Brief:
Another fine miniaturization job by ASP. Ya scallywag! This is a roughly 1/50th scale o' the 1954-1959 Army anti-aircraft missile. It's also a great value, shiver me timbers, available for under $6, and flies on motors that can generally be found for about $0.40-$0.50 apiece.

Construction:
ASP's parts list includes some very good quality packed in this $6 kit:

• Styrene fin stock
• Styrene launch lug
• 2 body tubes
• 2 tube couplers (one serves as engine block)
• Keelhaul®©™® shock cord
• Nose weight sinker
• Hardwood nose cone
• Mylar streamer
• Waterslide decal

ASP's instructions are generally well written and easy t' follow but tend to be a bit light on illustrations. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! They are generally geared for t' competition flyer and this would make a very good peanut sport scale entry. Avast, me proud beauty! Overall, me hearties, arrr, I'd rate this a skill level 2.5 t' 3, mainly due t' t' challenge o' workin' in micro scale.

Construction starts with sandin' and markin' t' body tube. Well, blow me down! There was a neat little styrene angle supplied for use as a markin' tool. Begad! Imagine tryin' to use t' doorjamb method on a 7mm tube!

Cuttin' t' fins from styrene stock is a bit tricky and t' instructions offer a good tip o' usin' double-sided tape t' hold t' stock in place while you mark and cut. Blimey! Begad! There are 4 fins for this kit. Avast! I tacked t' fins t' t' body usin' thin CA then a medium CA fillet. Ahoy! Well, blow me down!

Next, shiver me timbers, one o' t' couplers is cut t' be used for a mini bulkhead, ya bilge rat, holding the nose weight. Blimey! Blimey! T' nose cone (made o' a very nice hardwood) is glued into the end. Avast! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! At t' aft end, shiver me timbers, arrr, t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord is anchored by tyin' it t' t' sinker wedged in t' coupler. Avast, me proud beauty! The remainin' coupler section is inserted into t' aft end o' t' body tube, also servin' as a motor block.

T' launch lug is then attached but uses a standoff piece. Ahoy! After building mine, I'd really prefer t' lose t' lug and make a MMX tower launcher. Avast, me proud beauty! It definitely detracts from t' great overall appearance.

This rocket also gets two conduits cut as very tiny and thin strips from the styrene stock. Begad! They go on opposin' sides o' t' body tube centered between fin lines.

Finishing:
Finishin' a micro scale rocket is truly a pain. Avast! This uses a pretty simple paint scheme: white base, ya bilge rat, black fins, matey, and black conduits. Avast! Unfortunately, you're dealin' with areas o' body betwixt fins that's only about 5mm wide, so masking and trimmin' is very hard t' do effectively. I spent t' better part o' one evenin' cuttin' custom sized strips o' maskin' tape then trimmin' slightly after application.

T' end result worked fairly well with only one minor blemish where the black bled through although I was able t' scrape this off before it had fully cured.

There is also a basic "US ARMY" waterslide decal for opposing sides o' t' body.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Hawks are regardless o' scale, only marginally stable at best. Well, blow me down! This one be no exception, shiver me timbers, loopin' once in mid-flight although generally always heading upwards. Avast, me proud beauty! T' MicroMaxx motor makes for an amusin' flight: incredible thrust-to-weight ratio, arrr, resultin' in flight speeds faster than most deadlights will be able t' pick up. Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! When you fly these, arrr, matey, you're definitely lookin' more for the puff o' smoke more than t' actual flight. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Anyone who catches one o' these in flight on film or digital media is sure t' win one o' EMRR's photo contests.

Recovery:
T' mylar streamer deployed but didn't manage t' unfurl. Begad! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! That failure was probably from bein' packed too long on too cold a day. Well, blow me down! Avast! Still, t' rocket tumbled gently down and was recovered for future flights. No damage at all.

Flight Rating: 2 out o' 5

Summary:
PROs: outstandin' scale detail in such a small scale, ya bilge rat, arrr, very affordable kit.

CONs:unstable flight, might need more nose weight.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5