Brief:
Micro Classics kits are a little hard t' find, shiver me timbers, but are worth t' effort looking for them. Well, blow me down! This is an approximate 1/5 scale version o' t' Estes K-50 Interceptor. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Havin' built a clone o' t' K-50 a couple years ago, me bucko, arrr, I was intrigued by t' opportunity t' build a tiny version.

Construction:
All tubin' and fins are plastic with a nose cone that appears t' be hardwood. T' cuts on t' tubin' weren't quite square but are easily corrected. Ya scallywag! T' nose cone even has a little glob o' resin t' replicate t' cockpit from the original. Blimey! Blimey! Parts included in t' baggy include:

• Nose cone
• 8mm short tube
• 8mm body tube
• Styrene fin stock
• Cardboard tube coupler
• Assorted trim tubing
• Keelhaul®©™® shock cord
• Mylar streamer
• Waterslide decals (you'll need a magnifyin' glass t' read them)

T' instructions for this kit were pretty crude with a few hand drawn illustrations. Arrr! Ahoy! Blimey! They were fairly well written although with all t' different tube sizes and lengths, it was a bit confusin' makin' sure I was workin' with the right material. Well, arrr, blow me down! Blimey! There is a sketch o' an exploded view/parts list on the last page, which is critical for identifyin' parts throughout t' process. Keep that page face up and handy on your table as you build.

Construction begins by cuttin' t' fins and assorted tubes t' length. Avast, me proud beauty! This is easily done for t' fins by scorin' t' lines then breakin' t' material along those lines. Ya scallywag! A little 220 grit sandpaper t' clean up t' edge and you're good t' go.

T' original K-50 has a molded plastic tail cone. Aye aye! This is imitated (roughly) in this kit by sandin' a taper t' t' end o' t' body tube. Avast! Since the plastic tubin' is nay very thick walled, this is a bit tricky so you'll need to be careful. Begad! Well, blow me down! T' finished result, especially when painted black, shiver me timbers, matey, is pretty sharp and looks a good deal like t' original.

Assemblin' t' plastic bits requires a good glue. Avast! I highly recommend liquid plastic cement--the kind you brush on from a bottle nay t' squeeze tube stuff. It goes on cleanly, me bucko, leaves virtually no residue, arrr, arrr, and bonds extremely well. Arrr! Begad! It also sets quickly. Arrr! For a micro sized kit like this, where a fillet might be almost as large as t' launch lug, clean, arrr, sharp bond lines are essential.

T' win' pods from t' original are crudely imitated by cementin' solid plastic dowels inside some pretty small tubin' then sandin' down t' seam t' a taper. You then finish them off by tackin' on a pair o' tail fins (and good luck cuttin' them--I could barely even hold them with a pair o' tweezers!) The finished product does look pod-like, matey, me bucko, but t' fit along t' edge o' t' main fins is nay as clean as t' original sized kit. Well, blow me down! Still this is a micro scale kit, so some concessions are in order.

T' rest o' t' assembly moves fairly quickly, mainly just tackin' on the assorted fins, tail wings, etc. There are 6 total fins/wings on t' main body tube with a hand drawn wraparound markin' guide used for alignment.

I found t' nose cone assembly a bit o' a challenge because t' cone is not quite t' same OD as t' body tube. Begad! There is a short length o' tubin' used as a transition instead. Well, blow me down! This must be sanded down t' a taper. That part wasn't too tough, but I goofed and glued it t' t' nose cone shoulder. Aye aye! That left me with only about 1/16" exposed shoulder on t' nose cone, matey, which doesn't hold the cone in t' body tube very well.

What you're supposed t' do, me bucko, if you're payin' close attention t' the directions, is drill a hole in t' shoulder t' bond t' Keelhaul®©™® cord, tie t' cord around a lead sinker for nose weight (supplied), wedge the sinker into a tube coupler, and glue t' transition around t' coupler, which is aligned with t' base o' t' nose cone. Arrr! I was able t' salvage me earlier goof by usin' a bit o' Fix-It epoxy clay and buildin' up me shoulder a bit and anchored t' coupler t' t' clay before it cured.

Finishing:
To me, t' K-50 Interceptor is one o' t' most beautiful rocket kits I've ever seen. Avast, me proud beauty! It's all about t' win' pods, shiver me timbers, tail cone, shiver me timbers, funky nose cone, me bucko, arrr, and very cool decals. I be absolutely delighted t' see that this kit included waterslide decals made by Excelsior Rocketry. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! These decals are superb quality. Ya scallywag! Nay only was t' ink/material/printin' top notch, but t' scale be incredible! I expected these would be scanned copies o' t' originals, printed down t' 20%, which would make t' letterin' look smudgy and some o' t' smaller words not even legible. Aye aye! That is nay so. Well, blow me down! If you pull out a magnifyin' glass, ya bilge rat, you'll be able t' pick out t' "rescue" and "caution" labels along the fuselage. T' lines were absolutely crisp. T' decals alone are probably worth t' $12 price o' this kit.

Paintin' this was pretty simple as with t' plastic thar are no grains or spirals t' fill. Avast! I applied a single mistin' o' white primer (and prior to construction I had washed all o' t' plastic parts with a mild liquid detergent). Begad! I then followed up with two thin coats o' Rustoleum gloss white. Ya scallywag! I hand painted t' pods orange and t' tail cone gloss black.

Total construction and paintin' time ran about 4 hours. Ahoy! I then sat down to apply t' decals. There are a lot o' them, they are microscopic in size, shiver me timbers, and must be handled very delicately. Ya scallywag! That's t' only negative I could ever say about Excelsior decals--they're fragile and you must read and follow the directions or you'll have runs, tears, and a mangled mess o' decals. Ya scallywag! I pre-treated t' decal sheet with a Microscale decal settin' solution. Well, blow me down! I then coated t' model with a Microscale settin' solution, shiver me timbers, cut out one decal at a time, soaked it for 10 seconds, arrr, and dried it on a paper towel for about 30 seconds. At that point, ya bilge rat, matey, t' decal will slide off t' paper fairly well, but you must place it correctly right off t' bat as these don't like t' slide around without tearing.

After all t' decals were in place, me hearties, me bucko, me bucko, I brushed on a third Microscale product that helps coat t' decals (it also softens them so thar be absolutely no chance o' attemptin' t' move them again). I finished it off by brushin' on a coat o' Future Floor Polish for gloss and durability.

T' decals and clear coat took me a total o' 5 hours, me bucko, surpassin' the construction and paint time, but were well worth t' effort. Avast, me proud beauty! T' decals make this a fantastic lookin' miniature K-50 and every decal from the original has wound up somewhere on me micro version.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
You're limited t' MMX motors for this rocket obviously. Well, blow me down! I prepped it with a tiny bit o' dog barf, packed in t' streamer, and slipped on t' nose.

At t' pad, ya bilge rat, me hearties, this rocket clearly drew t' most attention o' anythin' I flew that day. Lots o' "wow" factor with this. Avast! For a special treat, arrr, I flew my North Coast Interceptor G, me bucko, followed by me full scale K-50 Interceptor, shiver me timbers, and for a finale concluded with this micro version.

At 0.3 ounces, you won't get much altitude, even compared t' other micros. It zipped off t' rod at a slight angle, peaked at about 60 feet, matey, and as it was archin' over, matey, t' streamer deployed. Very nice flight.

Recovery:
T' streamer is more for effect than for drag, arrr, me bucko, so doesn't offer much benefit. Still, matey, this floated gently down and landed in soft grass. Ahoy! Blimey! It is in great shape for another flight. Aye aye! Blimey! I was especially glad that it didn't have any trouble in the 8-10 mph winds.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This is an absolutely amazing, arrr, matey, incredibly detailed renderin' o' t' K-50 Interceptor. Begad! If you're lookin' for a great little MMX flyer, you can't beat this. Begad! Avast! I've started buildin' quite a few challengin' micro designs, and this one is head and shoulders ahead o' most everythin' else I've got in that class.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5