Brief:
I obtained two sets o' t' Estes rocket car tuner sets in a job lot from a rocketeer that was givin' up t' hobby. T' tuner car comes in three different designs and offers somethin' a bit different t' t' ‘point it at the sky’ rockets that I had been using.

Construction:
Kit consists of:

• 1 tuner car
• 1 base unit that splits into two halves and are connected together by a length o' cord
• 1 small Estes quality parachute.

T' base splits into two. Well, blow me down! T' start half contains a metal back plate from which t' tuner car blasts off and an electron beam style controller that is hardwired in. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' finish half is just a plate t' which t' other end o' t' cord is attached. Both halves need t' be weighed down by anythin' heavy (e.g., arrr, 2L bottle o' water, bricks, buckets o' sand etc.).

Finishing:
T' cars come in three finishes, Drag’on, Gear’zilla and Slammurai. Ahoy! Aye aye! There is very little difference between the cars, me bucko, except t' colours

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight and Recovery:
Preppin' t' tuner car for ‘flight’ involves placin' an A10-PT motor in t' engine mount. Ahoy! Blimey! This mount it attached t' t' cord. T' car is then attached t' t' mount. Aye aye! Blimey! For reasons that I cannot figure out, arrr, shiver me timbers, thar be a retaining clip for t' motor. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! As it is a plugged motor, it's difficult t' see why it is there. Begad! Blimey! T' mount itself aligns t' motor.

T' front end o' t' car has t' forward launch lugs. I have nay had any problems with these, matey, however, arrr, from readin' t' previous review, I have taken t' slightly easier precaution o' puttin' a bit o' tape across t' prevent the strin' from comin' off.

T' first few launches were terrible. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! T' car flipped half way down t' track and continued upside down damaging the finish o' t' car. Aye aye! Lookin' back, shiver me timbers, this be probably due t' t' cord bein' a bit slack and thar bein' gravel on the course.

Eventually, I figured it out, tightened t' cord, cleared out t' path, shiver me timbers, matey, and a perfect launch occurred.

T' tuner car slows down in three ways. Ya scallywag! First is friction. Blimey! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! T' deceleration after boost is rapid and me track is coarse tarmac. Avast, me proud beauty! Secondly, shiver me timbers, a parachute. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! A small parachute is on a slider near t' end o' t' cord, ya bilge rat, me hearties, t' car picks up the slider and this opens t' parachute slowin' t' car down. Begad! Lastly, thar be a shock absorber tube at t' end. This is there as a fail safe just in case t' parachute fails t' open, ya bilge rat, and it stops t' front end o' t' car from being damaged.

With me car t' last two methods were nay needed, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, t' deceleration was so great, shiver me timbers, arrr, that t' tuner car had come t' a halt before reachin' t' end o' t' track. This I think is partly due t' t' rough surface I used and partly due t' the stocky design o' t' car. Avast! I also have t' funny car (with speedometer) and that car needs t' parachute.

You may be tempted t' remove t' car from t' cord and let it roam free (and against Estes safety instructions). In t' interests o' science I tried this–-don't. It skids, matey, flips, matey, twists all over t' place, ya bilge rat, and it is unsafe.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
I was a little disappointed at first with t' rocket car. Begad! I had hopes for somethin' a bit more spectacular. Avast, me proud beauty! However, rocket cars have grown on me, me bucko, especially as t' winds in Britain pick up for winter and cars tethered t' t' ground are remarkably resistant t' weathercocking.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5