Brief:
QModelin' makes their upscale replica rockets big with long satisfyin' builds usin' a huge number o' parts (roughly 80 parts in this kit). T' Mega Snooper is no exception. Arrr! Ahoy! This is a great kit.

Construction:
This kit is rated skill level 4. Avast, me proud beauty! Havin' recently finished t' dauntin' QModelin' Andromeda, it actually seemed a bit easier. Aye aye! On t' other hand, t' instructions list among t' additional needed items: "A Brain or Two". Ahoy! Definitely don't leave yours behind! My instructions listed 77 major steps, matey, matey, nay countin' various sub-steps. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! T' most challengin' part be t' aft engine pod area with t' radiator fins and several hand-made conic shapes.

Assembly is sufficiently complex that I can't detail t' whole process here. Arrr! Aye aye! Roughly, t' plan goes like this:

• Nose cone (all 4) and transition prep.
• Jig assembly. Aye aye! Blimey! QModelin' provides extremely clever multi-purpose jigs t' help with some o' t' more complicated alignment tasks. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Once you've used jigs in a major build, you'll consider them t' be a feature that you'll be willin' t' pay a bit extra for next time you're shoppin' for a kit.
• Motor mount assembly. QModelin' uses its specialized hexagonal bracin' system instead o' traditional centerin' rings. Ahoy! This also provides an interior lattice for through-the-wall fin mounting.
• Construct t' outer pods and landin' assembly. Ahoy! This be t' fun part, shiver me timbers, with all sorts o' springs and special things.
• Upper and lower engine pod transitions. These are quite hard and require experience or great care t' get a good result. These are made by gently and slowly rollin' card stock t' t' desired cone shapes. Blimey! There are all sorts o' things that can go wrong, includin' irregular shape, me bucko, ugly seam, ya bilge rat, poor fit on tube or centerin' ring, etc. One nice design feature is that t' upper portion o' t' lower cone fits inside t' bottom edge o' t' upper cone. This helps you hide what would otherwise be an ugly joint. Avast! I could continue with more details, but suffice it t' say that thar are no easy steps here. Ya scallywag! It takes a lot o' putty and sandin' afterwards t' get a perfectly clean look.
• Attach all fins. These fit onto t' landin' pods, on t' t' upper airframe, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and through t' walls for t' main fins.
• Recovery system and launch lugs. Begad! Ahoy! Because o' all t' odd transitions, me bucko, two launch lugs are glued on t' upper and lower fins away from t' main body tube.
• Finishin' and painting. Ahoy! O' course, on a kit this complex, shiver me timbers, you should definitely do all t' filling, matey, putty, matey, and sandin' before assembly. Ya scallywag! My paint was more orange than what was suggested. T' kit has a lot o' decals. Alignin' t' stripes on t' fins is a bit tricky t' do by eye.

T' beauty o' this QModelin' kit (like their others) be t' plannin' that goes into t' assembly. Blimey! Avast! T' instructions and figures are pretty clear. T' build sequence is extremely linear, which prevents you from gettin' confused about where you are heading. Well, blow me down! And I love jigs! They help so much with gettin' all t' right angles and placements.

For me, thar were only two problems I encountered. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! First were t' radiator panels on t' engine pod. Aye aye! I got t' opposin' cones, me bucko, rings, and so forth done quite well, but those 8 little fins were really tough. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! Blimey! CA wouldn't stick and I kept knockin' one off as I tried t' apply pressure t' another. Avast, me proud beauty! T' results were a little messy t' sand smooth with all o' t' little nooks and crannies. I'm happy with t' result, but it is nay flawless.

T' second, ya bilge rat, more serious problem involved t' retractin' spring-loaded landin' legs. Avast! I painted t' whole kit and applied t' decals. Tryin' t' show me wife how cool those legs were, me hearties, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, I suddenly found out that they were locked in place by t' paint. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! T' fit betwixt t' leg and its centerin' rin' leaves absolutely no extra room. Aye aye! Therefore, absolutely no paint could remain on t' leg if t' leg is t' slide through t' centerin' rin' passage. Begad! There was no way I could sand down t' legs enough, ya bilge rat, arrr, me bucko, and I wanted them painted anyway. Begad! T' fix t' problem, ya bilge rat, matey, I used t' Dremel t' drill a rin' o' small holes around t' leg entry. Begad! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Then I used me knife t' knock out t' remainin' bits t' form a much wider, irregular hole which was wide enough t' allow t' legs t' slide. Avast, me proud beauty! T' better way t' fix this is t' drill out these leg-centerin' rings before assembly. Arrr! I would recommend that t' diameter if t' inner hole should be about twice as large as t' diameter o' t' leg. Arrr! Begad! Alternatively, you could finish t' legs with graphite, pencil lead, stain, or markin' pen.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
T' first flight was on a cool day at t' prairie with gentle winds. I had only me short rod (48in) whereas t' instructions wisely stress usin' a 72in rod. So I chose a E28-4 reload t' provide an extra takeoff boost. Aye aye! Liftoff was quick, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, and t' rocket climbed strongly but slowly enough for us all t' get a good look at it. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! T' rocket was very stable. Havin' seen this launch, arrr, I think t' E28 is a great motor. I would never fly it on a D12 and am reluctant t' use an E9, but Chan reports good success with t' E9 motor. Ahoy! Ahoy! I'm goin' t' try a F21 next.

Ejection be at apogee. I had added a second parachute t' t' recovery system. Begad! T' do this, matey, matey, ya bilge rat, I began by addin' several extra yards o' Keelhaul®©™ betwixt t' lower and upper body portions. Blimey! Then I tied about 8 feet o' Keelhaul®©™ from t' main strin' outward. Avast, me proud beauty! At t' end I attached a parachute. Avast! Blimey! Then I added another 8ft strin' and another identical chute. Ideally, arrr, it would look like a "Y" comin' down: two chutes above and all t' rocket danglin' below in two parts. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Both chutes fit in t' body tube, but thar wasn't a lot o' extra space.

One o' t' chutes failed t' open and fluttered as a wad o' nylon durin' descent. Blimey! Well, matey, blow me down! T' other chute was fine. (Next time, I'm goin' t' let t' two body parts descend separately with their own chutes.)

Recovery:
I think that t' unopened chute had some sort o' dampenin' effect because durin' t' last couple hundred feet down t' rocket had almost no swing. Avast! Well, blow me down! I thought thar was a serious chance that I could stick t' landing! Alas, no such luck. However, ya bilge rat, me bucko, me hearties, it did land legs-first and gave a nice bounce before fallin' sideways into t' prairie. Blimey! There are so many parts t' break that it would seem almost impossible for such a big ornate rocket t' land unblemished, but mine did. T' flight and recovery were perfect!

When I got home and removed t' motor casing, matey, I noted that it was stickin' out t' aft about 1.5in extra. Arrr! Apparently t' engine hook had broken free and slipped backward a bit. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! I had used a motor spacer t' compensate for t' length o' t' reload, me hearties, but thar had been a little empty wiggle space (1/16in?). Avast! My theory is that this helped ejection shoot t' casin' backwards into t' motor hook and knock it free. Aye aye! T' damage is invisible and easily repaired.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
Once again QModelin' has hit a home run. T' Mega Snooper is a kit for t' serious builder, and it will attract lots o' attention on t' ground. Flyin' it is just as fun, but skip t' weak E9 motors and head straight for t' good stuff.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5