Brief:
T' Trade Federation Battleship is an almost ready t' fly adaptation o' a ship from Star Wars Episode 1. Ya scallywag! In order to have a hope o' stability, a long "flight probe" must be fitted t' t' movie version o' t' ship and that require weight and t' addition o' some clear plastic fins. Ahoy! Blimey! T' ship itself is built. Avast! All that needs buildin' is the probe section and I had some time t' kill waitin' on other projects so I decided t' give it a try.

Construction:
Construction starts out with t' plastic nose cone. Avast, me proud beauty! T' base is nay installed because two pats o' t' Estes weight clay have t' be pressed into t' cavity. Arrr! T' base o' t' nose cone be then put into place with plastic cement.

T' kit came with a piece o' sewin' elastic instead o' t' glorified rubber band I have come t' expect from Estes. Ahoy! Arrr! They get points for that but nay for it bein' too short. Blimey! Well, blow me down! T' elastic be supposed t' be knotted and fitted through a hole in t' plastic reducer section. Ya scallywag! I've played that game before and decided that I did nay want t' play it again. Avast! Ya scallywag! Instead, I knotted a piece o' Keelhaul®©™® and fitted that through t' hole. Begad! I did nay rely on t' knot t' keep it in place and instead fastened it with a few drops o' 5 minute epoxy. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! A bit o' t' same batch o' epoxy was used t' mount t' parachute tube t' t' reducer.

T' lower part o' t' probe consists o' 2 pieces joined by a coupler. Arrr! T' rearmost piece has a plastic flange to lock into t' body o' t' actual battleship. T' coupler be marked at t' halfway point and joined t' t' two tubes with white glue. Aye aye! A bit o' epoxy was then used t' join t' aft tubes t' t' reducer section.

As t' probe was drying, me bucko, ya bilge rat, I took a closer look at t' ship itself. It looked nice and was pre-finished with stickers. Begad! They don't look like they will be very durable but they looked nice out o' t' package.

T' make t' rocket stable, a pair of clear Lexan fins are provided. Avast! They are flexible and snap into slots on t' body o' t' ship.

T' mount t' probe onto t' ship, me hearties, a molded plastic plug has t' be removed. It is provided for display purposes and removes by twistin' it t' disengage t' lugs and then punchin' it out. Avast, me proud beauty! I poked it out with a rod pushed through the motor mount. T' probe was then inserted into t' hole and twisted t' engage t' plastic lugs on t' collar. Avast! A previous EMRR review indicated some problems with t' alignment but I had no problems.

At this point, matey, all that was left t' do be t' tie t' sewin' elastic t' t' Keelhaul®©™® and nose cone.

Finishing:
This rocket was pre-finished. Avast, me proud beauty! T' probe tubes and plastic nose cone and transition were already black and t' body of the ship was gray with stickers applied. All I did be wipe off t' dust.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight and Recovery:
I had heard nothin' but bad things about t' performance o' this rocket so I wanted t' be careful for its first flight. Blimey! Aye aye! I loaded it up with a C6-3 for t' maiden flight while only one other person was present. Ya scallywag! Arrr! He too had heard nothin' but bad stuff about this rocket.

I called heads up, announced t' flight and Tim pressed t' magic button. Arrr! Arrr! From that point on we were both amazed as it took off straight as an arrow.

A bit after apogee, arrr, t' chute ejected and deployed perfectly and it began t' swin' its way down. Aye aye! Ahoy! It landed pretty close by and I was already t' fly it again until I noticed that t' 2 piece plastic nose cone had separated and the forward end be lost. Avast, me proud beauty! I will have t' replace it and fly this one again.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This rocket probably deserves its bad flight reputation, but me experience was almost totally good. Begad! It boosted well, deployed as it be supposed to, shiver me timbers, and landed safely. Begad! T' one fly in t' ointment be t' lost nose cone. Arrr! I am told that Estes has a reputation for usin' plastics that do nay bond very well.

It would probably be best nay t' fly this one on a windy day. Well, blow me down! Some long burn Ds are surely in its future and I will fly it again.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5