Brief:
I obtained two sets o' t' Estes rocket car tuner sets in a job lot from a rocketeer that be 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. Avast! 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. Begad! Blimey! T' finish half is just a plate t' which t' other end o' t' cord is attached. Ya scallywag! Both halves need t' be weighed down by anythin' heavy (e.g., 2L bottle o' water, bricks, buckets o' sand etc.). Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down!

Finishing:
T' cars come in three finishes, Drag’on, me bucko, shiver me timbers, Gear’zilla and Slammurai. Avast! There is very little difference between the cars, 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. Aye aye! This mount it attached t' t' cord. Ya scallywag! T' car is then attached t' t' mount. For reasons that I cannot figure out, ya bilge rat, thar be a retaining clip for t' motor. As it is a plugged motor, it's difficult t' see why it is there. Aye aye! T' mount itself aligns t' motor.

T' front end o' t' car has t' forward launch lugs. Aye aye! I have nay had any problems with these, shiver me timbers, me bucko, however, from readin' t' previous review, shiver me timbers, me hearties, shiver me timbers, 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. Blimey! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! T' car flipped half way down t' track and continued upside down damaging the finish o' t' car. Ya scallywag! Lookin' back, me hearties, me hearties, this be probably due t' t' cord bein' a bit slack and thar bein' gravel on the course.

Eventually, I figured it out, me bucko, arrr, tightened t' cord, cleared out t' path, arrr, me hearties, and a perfect launch occurred.

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

With me car t' last two methods were nay needed, t' deceleration was so great, me hearties, 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! Well, blow me down! 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. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! It skids, flips, twists all over t' place, me hearties, and it is unsafe.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

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

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5