Brief:
T' Estes Lucky Seven is a 1:50 scale model o' t' rocket bein' designed and built by Acceleration Engineering. Avast, me proud beauty! It features 95% plastic construction, Estes mini-engine power, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and parachute recovery. Avast! Arrr! Santa brought this kit for me 5 year-old son for Christmas 2004.

Construction:
This model is made entirely o' plastic, ya bilge rat, except for t' motor tube, ya bilge rat, motor hook, shiver me timbers, shock cord and parachute.

Here is a reasonably complete parts list:

• 3 piece white plastic nose cone
• white plastic body tube
• 4 silver plastic fins
• circular white plastic plate t' mount on bottom o' rocket
• 4 very small silver plastic rocket nozzles
• clay for nose weight
• 24" gray rubber band shock cord
• 12" plastic parachute

This is one o' Estes' E2X skill level kits, which means it is very easy t' assemble. Aye aye! Begad! Tube type plastic cement be t' recommended glue.

I used medium CA glue throughout because that's what I had and I've had good experiences usin' CA for gluin' plastic parts together in other model rockets. Avast! No parts have come apart (yet) when I used CA.

T' instructions were extremely easy t' follow. How could they nay be? Pull t' clay into two pieces and mold them into t' two halves o' t' nose cone, glue t' circular shock cord mount t' one half o' t' nose cone, and glue t' two halves o' t' nose cone together. Blimey! Blimey! Insert t' motor tube and hook into t' plastic body "tube," slide t' four plastic fins into t' slots in t' side o' t' body, and glue t' circular plate onto t' bottom o' t' body. Begad! Blimey! This plate serves as a retainer for t' fins as well as for t' motor mount. Aye aye! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Glue t' four tiny rocket nozzles where indicated onto t' bottom o' t' plate. Tie t' ends o' t' rubber band shock cord t' t' nose cone and t' inside o' t' body "tube," tie t' parachute shroud lines t' t' shock cord (closer t' t' body end than t' t' nose cone end, since t' parachute will be stuffed into t' nose cone), stick on t' stickers/decals, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, and voila! Blimey! T' rocket is finished!

T' build was very easy. Begad! T' only thin' that could even remotely be considered difficult was fittin' t' end o' t' rubber shock cord through t' small slot provided for it inside t' bottom o' t' body section. Well, me hearties, blow me down! My fingers are too big t' fit in there, me hearties, arrr, so I used t' tip o' a pencil t' help slide t' rubber band through t' slot. Ahoy! One other small thin' is that I had never built a model rocket usin' a rubber band shock cord, shiver me timbers, so I wasn't sure just how tightly t' tie t' knots in t' two ends. Arrr! We'll see if I tied them either tight enough or too tight.

Everythin' fit perfectly. Arrr! T' nose cone pieces glued together nicely, t' nose cone fit into t' body really well, and t' fins slid into t' slots in t' body very well. Ya scallywag! T' retainin' plate that be glued t' t' bottom o' t' body seemed t' hold t' motor mount and fins exactly as intended.

Since it's made entirely o' plastic, me bucko, this rocket is sturdy. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! In fact, matey, I taped t' nose cone on with scotch tape and me son has been flyin' it around t' house like that for a week.

All o' t' white plastic parts are hard, me bucko, rigid plastic. Aye aye! T' silver plastic fins, though, are much more flexible. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! Assumin' this was a deliberate choice on Estes' part, it was probably done so that t' fins are less likely t' break upon landing. Avast! That seems like a good idea t' me.

I did nay use ANY tools t' build this rocket, only medium CA glue.

Finishing:
Finishin' involved removin' clear peel-and-stick plastic decals from t' backin' sheet and stickin' them onto t' sides o' t' model. There were two "Lucky Seven" decals, arrr, one "Acceleration Engineering" decal, one "X Prize" decal, me hearties, arrr, one "Estes" decal, and a decal that listed t' recommended motor (A10-3T only).

My son told me where t' apply t' decals, me bucko, me bucko, and I did as I was told.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
T' only recommended motor be t' 13 mm Estes A10-3T.

Waddin' is required, arrr, and I used several squares o' Estes wadding, me hearties, which I wadded up and placed in t' rocket. Aye aye! T' motor is retained by t' plastic "thrust ring" molded into t' rocket's body and by a mini engine hook. Arrr! No problems were seen with motor retention.

I've flown this model three times. First flight was extremely low and t' rocket moved very slowly off t' launch pad. Blimey! Nay only did t' parachute fail t' deploy, me bucko, me hearties, but t' nose cone didn't even pop off. Arrr! T' rocket landed on asphalt nose cone first, shiver me timbers, and t' only damage be a slight dent t' t' tip. On closer inspection, I found two major problems. I used an A3-4T instead o' t' recommended A10-3T and t' ejection charge didn't go off! Looks like I should both read and followed t' instructions, me hearties, but this be t' first ejection charge failure I've ever seen.

Second and third flights were much more as expected. Blimey! I actually used A10-3T motors and t' parachute ejected fine both times. Avast! Flight be still pretty low but it allowed me t' see t' whole flight.

Recovery:
T' shock cord be t' gray rubber band that Estes has started providin' with their kits again. Blimey! I have read that this material is supposed t' last longer than t' elastic shock cord material Estes used before but only time will tell.

There has been no shock cord damage in three flights (two where t' ejection charge actually went off), however, ya bilge rat, t' parachute shroud lines have gotten really tangled both times t' chute deployed.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
PROs: It's so simple, matey, pretty much anyone could build it. It's sturdy plastic, me bucko, so an energetic 5 year old can play with it without fear o' damage.

CONs: It's so simple, matey, pretty much anyone could built it. It's a toy! Minor difficulty in gettin' shock cord into mount inside body.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5