Brief:
Fliskits continues t' drive t' rebirth o' Micromax rocketry with this kit. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! 6 external tubes serve both stability and as anchor points for fins. This is a very simple build, and can probably be done in a half hour. It also flies very nicely on those tiny 1/8A motors.

Construction:
Once you get past t' concept that you're dealin' with really small parts, me bucko, you'll appreciate that you're gettin' very good quality model rocket components:

• balsa nose cone
• kraft paper tubes
• laser cut basswood fins
• Keelhaul®©™ shock cord
• centerin' rings
• Mylar streamer.

Of course, with most rockets you would nay be able t' fit all this into a roughly 2x4 ziplock baggie. This is accurately listed as a skill level 1 kit. Unless you want t' spend an hour or two fillin' tube spirals and sealin' grains, arrr, you can have this ready for paint within about 30 minutes. Blimey! Begad! Everythin' fits very nicely. Avast, me proud beauty! T' instructions are top-notch and loaded with plenty o' good illustrations.

T' motor mount is a basic tube, interior centerin' ring/block, shiver me timbers, matey, and a pair o' external centerin' rings. Aye aye! Blimey! T' instructions call for usin' a spent motor casin' t' slide t' interior block into place. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! If you are new t' MMX's and haven't got a spent motor case, you could make do with a 3/16" launch lug.

One neat aspect o' this, as with most Fliskits micro-to-the-max kits, be t' Keelhaul®©™ shock cord. Arrr! T' "cord" is pretty a wispy thread, anchored t' t' motor mount but does t' trick.

T' external tubes are assembled usin' a classic technique for alignment, bond two at a time t' each other and lay t' pairs on a flat surface t' dry. Arrr! This keeps them perfectly aligned. Avast! Once you've done this with three pairs, you can then attach t' pairs t' t' main body tube (with a bead o' glue tackin' t' pairs t' each other as well). Ahoy! T' paint scheme is one thin' t' consider. Begad! If you want t' paint t' external tubes a contrastin' color, arrr, you'd better either paint them before bonding, shiver me timbers, or paint them a darker color than t' main body as you'd have t' paint t' tubes last (they're pretty tough t' mask if you paint t' body tube last).

With t' tubes in place, you then bond t' 6 fins. Blimey! Each fits nicely in t' seam betwixt a pair o' external tubes. Arrr! T' final effect is where t' rocket derives its name. This thin' looks like a nasty mudwasp!

Finishing:
While I'd have loved t' paint this in a wasp-like black and yellow scheme, I decided t' play around with some various Rustoleum® Metallic finishes I had layin' around. I had decided t' paint t' tubes and fins separately before bondin' them. Avast! T' main body and nose got a black metallic finish. Ahoy! Begad! I painted t' external tubes silver and t' fins a cherry red metallic.

Since paint is a lousy bondin' surface, arrr, me bucko, I had t' make very thin scratch lines for bonding, and applied a very thin bead o' CA usin' a toothpick applicator. Avast! Arrr! Traditional wood glues would be fine for normal construction, me hearties, but in workin' with pre-painted surfaces I prefer t' higher performance o' CA.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
There's only one motor for this rocket, t' Quest Micromax. Begad! Blimey! So unless you give into t' temptation o' those 6 external tubes and cluster t' bejeebus out o' this, a single MMX-1 be t' motor.

After carefully slippin' in trace amounts o' dog barf and wadding, me bucko, I rolled up t' streamer and loaded t' Mudwasp for flight. T' instructions provide some decent tips on how t' break open t' plastic MMX igniter designed t' slip into t' plastic UFO launcher complex, so that you can fly t' MTTM (micro t' t' max) kits off a standard pad/launcher setup. Ya scallywag! I generally prefer t' simply "roll me own" usin' 32 gauge nichrome wire and have never had a problem with this method.

T' motor lit right away. Begad! Avast! Given t' hefty weight and drag on this puppy, t' liftoff was slow enough that I could track it across t' entire flight profile. For a MMX, that's extremely rare. Blimey! It was especially easy in this case, as t' apogee was at most 40-50 feet, me hearties, arrr, nay high enough t' loose. Begad! I caught a slight spin, suggestin' that me fins might be a tad out o' alignment.

Recovery:
T' streamer is clearly just for effect, me bucko, way too small t' appreciably slow down this 0.33 ounce kit. Ahoy! In me case, t' streamer also got stuck and did nay come all t' way out. Just poppin' t' nose cone be nay enough t' make this tumble. So after arcin' over, arrr, it came down in a nice ballistic path. Fortunately, t' recent thaw had softened t' ice and ground and instead o' a fatal prang, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, I simply plugged into about 6 inches o' snow. Avast, me proud beauty! No damage whatsoever.

Overall, this is clearly nay goin' t' fly too far/high and t' 50-foot flight is kind o' fun t' watch. Aye aye! Almost makes me want t' make a micro Mars Lander t' see if it can peak at under 10 feet.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
Overall I be very satisfied with this rocket, especially t' build phase. Ya scallywag! Great quality parts, assembles with very little effort and another unique design.

T' only downside I'd offer be t' wimpy flight, which is obviously held up by t' weight and Cd. Ya scallywag! If I were t' do another one, me bucko, I'd probably pay much more careful attention durin' construction t' all me component weights, shiver me timbers, go thinner on t' paint, shiver me timbers, etc., hopin' t' keep it at or under 0.25 ounces.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5