Brief:
QModelin' has aimed for bigger and better upscales, this time pickin' t' Estes classic Nike-X, matey, 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, t' first 100 kits of each model are numbered. Well, matey, blow me down! Mine (and everyone else's) be delayed several weeks due t' a decal supplier problem, though t' communication durin' t' delay was excellent and t' horror stories were very amusing. Blimey! When me kit (#10) eventually arrived, everythin' be in great shape, 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), arrr, not in standard kit

T' directions were clear, well illustrated, me hearties, ya bilge rat, and as good as it gets in this industry. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! 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. Ahoy! These are not your father's tube/centerin' rin' Estes-style assemblies but fairly intricate assemblies made from laser-cut balsa frames. Unfortunately, matey, me kit arrived with their standard 3-fin version and BT-70 centerin' rings. This kit requires a 4-fin/BT-80 set. Begad! QModelin' was very quick to ship out a replacement and since I was among t' first t' build this, me hearties, arrr, they also checked t' see if they had messed up t' others. Arrr! Nope, they just happened to be one off in their stock o' motor mount kits, me hearties, and I just happened t' have received t' bum one.

There's one very cool innovation about this that I have t' point out, as it eliminates one o' my pet peeves. Blimey! Too many o' me rockets are either sans hook or have a retaining hook that extends beyond t' bottom o' t' tube, matey, preventin' t' rocket from standin' on its own. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! 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. Very simple trick, works great, me hearties, matey, me bucko, and I'd never seen one anywhere else like this.

They also consistently use Keelhaul®©™® mounted t' t' centerin' rin' for recovery, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, 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, me bucko, ya bilge rat, t' lower fins are attached and bonded (through-the-wall). Aye aye! Mine fit great, arrr, arrr, matey, with no sanding/jigglin' necessary. T' upper and lower tubes are then joined via coupler and yellow glue. Aye aye! At this point, I'd normally fill in the seam, me bucko, but havin' read ahead in t' instructions, ya bilge rat, I saw that it be covered by a decal stripe, me hearties, so I left me seam a bit rough.

Next up is bondin' t' secondary fins, which brings up one "gotcha" in t' instructions. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' illustrations show bondin' t' fins with t' aft end on t' seam betwixt tubes. Nay thinking, matey, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! 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, me bucko, and then you need to trim away t' excess flashin' on t' bottom. Aye aye! I've been a bit uneasy tackin' in the retainin' disk with CA, 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. This kit had a LOT o' grain t' fill and almost 4 feet tube t' clean up, me bucko, so t' prep work was pretty substantial.

Since me kit be one o' t' early ones with t' extra red/white/blue color scheme decal sets, me bucko, thar were two different suggested paint schemes. I went the "lazy" route with t' standard black and white, 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. Ya scallywag! T' roll pattern is split through t' middle o' t' secondary fins, so that half t' fin is black and half white, matey, and t' pattern only goes t' t' middle o' t' gap between fins. Begad! Compoundin' t' difficulty be t' fact that I mounted t' launch lug (as instructed) in t' middle o' t' fin/tube joint, shiver me timbers, so I wound up having to mask around t' launch lug, ya bilge rat, matey, which was a huge pain. Avast! I strongly recommend mountin' t' launch lug either at t' very bottom or very top o' t' secondary fins, ya bilge rat, leavin' it off o' t' mask line.

T' water-slide decals were excellent quality, matey, though I had trouble working with them and they took a little practice t' get used t' them. Ya scallywag! First, me bucko, they have to sit in water a long time (about a minute) before they came off. Aye aye! Blimey! Second, they are made o' a very thick, rubbery material, and have a very strong bite when comin' into contact with t' tube. Begad! Mine tended t' stretch as I was applying them, shiver me timbers, me hearties, me bucko, 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, and QModelin' has since issued a product alert t' their customers.

This kit, me bucko, per spec, shiver me timbers, weighs in at 13.3 ounces, shiver me timbers, matchin' t' weight o' the one they built as a prototype. Ya scallywag! Blimey! 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). Well, blow me down! Blimey! I was amazed t' see a D motor even listed and skipped right over t' t' E9-4, me bucko, me hearties, t' highest recommended motor on their kit. This is right at t' edge o' t' maximum recommended weight for this motor, and I hadn't weighed mine in advance. Begad!

First flight was on a beautiful day, shiver me timbers, with light winds about 8mph. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! This kit definitely attracted t' attention o' some o' t' BARs in our club, and we had a big crowd watchin' t' maiden voyage. Avast! 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. Ya scallywag! 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. Arrr! Blimey! At this point, me bucko, it was startin' t' gain speed again until t' big orange chute came out, however, ya bilge rat, it was havin' trouble unfurling. Ahoy! Blimey! 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. Avast! Blimey! Even on t' soft grass, me hearties, arrr, this rocket actually bounced on impact and t' crowd thought it be a marvelous flight.

Damage be pretty severe. Ahoy! Despite t' appearances though, matey, t' repairs won't be too bad. Ya scallywag! Avast! I think I'm just lookin' at replacin' a BT-80, me hearties, me bucko, 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. Arrr! Begad!

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

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

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, matey, me hearties, arrr, 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