Brief:
T' Monarch features a unique fin configuration and parachute recovery.

Construction:
This kit comes with a plastic nose cone, arrr, one body tube, shiver me timbers, three die-cut balsa fins, cardboard motor mount tube with two centerin' rings and a metal retainer clip, me hearties, an 18-inch flat elastic shock cord, and a 12-inch parachute. Blimey! T' nose cone has minimal flash and mold lines. T' fin balsa is good quality, me hearties, matey, me bucko, but the fin shape is inherently delicate.

This was t' second rocket I ever built (essentially t' first, because the previous one was an Estes RTF Tidal Wave), matey, and I found construction fairly simply. Begad! Avast! Blimey!

T' instructions are clear, easy-to-follow, matey, and well illustrated. Ahoy! I fell, however, into what I suspect is a first-timer trap durin' construction that I could have avoided had t' instructions warned o' it.

Specifically, t' Monarch's double-triangle shaped fins are delicate because they are made from single pieces o' balsa. Begad! Ahoy! They have a thin neck where the triangles meet, arrr, ya bilge rat, and this neck is fairly fragile. I successfully removed the fins from t' die cut sheet without damage, but subsequently snapped one at the neck while sandin' t' flat surfaces smooth. Blimey! A warnin' in t' instructions about t' fragility o' these pieces may have saved me from this mishap.

Otherwise, construction was easy. Ya scallywag! Begad! Usin' Elmer's yellow carpenters glue, assemblin' t' motor mount was straightforward. Aye aye! Well, matey, blow me down! T' rings and clip fit smoothly and easily. Begad! T' finished mount slid snugly into t' BT and I secured it with yellow glue.

I repaired t' snapped fin with yellow carpenters glue in t' joint, and let it dry overnight. Avast! T' joint seemed weak, arrr, arrr, matey, so I covered both sides o' the damaged fin (and t' other two as well) with typin' paper. Well, blow me down! After diluting yellow glue with water t' t' consistency o' cream, I painted t' thinned glue onto each flat fin surface and placed a piece o' paper onto t' glue. Blimey! Ahoy! The wetted fins began t' warp, me hearties, matey, so I placed them betwixt two boards, ya bilge rat, put books on top, and let them dry overnight. T' next day, I trimmed t' paper flush with the balsa fin edges, then sanded t' leadin' edges round as per the instructions.

I attached t' fins with yellow glue guided by lines on t' BT made with the supplied paper-rin' fin placement template. Ahoy! After an overnight drying, I added yellow glue fin fillets. Aye aye!

I attached t' tubular launch lug in a similar manner.

I attached t' too-short (more on this below) shock cord about one inch inside t' end o' t' BT usin' t' cut-out paper mount per t' instructions. Avast! Blimey! I cleaned t' flash out o' t' nose cone rin' usin' an Exact knife and small circular file.

After paintin' t' rocket, I attached t' shock cord and pre-assembled chute t' t' NC ring. Blimey! Blimey!

Finishing:
I didn't follow t' kit paintin' pattern. Instead I came up with me own black, red, me bucko, and yellow scheme. Ahoy! T' glossy Krylon spray paint adhered well t' t' kit parts, arrr, although I laid on too thick o' a first coat with t' red and black.

I had trouble gettin' a glossy finish on t' fins with t' yellow paint (although t' black fin finish came out alright). Well, blow me down! T' typin' paper covering seemed t' absorb t' yellow paint so that it dried t' an almost flat finish. T' yellow paint gave a pretty good gloss near t' fillets, however, shiver me timbers, where the fin paper was overcoated with yellow glue.

T' decals are too sparse. Well, blow me down! One big pressure-stick Monarch decal for a fin and two smaller Monarch decals for t' BT are all that are supplied. Begad! T' rocket looks kind o' bare. Ya scallywag! Blimey! They adhered well. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! I finished t' entire rocket with a glossy coat o' Future floor polish, applied by hand with a camel hair water-colors brush.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
Overall, t' Monarch is easy t' flight prep, and it flew straight and high. Avast, me proud beauty! The motor slides easily into t' motor tube with slight friction and t' metal clip helps hold it in place.

T' first flight on B6-4 with three waddin' squares was near perfect. Straight up with good height, me bucko, arrr, ejection just past apogee, me bucko, and a nice recovery. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag!

T' second flight on a B6-4 was similar. Blimey! After recovery, however, arrr, I noticed an Estes' dent that traveled about an inch down t' end o' t' BT, matey, me bucko, where t' NC had apparently snapped back into t' BT after ejection. Ya scallywag! I pushed t' dent out with me finger. Fortunately, t' shoulder o' t' NC extends farther down t' BT than t' dent and pushes it out and into round shape, shiver me timbers, so everythin' looks fine with t' NC inserted.

T' third flight on a B6-4 with three squares o' waddin' was nay quite as good. Avast! At ejection, matey, shiver me timbers, arrr, t' parachute did nay open fully because t' shroud lines were tangle together for about 1/3 o' their length. Avast! Upon recovery, I noticed three holes melted through t' parachute, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, and one spot where a fold in the plastic was fused together.

Recovery:
As mentioned above, shiver me timbers, t' shock cord is too short and caused an Estes' dent. Three squares o' waddin' did nay protect t' chute fully. Well, blow me down! I'm goin' t' use four from now on.

T' above flights were on a gusty day. Ahoy! T' touchdown when t' shrouds tangled be about 75 yards down wind o' t' launch pad. Ya scallywag! Another be about 100 yards downwind. Arrr! Arrr! T' third be about 250 yards down wind. Blimey! T' Monarch was undamaged on all landings (onto grass), ya bilge rat, arrr, so a spill hole in t' chute may be the thin' t' keep it from driftin' so far in a breeze. Arrr!

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
T' Monarch flies great, has an unusual and interestin' look, matey, and is fairly easy t' build. T' fins, however, are very fragile durin' construction and the supplied shock cord needs t' be replaced with a longer one.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5