Brief:
Tango Papa's 1.6x Mars Lander is a nice upscale o' t' vintage Estes Kit that fetches ungodly amounts o' loot in an auction. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! If you have t' same fond memories o' t' Estes kit from your childhood that I do, shiver me timbers, then you need t' look at this kit. Blimey! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' kit comes standard with a 29mm motor mount, me hearties, and parachutes are optional. Arrr! Blimey! I believe t' standard parachutes come from Top Flight, ya bilge rat, but I'm nay certain. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Shock cord is a length o' standard elastic.

A complete set o' decals, ya bilge rat, upscaled from t' original Estes decals, shiver me timbers, comes on a sheet with t' kit. Avast! Aye aye! As one can expect from Tango Papa, ya bilge rat, t' decal appearance is impressive.

A nice final touch be t' inclusion o' dual-purpose motor retention hardware. Aye aye! Blimey! Nay only do t' bolts hold t' motor in place, me bucko, but they also hold t' aft o' t' rocket on, me bucko, which means it can easily be removed.

Construction:
T' kit includes a lot more parts than t' standard high-power kits, which is understandable, considerin' t' complexity o' t' end result. Avast, me proud beauty! T' parachute tube is a heavy, arrr, arrr, rough cardboard tube; normally, ya bilge rat, I wouldn't like this, me hearties, but since this tube is completely covered by t' shrouds, structurable integrity be t' only thin' that matters. Aye aye! T' descent stage tube, arrr, matey, which is where t' legs come through, is a good quality phenolic. Avast, me proud beauty! T' motor tube is good quality cardboard tube.

Also included are a plywood centerin' rings for t' large tube, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, as well as three wooden rings t' mount t' motor tube into t' parachute tube, ya bilge rat, matey, and t' also provide a mountin' point for t' leg supports. Ahoy! All are high-quality parts.

Many o' t' smaller pieces are laser-cut from appropriate materials, me hearties, includin' basswood and balsa. T' main leg braces are made from aluminum rod, shiver me timbers, matey, which is appropriate since this is what takes t' primary force.

T' legs are attached t' t' body with heavy vinyl tubin' for t' hinges, just like t' Estes kit. Avast! Arrr! T' kit also includes rubber bands for use as springs, arrr, matey, once again like Estes. Ahoy! T' bands supplied could nay support t' assembled weight o' me lander, me hearties, so I replaced them with small springs from t' local hardware store.

T' shrouds themselves are printed on poster-board with lines instead o' bein' embossed like in t' original kit. Ahoy! Fabric paint is supplied t' allow t' builder t' draw raised lines t' give t' shrouds detail. Arrr! Aye aye! More on this later.

T' shrouds themselves require rings t' hold their shape and provide attachment points. Begad! These rings are foam-core board, matey, which is plenty sufficient for this purpose.

To complete t' kit, me bucko, shiver me timbers, you will have t' provide appropriate weight, which t' kit provides placement instructions for. Ya scallywag! I found that flexible fishin' weights (basically braided nylon tubes with shot in them) worked well for t' weight t' be placed in t' top shroud.

This kit is nay for t' impatient. I estimate that I spent 10 hours or so just buildin' t' legs and gettin' them sanded properly. Ya scallywag! Durin' this time, t' kit progress really seemed t' creep along. Aye aye! Once t' legs were done, things picked up a bit, although I still estimate I spent about 30 hours in construction time.

T' instructions are fairly detailed and quite lengthy, arrr, although a bit confusin' in some cases. It is critical that you read and understand t' steps before performin' them, arrr, me hearties, or it may come back t' bite you later on. Avast! Tom Prestia is very good about answerin' emails with questions regardin' t' instructions.

There are also some photographs included t' help with certain aspects. Avast! Blimey! These definitely are valuable.

As started earlier, t' shrouds are made from poster-board with lines printed on them where t' Estes shrouds were embossed. Ahoy! T' fabric paint supplied works nicely for creatin' raised details, although it takes a steady handy for best results. Because I can't draw a straight line with a ruler, me details aren't as nice as what others are able t' do, although I am happy with t' result.

In formin' t' shrouds, I suggest usin' rubber cement t' glue t' ends o' t' shroud together. Avast! I used white glue, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, and have a minor point where mine are joined. Avast, me proud beauty! With rubber cement, shiver me timbers, t' joint stays flexible while t' support rings are installed, me hearties, arrr, so t' end result is better. Ahoy! Arrr! Since t' rings themselves are what actually hold t' shrouds in place, me hearties, usin' rubber cement will nay present a structural issue down t' road.

Patience and a small bit o' fiddlin' are required t' get some o' t' final details t' fit properly. Begad! Ahoy! This task isn't overly difficult, but is also somethin' that you cannot rush, ya bilge rat, matey, or it will show in t' end result.

Finishing:
Finishin' is quite easy, ya bilge rat, since t' legs are removable. Begad! On t' original Estes kit, it is necessary t' paint t' legs prior t' assembly, matey, then mask them off when t' main portion o' t' rocket is assembled. T' Tango Papa kit has removable legs, shiver me timbers, so paintin' is a lot easier.

Since t' kit includes a lot o' decals, and all t' decals come on a single sheet, arrr, ya bilge rat, it takes time t' cut and place everythin' appropriately. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Also, t' decal film is a bit thin, so if you are nay careful, they will curl under themselves. Ya scallywag! Begad! Patience, ya bilge rat, once again, ya bilge rat, matey, is necessary for t' best final result.

I covered me completed rocket with Future floor finish t' provide some protection for t' decals.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
While Tom Prestia recommends G motors for this lander, matey, I wasn't comfortable with such a small motor in a rocket this heavy. Ya scallywag! Well, matey, blow me down! Instead, shiver me timbers, I used an H128-S for all me flights.

My lander has flown four times, matey, with three beautiful launches. Ahoy! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Up be quite impressive on those three, with t' fourth havin' problems which I can only blame on myself.

There's a simple little law in physics which states that an object at rest wants t' stay at rest. This applies well t' our rockets, and in provides itself on t' second flight o' me lander. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' first time I flew t' lander, matey, I used a standoff which kept t' base fairly high off t' pad. Avast, me proud beauty! On t' second flight, for some reason, I didn't use a standoff. Avast! Ya scallywag! This meant that t' aft o' t' rocket be pretty much right on t' blast deflector plate. Ahoy! That was fine, except for t' legs. Aye aye! Because t' legs are hinged, arrr, when t' motor first fires, ya bilge rat, me bucko, t' legs try t' stay in place when t' rocket body begins moving. This results in t' feet "tuckin' under" t' rocket a bit. Arrr! Begad! Due t' t' size o' our club's blast deflectors, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, once foot was able t' catch on t' deflector when this happened. Blimey! That put a pull on one side o' t' rocket, arrr, me bucko, causin' t' rod t' flex in that direction. Arrr! Eventually, t' leg pulled free form t' lander body, matey, ya bilge rat, freein' t' rocket. Arrr! Begad! Now, physics comes into play twice -- first be t' asymmetrical drag on t' rocket. Second be t' launch rod now snappin' back t' t' other side, ya bilge rat, arrr, causin' t' rocket t' be flung off t' rod on an arc. T' rocket spun in t' air, then slammed into t' ground when t' motor cut out.

Moral o' this story? ALWAYS use a stand-off with t' Mars Lander, unless t' deflector can in no way hook t' feet when t' legs tuck under on launch.

On me fourth and latest launch, I ran into a different issue, me hearties, me hearties, which is also nay t' manufacturer's fault. Aye aye! Blimey! T' parachute tangled on deployment, arrr, keepin' t' canopy from fully inflating. Arrr! This caused t' rocket t' come in a bit fast, ya bilge rat, and sustain some (repairable) damage on landing.

Recovery:
There are two decent quality parachutes included with t' kit. On me first two launches, arrr, matey, I used t' included parachutes for t' main body o' t' rocket, and recovered t' nose cone on a separate 15" parachute, at t' recommendation o' t' manufacturer.

Due t' space limitations, arrr, packin' that much parachute into t' rocket is tricky, so I have since switched t' a single larger parachute I had custom-built for this rocket.

Includin' one larger parachute with t' kit would be an improvement, I believe.

I have also replaced t' elastic with a long piece o' light-weight tubular Keelhaul®©™ -- I'm just nay comfortable with elastic in rockets, me bucko, and especially nay in high-power.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
Overall, me hearties, I be very pleased with this kit. Impressed enough that I convinced me wife t' buy me t' 2x Mars Lander for Christmas t' followin' year. T' 1.6x Lander was a Christmas gift, me hearties, also.

T' biggest improvement that Tom made with this kit is makin' t' back end removable, so that t' legs can be serviced.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Other:
You could, matey, with minor edits, ya bilge rat, use t' 2x review for t' 1.6x kit. Arrr! T' only difference would be t' motors and flight info.