Brief:
This is a very small, me hearties, matey, futuristic lookin' rocket. Begad! Overall t' kit is pretty good, shiver me timbers, it is just tiny. Well, blow me down!

Construction:
T' kit comes with two body tubes, arrr, one o' which be t' motor mount, a tube coupler, engine block, me hearties, arrr, engine hook, balsa fins and nose cone, ya bilge rat, water slide decals, shiver me timbers, rubber shock cord, matey, and an eye hook for t' nose cone.

When I first bought this model it was in a cardboard box instead o' t' regular plastic bag t' kits usually come in. Avast! Begad! When I opened t' kit up at home I was surprised t' find a balsa nose cone and water slide decals (thank you for listenin' t' us Estes). Aye aye! T' instructions were pretty good besides t' fact that t' main win' placement measurements are nay given. Ahoy! Well, me bucko, blow me down! I mounted mine too far back but it be no real problem.

T' balsa in this kit is very thin and flimsy due t' t' size o' t' model, which is very small. Arrr! Avast! T' engine hook is actually on t' outside o' t' body, arrr, but with some wood filler and sand paper I managed t' cover it up rather nicely. Arrr! Ahoy!

Most o' t' kit was just a straight forward, Estes build. There was nothin' special or very hard about this kit at all. Blimey! One thin' I did do, that I do t' ALL o' me Estes kits is t' nay use t' tri fold method t' attach t' shock cord, instead I used a steel fishin' leader. Arrr! I filed a groove into t' tube coupler and secured t' leader around that.

T' parachute was a plain white plastic chute. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! T' body tube bein' so small t' parachute really has t' be folded up good for it t' fit inside and I be worried about it bein' able t' deploy.

Finishing:
Finishin' this kit was rather easy, me hearties, even though I did a lot o' fillin' on it. Avast! Getting betwixt t' lower fins t' sand where I moulded around t' motor hook was t' most difficult part. Well, blow me down! Avast! After fillin' the balsa and spirals and mouldin' everythin' smooth I painted t' rocket with a couple coats o' primer and then three coats o' white paint. Begad!

T' decals included in t' kit are great. Begad! Aye aye! I am glad t' see water slide decals included with t' model. There is no direction really given on placin' t' decals other than a very small picture o' t' top and bottom o' t' display model. There are plenty o' decals included, arrr, in fact I did nay even use them all and I felt t' model came out rather nice looking.

After applyin' t' decals and allowin' them t' set over night I coated t' entire rocket with Krylon crystal clear gloss. I let t' rocket set up in me hobby room for a few days waitin' on it t' dry and t' winds t' die down so I could launch t' rocket.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I flew this rocket on a B6-4 for its first flight. Ahoy! Ahoy! T' winds were up above 10 MPH and thar was a light snow falling. Temperatures at t' time were below freezing. Blimey! T' flight be picture perfect. Ahoy! I did have t' aim t' launch pad into t' wind, matey, arrr, but t' rocket flew very nicely. Avast! Ya scallywag! At apogee t' nose cone blew just fine, me bucko, draggin' the parachute out with it, shiver me timbers, however t' parachute did NOT open, in fact t' shroud lines did nay even unwrap from t' chute. Nay sure if it was t' cold or t' chute be packed too tight or both, ya bilge rat, matey, but t' model came down and stuck t' tail fin about 2 inches into t' dirt. Lucky for me thar was absolutely no damage, me hearties, nay even a chip in t' finish, me bucko, which surprised me seein' as t' ground was pretty cold and frozen.

Recovery:
I replaced t' Estes tri-fold with a steel fishin' leader t' secure t' shock cord and replaced t' shock cord with a piece o' elastic 2.5X longer than t' one included. Begad! Blimey! Recovery could have gone better for me, matey, but if proper care is taken in packin' t' parachute and maybe addin' some talc I am sure it would come down fine. Seein' as t' model is very light weight as long as proper build techniques are used you should be able t' recover it on t' supplied parachute with no damage at all.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
In closin' I would like t' say that this is one very good lookin' model rocket. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! It may be small, me bucko, but it is a great flyer and a very satisfyin' rocket t' build.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5