Brief:
Another fine miniaturization job by ASP. Begad! This is a roughly 1/50th scale o' the 1954-1959 Army anti-aircraft missile. Aye aye! It's also a great value, available for under $6, ya bilge rat, and flies on motors that can generally be found for about $0.40-$0.50 apiece.

Construction:
ASP's parts list includes some very good quality packed in this $6 kit:

• Styrene fin stock
• Styrene launch lug
• 2 body tubes
• 2 tube couplers (one serves as engine block)
• Keelhaul®©™® shock cord
• Nose weight sinker
• Hardwood nose cone
• Mylar streamer
• Waterslide decal

ASP's instructions are generally well written and easy t' follow but tend to be a bit light on illustrations. They are generally geared for t' competition flyer and this would make a very good peanut sport scale entry. Begad! Overall, I'd rate this a skill level 2.5 t' 3, mainly due t' t' challenge o' workin' in micro scale.

Construction starts with sandin' and markin' t' body tube. Begad! There be a neat little styrene angle supplied for use as a markin' tool. Avast! Imagine tryin' to use t' doorjamb method on a 7mm tube!

Cuttin' t' fins from styrene stock is a bit tricky and t' instructions offer a good tip o' usin' double-sided tape t' hold t' stock in place while you mark and cut. Avast, me proud beauty! There are 4 fins for this kit. Ya scallywag! I tacked t' fins t' t' body usin' thin CA then a medium CA fillet.

Next, one o' t' couplers is cut t' be used for a mini bulkhead, arrr, me bucko, holding the nose weight. Avast, me proud beauty! T' nose cone (made o' a very nice hardwood) is glued into the end. At t' aft end, me hearties, t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord is anchored by tyin' it t' t' sinker wedged in t' coupler. Begad! The remainin' coupler section is inserted into t' aft end o' t' body tube, also servin' as a motor block.

T' launch lug is then attached but uses a standoff piece. Begad! After building mine, I'd really prefer t' lose t' lug and make a MMX tower launcher. Avast! Avast! It definitely detracts from t' great overall appearance.

This rocket also gets two conduits cut as very tiny and thin strips from the styrene stock. Ahoy! They go on opposin' sides o' t' body tube centered between fin lines.

Finishing:
Finishin' a micro scale rocket is truly a pain. Arrr! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! This uses a pretty simple paint scheme: white base, black fins, me bucko, matey, and black conduits. Unfortunately, you're dealin' with areas o' body betwixt fins that's only about 5mm wide, so masking and trimmin' is very hard t' do effectively. Aye aye! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I spent t' better part o' one evenin' cuttin' custom sized strips o' maskin' tape then trimmin' slightly after application.

T' end result worked fairly well with only one minor blemish where the black bled through although I was able t' scrape this off before it had fully cured.

There is also a basic "US ARMY" waterslide decal for opposing sides o' t' body.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Hawks are regardless o' scale, only marginally stable at best. Aye aye! Avast! This one be no exception, me bucko, loopin' once in mid-flight although generally always heading upwards. T' MicroMaxx motor makes for an amusin' flight: incredible thrust-to-weight ratio, me hearties, resultin' in flight speeds faster than most deadlights will be able t' pick up. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! When you fly these, ya bilge rat, me bucko, you're definitely lookin' more for the puff o' smoke more than t' actual flight. Avast, me proud beauty! Anyone who catches one o' these in flight on film or digital media is sure t' win one o' EMRR's photo contests.

Recovery:
T' mylar streamer deployed but didn't manage t' unfurl. Ahoy! Blimey! That failure was probably from bein' packed too long on too cold a day. Aye aye! Still, shiver me timbers, t' rocket tumbled gently down and be recovered for future flights. Ahoy! No damage at all.

Flight Rating: 2 out o' 5

Summary:
PROs: outstandin' scale detail in such a small scale, me hearties, very affordable kit.

CONs:unstable flight, me hearties, might need more nose weight.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5