Brief:
After scorin' a large quantity o' very cheap MicroMaxx motors, arrr, I looked over t' less-than-stellar-flyin' fleet o' RTF's, shiver me timbers, and realized I need some real MicroMaxx rockets. Begad! Blimey! ASP t' t' rescue, with a series o' impressive micro scale offerings suitable for t' craftsman.

Construction:
At $5, arrr, you'll either ask yourself "why did I pay more for this kit than t' Quest starter kits are goin' for at clearance sales?" or you can look at t' quality o' components and scale accuracy and ask yourself "Why have I been payin' $20+ for decent scale kits?". Begad! Blimey! ASP packs a lot o' quality into this kit.

Parts list includes:

• 2 7.16mm body tubes
• 2 tube couplers
• Styrene fin stock
• Styrene launch lug & standoff
• Styrene angle (for tube marking)
• Wood nose cone (beautiful quality)
• Keelhaul®©™shock cord
• Waterslide decal

ASP's directions are clear and easy t' follow but tend t' be a bit shy on illustrations. Avast, me proud beauty! Still if you're a reasonably experienced builder you'll have no trouble with this, other than scalin' down your skills accordingly. Everythin' about this is tiny and requires careful attention t' detail for a good finish.

Before beginnin' construction, I decided t' fill t' tube spirals with Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish. Aye aye! Blimey! Definitely overkill but I might eventually need a peanut sport scale contest bird so I wanted t' do a decent job on t' craftsmanship on this one.

Next, arrr, shiver me timbers, I marked t' tubes usin' t' wraparound markin' guide. Ahoy! ASP provides a handy tiny styrene angle for use in markin' t' tubes. Aye aye! T' tubes are way too small t' use t' doorjamb method or even t' Estes tube markin' tool.

T' fins are then cut from styrene stock usin' patterns cut from t' instruction sheet. This is a little tricky and t' instructions offer a good tip: use two-sided tape t' hold t' stock in place and more two-sided tape t' hold t' pattern on. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Lightly scorin' t' styrene is sufficient as t' fins can then be broken away. Arrr! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! I went a little farther along t' obsessive-compulsive path by roundin' me leadin' and trailin' edges a bit.

Fins are attached t' t' body tube usin' CA. I've had mixed results bondin' plastic or G10 fins usin' CA and used a CA specifically designed for plastic t' do this. Blimey! Ahoy! I also followed up with small fillets.

Assembly o' t' upper section consists o' tyin' Keelhaul®©™ onto a tube coupler piece, ya bilge rat, arrr, matey, then gluin' that into t' upper body tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' nose cone is glued t' t' other end. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' Keelhaul®©™is then tied t' a smaller piece o' tube coupler that goes into t' lower tube, ya bilge rat, actin' as an engine block.

T' launch lug is attached usin' a standoff, which enables it t' fit into t' standard Quest launch system usin' rod position #1.

All told, you can probably build this in under an hour, arrr, ya bilge rat, arrr, assumin' you skip some o' t' detailed finishin' work.

Finishing:
I shot mine with two coats o' Krylon primer then sanded it down usin' 600 grit wet/dry paper followed by two coats o' gloss white. Well, blow me down! Begad! Next, matey, ya bilge rat, I masked off around t' fins and t' upper body tube where a 1/8" band o' red is applied.

Maskin' this is a real pain as t' sections o' tube betwixt fins is too small t' work in very well. Ya scallywag! Avast! I cut down some blue tape t' fit fairly well and pressed it in place usin' a toothpick. I then attempted t' seal it usin' a light coat o' gloss white again, arrr, hopin' that whatever bleeds under would match t' base coat. After allowin' that t' dry, matey, shiver me timbers, me hearties, I shot t' red coat. Blimey! Blimey! T' results weren't nearly as good as I'd hoped so I had a couple o' spots where t' red bled under t' mask. Begad! Begad! This be removed carefully usin' a dulled utility knife blade t' scrape it off. Blimey! (This can be done easily if you get on it before t' paint cures.)

After cleanin' up t' runs, arrr, I then applied t' waterslide decal. It might just be me, but I thought t' decal was a bit oversized for this kit. I feel me finished rocket doesn't quite look like t' scale photos I've seen, me bucko, me hearties, nor t' cover art on t' kit.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Nay a lot o' motor choices here. Blimey! Blimey! MMX is it.

First flight was on a windy day (10-14mph). Avast! I flew at our club launch, me bucko, where even our MicroMaxx pad gets hooked up t' a heavy duty 12V system, me hearties, so thar's plenty o' juice.

As with most MMX kits, this thin' popped off t' pad t' apogee about 150 feet up almost instantly. You don't "see" these fly as much as hear or sense them. Arrr! I didn't see apogee, but I picked up t' puff o' smoke and managed t' follow t' rocket back down, recoverin' it intact.

Recovery:
T' streamer is a bit too large for t' tube and jammed instead o' deploying. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Still, this is a fairly harmless rocket.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
PROs: Excellent scale detail packed into a micro body. Ahoy! Good value. Decals are amazin' for such a low price.

CONs: Shock cord/streamer fit problem.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5