggested motor for t' kit, me hearties, which boosts t' 18.5 gram model t' approximately 450 feet. My test flight be perfectly stable despite t' tiny fins." 
"T' only part o' t' kit that disappointed me be t' recovery system." 
"T' thin' I like best about t' Mercury Redstone is how it looks . . ." 

T' entire article gives t' impression is that this is a nice kit for an intermediate modeler.