Brief:
T' Star Destroyer is a big plastic model o' t' classic workhorse o' t' Empire, and a "Flight Probe" which holds t' engine, parachutes, ya bilge rat, etc.

Construction:
T' Star Destroyer is nay a complex model. It is essentially two projects - one is a simple 34" x 1" finless rocket - body tube, me hearties, ya bilge rat, matey, shock cords, parachutes, arrr, nose cone, shiver me timbers, arrr, engine mount. Aye aye! T' other is a simple plastic kit, comprised o' only 14 parts, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, that need t' be plastic cemented together. Begad! You can remove t' nose and center engine o' t' display model and slide t' flight probe through t' kit t' make it ready for launch.

Flight Probe: T' flight probe is 34" long, me bucko, with a short engine-mount tube and two longer main body tubes. T' two main tubes are connected with a plastic coupler which has slots for two shock cords t' be tied. Aye aye! After tyin' t' shock cords t' t' coupler, t' instructions say t' pass t' cords through t' second tube and then put plastic cement on t' tube, arrr, bein' sure nay t' get any plastic cement on t' shock cord. Well, blow me down! Begad! This is far easier said than done. Begad! A second pair o' hands t' hold t' cords taut would have helped, but this was a surprisin' tall order in any case. Avast, me proud beauty! T' nose cone comes in two halves, and t' instructions have you fill t' whole thin' with clay - it's t' most nose weight I've yet seen.

Plastic Body: T' plastic kit is very easy t' put together. Begad! Arrr! I found troublin' that t' two halves o' t' kit don't fit together perfectly - thar be a very slight gap betwixt them. Ya scallywag! This gap disappears when t' decals are applied, shiver me timbers, however. Arrr! T' crack-and-peel stickers fit reasonably well, ya bilge rat, matey, and are applied t' t' sides and back o' t' model. Ahoy! One sticker be damaged in me kit. Aye aye! T' body is clearly a toy - nay meant t' look that much like t' movie Star Destroyer, but it still looks very cool sittin' among me 3FNC rockets.

Finishing:
T' only finishin' required be t' application o' about 30 stickers t' t' side, ya bilge rat, back, arrr, and top o' t' kit so t' untextured parts o' t' body look like they have windows and other details. Blimey! There is no paintin' or sandin' required. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! I did just a little bit o' sandin' on t' nose cone, where t' halves came together.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
T' Star Destroyer uses a D12-3 motor. Avast! T' Star Destroyer is very heavy for an Estes kit - around 250g 8oz) without t' motor. Begad! Well, blow me down! I think it may have been designed with their E15 as their target engine. Begad! Though I had forsworn composite motors as too expensive, arrr, this kit would fly much better, shiver me timbers, I think, 24x70mm composite motor.

T' 'Destroyer is a pain t' pack for flight. Well, blow me down! T' body tube is only a 1" dia. Well, blow me down! Avast! Blimey! BT-50. Arrr! It has goin' through it two ¼" flat elastic shock cords. Begad! Into this, matey, t' instructions say t' put in SIX squares o' wadding. Aye aye! Blimey! Then you have two 18" parachutes t' stuff in there. Ahoy! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' coupler which t' shock cords attach t' is substantially thicker than an ordinary coupler, ya bilge rat, so thar be no way for any o' this material t' go further than 15" down t' body tube. Avast! Blimey! If I were buildin' this rocket again, matey, I'd go with one shock cord and a single, matey, 24" parachute. Begad! Begad! Blimey! T' shock cords are, me hearties, ya bilge rat, o' course, me bucko, very short.

On its first day o' life, I flew it twice on D12-3s. Ahoy! T' first flight, I angled t' rod about 10 degrees into t' moderate wind. Begad! T' 'Destroyer went up less than 100 feet, me bucko, ya bilge rat, arcin' all t' way, arrr, arrr, shiver me timbers, and was half-way back down t' t' ground when t' ejection charge went off. Avast, me proud beauty! No problems after that, shiver me timbers, and no damage. T' second flight, I straightened t' launch rod. Begad! No problems this time - t' rocket went up with a slight spiral. I would guess it went up about 200 feet, me bucko, and ejected at apogee. Ya scallywag! It's so heavy that I needn't have worried about excess drift.

Over t' next week, I took out one o' t' shock cords, shiver me timbers, and tied t' two together t' make one decent-length cord. I also went ahead and replaced t' two 18" chutes with one 24" chute. I flew it twice more. Blimey! Blimey! T' first flight was fine - t' D12 got it up a couple o' hundred feet. It weathercocked into t' wind a bit and ejected at apogee. Aye aye! Blimey! T' second flight be fine, until ejection. Both t' parachute and t' engine were ejected. Ahoy! Blimey! T' engine came straight down, me bucko, while t' rocket drifted a ways. Begad! Blimey! I sent a couple o' kids after t' rocket while I scoured for t' engine - I didn't want smolderin' black-powder t' do anythin' bad. Aye aye! Blimey! I couldn't find t' engine, arrr, but I miraculously stumbled onto t' engine hook, me bucko, which I seemed t' have nay fastened with sufficient glue.

Recovery:
As mentioned before, ya bilge rat, me hearties, t' Star Destroyer uses two thick rubber-band shock cords, me bucko, tied t' a tube coupler. Begad! These complicate preparation, arrr, shiver me timbers, but worked fine in flight. Arrr! T' waddin' can't cover t' bottom o' t' cords, me bucko, so I am concerned that t' cords will be damaged by ejection material. Arrr! I be thinkin' o' perhaps puttin' in a piece or two o' waddin' through t' bottom o' t' rocket, just ahead o' t' engine t' minimize this.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a large rocket that people like for its recognition factor. Ahoy! I grew up with Star Wars, ya bilge rat, arrr, arrr, and I can't help but like flyin' a Star Destroyer, even if it does have an annoyin' flight probe. Ya scallywag! Begad! A D12-3 is sufficient for this rocket, but don't angle it at all. It won't go far. Avast! If you are a bit ambitious, matey, shiver me timbers, you might consider puttin' in some outboard mini-engines - t' nozzles are already there. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' worst thin' about this kit is stuffin' both parachutes and shock cords into t' tube. One shock cord and a 24" parachute works better, arrr, I think.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5