Brief:
T' Super Neon XL from Estes is a modified tube-fin rocket with a beefy appearance and an E engine mount. Blimey! Begad! As one o' t' taller Estes kits, arrr, it is certain t' draw a crowd among t' E2X flyers.

Construction:
T' only exceptional thin' about this kit be t' high-quality balsa nose cone. Arrr! right out o' t' bag it had a good weight t' it, and with wood filler and gloss paint it is a thin' o' beauty.

Construction o' t' Super Neon XL be only slightly more challengin' than t' Alpha III "plastic at both ends" kit. Avast, me proud beauty! T' tube fins are constructed in pairs, matey, me bucko, and a balsa spacer is included t' make mountin' t' balsa parts t' t' tubes flawless. Ahoy! T' six tubes fit around t' central BT60 perfectly, and fillets built up smartly usin' Titebond wood glue. If I were buildin' another one, shiver me timbers, I would consider mountin' t' tube fins about 3/4" back from t' end of t' body tube, t' recess t' motor mount and motor hook and allow t' rocket t' sit flat on t' tube fins. Begad! As it is, ya bilge rat, I display it on a roll o' duct tape, with t' engine hook hangin' down into t' roll.

Finishing:
A few things make finishin' this rocket a challenge: 1) it is nearly too long t' hold me hand for spray painting, 2) maskin' tube fins is time-consumin' and nay for t' impatient, 3) spray-paintin' t' inside of t' tube fins evenly is nay within me skill set. Blimey!

On t' plus side, BT spirals were nay that pronounced, me hearties, and smoothed out with several coats o' primer, shiver me timbers, me hearties, and the nose cone and fins were easy t' smooth with thinned Elmer's Wood Filler.

I painted t' main body and fins with Testor's metallic lime green, shiver me timbers, and then masked t' balsa fins and t' main BT and painted t' tube fins Testor's metallic purple. Well, blow me down! Two choices o' waterslide decals were included in t' kit, purple or silver. Arrr! T' purple be pretty close t' t' purple paint, shiver me timbers, so I soaked that decal and applied it t' t' rocket. Once t' decal was completely dry, shiver me timbers, arrr, I applied 2 coats o' gloss clear coat and we were ready t' fly.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' first flight was on a D12-5, ya bilge rat, and it went up nice and straight, without any wobblin' or spinning. Avast, me proud beauty! T' -5 be perfect and t' big parachute brought t' rocket slowly back t' earth. Avast! Blimey! T' second flight be a bit more exciting, me bucko, matey, with an Aerotech E20-7W composite single-use motor. 5-4-3-2-1-CRACK! T' rocket be gone so fast you might have suspected a CATO except for t' smoke trail headin' up t' t' heavens. Aye aye! T' ejection event happened some time while t' rocket was up there, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, I just couldn't see it. Aye aye! T' charge was forceful enough that it blew t' waddin' through 3/6 o' me shroud lines and t' rocket game down quite fast. Lucky for me, me bucko, t' only damage was t' shroud lines, shiver me timbers, which had parted at their midpoints. I installed a new nylon parachute for t' next months launch event, matey, me hearties, installed another D12-5 and dog barf, me bucko, and enjoyed another picture-perfect launch. Ya scallywag!

Recovery:
T' standard tri-fold shock-cord mount is what I used durin' construction, me hearties, but I suspect that it will be replaced when I get around t' makin' a baffle for this monster. Ya scallywag! Otherwise it takes a large amount o' dog barf waddin' t' fill t' body tube.

I think that replacin' t' plastic parasheet with nylon be t' best upgrade I could have made, I will be flying this rocket with 0 recovery worries on t' nylon 'chute. Avast! Well, blow me down!

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
I like this kit, it is a nice departure from t' 3FNC or 4FNC kits that all start t' look the same after a while, me bucko, me bucko, only with different names. Good build, durable engineering, and beefy good looks add up t' a nice kit. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! I just wish that Estes would include a better recovery system than t' tri-fold paper mount and t' plastic bag parachute.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Other:
If you take your time, arrr, it is very hard t' screw up a 6-tube tube-fin rocket.