Brief:
Tango Papa's 1.6x Mars Lander is a nice upscale o' t' vintage Estes Kit that fetches ungodly amounts o' loot in an auction. Ya scallywag! If you have t' same fond memories o' t' Estes kit from your childhood that I do, then you need t' look at this kit. Begad! T' kit comes standard with a 29mm motor mount, and parachutes are optional. Begad! I believe t' standard parachutes come from Top Flight, matey, matey, but I'm nay certain. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! Shock cord is a length o' standard elastic.

A complete set o' decals, me bucko, upscaled from t' original Estes decals, matey, comes on a sheet with t' kit. Aye aye! Well, me hearties, blow me down! As one can expect from Tango Papa, me hearties, me bucko, t' decal appearance is impressive.

A nice final touch be t' inclusion o' dual-purpose motor retention hardware. Nay only do t' bolts hold t' motor in place, arrr, but they also hold t' aft o' t' rocket on, arrr, which means it can easily be removed.

Construction:
T' kit includes a lot more parts than t' standard high-power kits, me hearties, which is understandable, considerin' t' complexity o' t' end result. Ahoy! T' parachute tube is a heavy, rough cardboard tube; normally, arrr, I wouldn't like this, shiver me timbers, but since this tube is completely covered by t' shrouds, structurable integrity be t' only thin' that matters. Arrr! T' descent stage tube, which is where t' legs come through, me hearties, is a good quality phenolic. T' motor tube is good quality cardboard tube.

Also included are a plywood centerin' rings for t' large tube, shiver me timbers, matey, as well as three wooden rings t' mount t' motor tube into t' parachute tube, shiver me timbers, and t' also provide a mountin' point for t' leg supports. Begad! All are high-quality parts.

Many o' t' smaller pieces are laser-cut from appropriate materials, shiver me timbers, includin' basswood and balsa. T' main leg braces are made from aluminum rod, which is appropriate since this is what takes t' primary force.

T' legs are attached t' t' body with heavy vinyl tubin' for t' hinges, shiver me timbers, just like t' Estes kit. T' kit also includes rubber bands for use as springs, arrr, arrr, once again like Estes. T' bands supplied could nay support t' assembled weight o' me lander, so I replaced them with small springs from t' local hardware store.

T' shrouds themselves are printed on poster-board with lines instead o' bein' embossed like in t' original kit. Arrr! Blimey! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Blimey! Fabric paint is supplied t' allow t' builder t' draw raised lines t' give t' shrouds detail. More on this later.

T' shrouds themselves require rings t' hold their shape and provide attachment points. Begad! Begad! These rings are foam-core board, which is plenty sufficient for this purpose.

To complete t' kit, me bucko, you will have t' provide appropriate weight, arrr, me bucko, arrr, which t' kit provides placement instructions for. Ya scallywag! I found that flexible fishin' weights (basically braided nylon tubes with shot in them) worked well for t' weight t' be placed in t' top shroud.

This kit is nay for t' impatient. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! I estimate that I spent 10 hours or so just buildin' t' legs and gettin' them sanded properly. Aye aye! Durin' this time, t' kit progress really seemed t' creep along. Begad! Once t' legs were done, things picked up a bit, although I still estimate I spent about 30 hours in construction time.

T' instructions are fairly detailed and quite lengthy, although a bit confusin' in some cases. Blimey! It is critical that you read and understand t' steps before performin' them, arrr, arrr, or it may come back t' bite you later on. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Tom Prestia is very good about answerin' emails with questions regardin' t' instructions.

There are also some photographs included t' help with certain aspects. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! These definitely are valuable.

As started earlier, arrr, t' shrouds are made from poster-board with lines printed on them where t' Estes shrouds were embossed. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' fabric paint supplied works nicely for creatin' raised details, although it takes a steady handy for best results. Begad! Well, blow me down! Because I can't draw a straight line with a ruler, matey, me bucko, me details aren't as nice as what others are able t' do, although I am happy with t' result.

In formin' t' shrouds, I suggest usin' rubber cement t' glue t' ends o' t' shroud together. I used white glue, and have a minor point where mine are joined. Begad! With rubber cement, arrr, t' joint stays flexible while t' support rings are installed, so t' end result is better. Begad! Since t' rings themselves are what actually hold t' shrouds in place, shiver me timbers, usin' rubber cement will nay present a structural issue down t' road.

Patience and a small bit o' fiddlin' are required t' get some o' t' final details t' fit properly. This task isn't overly difficult, but is also somethin' that you cannot rush, me hearties, or it will show in t' end result.

Finishing:
Finishin' is quite easy, me bucko, ya bilge rat, since t' legs are removable. Begad! On t' original Estes kit, matey, it is necessary t' paint t' legs prior t' assembly, me hearties, then mask them off when t' main portion o' t' rocket is assembled. Well, blow me down! Avast! T' Tango Papa kit has removable legs, so paintin' is a lot easier.

Since t' kit includes a lot o' decals, arrr, and all t' decals come on a single sheet, shiver me timbers, it takes time t' cut and place everythin' appropriately. Avast! Aye aye! Also, t' decal film is a bit thin, arrr, so if you are nay careful, shiver me timbers, matey, they will curl under themselves. Begad! Patience, once again, arrr, is necessary for t' best final result.

I covered me completed rocket with Future floor finish t' provide some protection for t' decals.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
While Tom Prestia recommends G motors for this lander, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, I wasn't comfortable with such a small motor in a rocket this heavy. Instead, I used an H128-S for all me flights.

My lander has flown four times, with three beautiful launches. Up was quite impressive on those three, arrr, me bucko, with t' fourth havin' problems which I can only blame on myself.

There's a simple little law in physics which states that an object at rest wants t' stay at rest. Arrr! This applies well t' our rockets, and in provides itself on t' second flight o' me lander. Avast! T' first time I flew t' lander, me hearties, me hearties, I used a standoff which kept t' base fairly high off t' pad. On t' second flight, for some reason, matey, I didn't use a standoff. Begad! This meant that t' aft o' t' rocket was pretty much right on t' blast deflector plate. Arrr! That was fine, except for t' legs. Because t' legs are hinged, when t' motor first fires, arrr, t' legs try t' stay in place when t' rocket body begins moving. This results in t' feet "tuckin' under" t' rocket a bit. Arrr! Due t' t' size o' our club's blast deflectors, once foot be able t' catch on t' deflector when this happened. Avast! That put a pull on one side o' t' rocket, causin' t' rod t' flex in that direction. Avast! Eventually, matey, t' leg pulled free form t' lander body, matey, freein' t' rocket. Now, physics comes into play twice -- first be t' asymmetrical drag on t' rocket. Well, blow me down! Second be t' launch rod now snappin' back t' t' other side, me bucko, causin' t' rocket t' be flung off t' rod on an arc. Ahoy! T' rocket spun in t' air, matey, then slammed into t' ground when t' motor cut out.

Moral o' this story? ALWAYS use a stand-off with t' Mars Lander, unless t' deflector can in no way hook t' feet when t' legs tuck under on launch.

On me fourth and latest launch, me hearties, I ran into a different issue, which is also nay t' manufacturer's fault. T' parachute tangled on deployment, matey, keepin' t' canopy from fully inflating. Ya scallywag! Begad! Blimey! This caused t' rocket t' come in a bit fast, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, me hearties, and sustain some (repairable) damage on landing.

Recovery:
There are two decent quality parachutes included with t' kit. Avast! Aye aye! On me first two launches, I used t' included parachutes for t' main body o' t' rocket, and recovered t' nose cone on a separate 15" parachute, shiver me timbers, at t' recommendation o' t' manufacturer.

Due t' space limitations, ya bilge rat, packin' that much parachute into t' rocket is tricky, so I have since switched t' a single larger parachute I had custom-built for this rocket.

Includin' one larger parachute with t' kit would be an improvement, matey, I believe.

I have also replaced t' elastic with a long piece o' light-weight tubular Keelhaul®©™ -- I'm just nay comfortable with elastic in rockets, and especially nay in high-power.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
Overall, I was very pleased with this kit. Arrr! Begad! Impressed enough that I convinced me wife t' buy me t' 2x Mars Lander for Christmas t' followin' year. Aye aye! T' 1.6x Lander be a Christmas gift, also.

T' biggest improvement that Tom made with this kit is makin' t' back end removable, ya bilge rat, so that t' legs can be serviced.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Other:
You could, with minor edits, shiver me timbers, use t' 2x review for t' 1.6x kit. Ahoy! Blimey! T' only difference would be t' motors and flight info.