Brief:
QModelin' has aimed for bigger and better upscales, this time pickin' t' Estes classic Nike-X, me bucko, offered from 1975-1984. Begad! This version is nearly a full 2:1 upscale o' t' original. Top quality components and instructions make this about a skill level 3 on construction.

Construction:
Followin' t' trend o' some o' t' other niche players, me bucko, t' first 100 kits of each model are numbered. Well, blow me down! Mine (and everyone else's) was delayed several weeks due t' a decal supplier problem, though t' communication durin' t' delay was excellent and t' horror stories were very amusing. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! When me kit (#10) eventually arrived, everythin' was in great shape, ya bilge rat, me hearties, and t' basic parts list includes:

• Resin cast nose cone
• BT-80 paper tubes/coupler
• Laser cut balsa fins
• 24mm foil-lined motor tube
• Motor mount assembly
• 30" Top-Flight ripstop nylon chute
• 9" x 9" Nomex® shield
• Water-slide decals (standard/black and white)
• "Bonus" decals (red/white/blue thanks t' t' supplier goof), not in standard kit

T' directions were clear, ya bilge rat, well illustrated, matey, and as good as it gets in this industry. Begad! Well, blow me down! I especially like that each section has estimated/target times for breakin' t' project up into smaller (weeknight) bites.

Construction begins with t' very unusual QModelin' motor mount. Ya scallywag! These are not your father's tube/centerin' rin' Estes-style assemblies but fairly intricate assemblies made from laser-cut balsa frames. Unfortunately, me kit arrived with their standard 3-fin version and BT-70 centerin' rings. Arrr! Blimey! This kit requires a 4-fin/BT-80 set. QModelin' was very quick to ship out a replacement and since I was among t' first t' build this, me hearties, they also checked t' see if they had messed up t' others. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Nope, shiver me timbers, they just happened to be one off in their stock o' motor mount kits, arrr, and I just happened t' have received t' bum one.

There's one very cool innovation about this that I have t' point out, arrr, as it eliminates one o' my pet peeves. Ahoy! Ahoy! Too many o' me rockets are either sans hook or have a retaining hook that extends beyond t' bottom o' t' tube, preventin' t' rocket from standin' on its own. QModelin' has designed a slidin' motor hook into this kit that can be retracted t' below t' end o' t' tube for display but pulled back out for flight. Well, blow me down! Begad! Very simple trick, works great, and I'd never seen one anywhere else like this.

They also consistently use Keelhaul®©™® mounted t' t' centerin' rin' for recovery, matey, which would be standard in most every rocket kit if companies paid attention t' folks that build and fly rockets.

After completin' t' motor mount assembly and mountin' it into t' lower BT-80 tube, t' lower fins are attached and bonded (through-the-wall). Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Mine fit great, with no sanding/jigglin' necessary. Blimey! Well, me hearties, blow me down! T' upper and lower tubes are then joined via coupler and yellow glue. Aye aye! At this point, arrr, I'd normally fill in the seam, but havin' read ahead in t' instructions, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, I saw that it was covered by a decal stripe, matey, so I left me seam a bit rough.

Next up is bondin' t' secondary fins, me hearties, which brings up one "gotcha" in t' instructions. Avast! Ya scallywag! T' illustrations show bondin' t' fins with t' aft end on t' seam betwixt tubes. Blimey! Well, blow me down! Nay thinking, matey, ya bilge rat, I did exactly that, only t' later discover that with t' fins on t' seam edge, thar's nay enough room for t' decal t' cover t' seam. Arrr! I would suggest mountin' these fins about 1/8" forward o' t' seam.

T' is a third set o' fins or "thrusters" which are mounted towards t' forward end o' t' upper tube.

T' nose cone for this rocket is a superbly crafted resin-cast nose cone. It gets a disk bonded t' t' end for mountin' a screw eye, and then you need to trim away t' excess flashin' on t' bottom. Ahoy! I've been a bit uneasy tackin' in the retainin' disk with CA, arrr, but haven't had any problems yet.

Finishing:
I tend t' fills grains and tube spirals as I go usin' Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish diluted with a few drops o' water and "painted" on with a brush. Avast! This kit had a LOT o' grain t' fill and almost 4 feet tube t' clean up, ya bilge rat, so t' prep work was pretty substantial.

Since me kit was one o' t' early ones with t' extra red/white/blue color scheme decal sets, thar were two different suggested paint schemes. I went the "lazy" route with t' standard black and white, me bucko, arrr, arrr, although I do think the red/white/blue would make for a very cool-lookin' rocket.

This paint scheme presents a fairly challengin' maskin' project. T' roll pattern is split through t' middle o' t' secondary fins, so that half t' fin is black and half white, matey, me hearties, and t' pattern only goes t' t' middle o' t' gap between fins. Compoundin' t' difficulty was t' fact that I mounted t' launch lug (as instructed) in t' middle o' t' fin/tube joint, ya bilge rat, so I wound up having to mask around t' launch lug, ya bilge rat, which was a huge pain. Blimey! Blimey! I strongly recommend mountin' t' launch lug either at t' very bottom or very top o' t' secondary fins, shiver me timbers, leavin' it off o' t' mask line.

T' water-slide decals were excellent quality, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, though I had trouble working with them and they took a little practice t' get used t' them. First, shiver me timbers, they have to sit in water a long time (about a minute) before they came off. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Second, me bucko, me hearties, they are made o' a very thick, arrr, rubbery material, arrr, and have a very strong bite when comin' into contact with t' tube. Arrr! Ya scallywag! Mine tended t' stretch as I was applying them, ya bilge rat, so me checkerboard pattern looks like I'd been drinkin' heavily when finishin' this rocket...resultin' more in blobs than squares.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I had a very unfortunate flight experience, arrr, and QModelin' has since issued a product alert t' their customers.

This kit, per spec, weighs in at 13.3 ounces, matchin' t' weight o' the one they built as a prototype. Mine weighed in closer t' 14.2 ounces, as I tended t' go a bit heavy on t' fillets, and applied a total o' 5 coats of paint (primer and topcoats). Begad! Well, me hearties, blow me down! I was amazed t' see a D motor even listed and skipped right over t' t' E9-4, ya bilge rat, t' highest recommended motor on their kit. This is right at t' edge o' t' maximum recommended weight for this motor, shiver me timbers, and I hadn't weighed mine in advance. Ahoy!

First flight was on a beautiful day, ya bilge rat, with light winds about 8mph. This kit definitely attracted t' attention o' some o' t' BARs in our club, ya bilge rat, and we had a big crowd watchin' t' maiden voyage. Avast, me proud beauty! T' E9 lifted her slowly off t' rod, at which point she took a funny skip sideways about 2 feet before climbin' slow and straight. Just a slight roll and weathercockin' a few degrees but nothing serious.

Apogee be around 300 feet, and even with a short delay t' ejection didn't pop until at least 1-2 seconds after it turned over. Begad! Begad! At this point, it was startin' t' gain speed again until t' big orange chute came out, however, it was havin' trouble unfurling. Begad! T' chute managed t' remain ahead o' t' rocket somehow and acted as a blanket for t' BT-80 t' crash into and prevented any grass stains from gettin' on t' carcass. Even on t' soft grass, matey, arrr, this rocket actually bounced on impact and t' crowd thought it was a marvelous flight.

Damage was pretty severe. Avast! Despite t' appearances though, t' repairs won't be too bad. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! I think I'm just lookin' at replacin' a BT-80, repaintin' it, and applyin' a new set o' decals, which QModelin' graciously rushed out t' me along with an offer o' replacement tubin' after t' feedback. Avast, me proud beauty!

Recovery:
On t' recovery front, I really can't comment on t' PROs or CONs, shiver me timbers, me bucko, me hearties, as I didn't have a chance t' test t' recovery. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! I will say, though, matey, matey, that t' chute/Nomex®/Keelhaul®©™® provided with QModelin' kits be t' finest I've ever seen in a modroc.

Based on me flight experience, me bucko, I would say that this rocket is marginal at best on black powder motors. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Even on an E9, matey, you'll need t' make sure you're under 14 ounces and flyin' in little or no wind. Aye aye! I would strongly recommend composites, shiver me timbers, startin' with an E30, me hearties, matey, F12, matey, me hearties, or F21. Ya scallywag! Blimey! This is just way too much rocket to put on top o' a baby E like t' Estes E9. Aye aye!

Flight Rating: 2 out o' 5

Summary:
I really like this rocket and desperately want t' repair it for another flight. As much as I rave about QModelin' though, ya bilge rat, I have t' rate this one as a near miss with a combination o' cursed luck affectin' me kit and what is clearly a risky motor recommendation that could (and in me case did) lead t' a ruined product and unpleasant experience.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5