Brief:
T' Tango Papa 3.9 Lander is technically an upscale o' t' classic Estes K-43 Mars Lander, arrr, first released in 1969. In one o' those ‘what were they thinking’ decisions, me bucko, shiver me timbers, Estes discontinued t' Mars Lander kit in 1983, arrr, and original Estes Mars Lander kits now go for major bucks on eBay, with even mediocre partially built kits sellin' for well over $100. Fortunately, ya bilge rat, t' Tango Papa 3.9 Lander is so close in size t' t' original (roughly 5% larger) that even sittin' close t' an original most people will never notice t' difference. Blimey! I had built an original Estes Mars Lander back in 1970, and it was one o' me favorite rockets. Well, blow me down! Arrr! When I became a BAR last year, shiver me timbers, me hearties, buildin' a new Mars Lander was high on me priority list. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! T' Tango Papa 3.9 Mars Lander appeared t' be an ideal alternative. Ya scallywag! As it turns out, t' Tango Papa 3.9 Mars Lander is actually a much better kit than t' original.

Construction:
I ordered me 3.9 Mars Lander direct from Tango Papa via snail mail. Although you can download an order form off t' Tango Papa website - www.tangopapadecals.com - you cannot order online. You must either call in your order (if payin' by credit card) or send it in via snail mail. Begad! Avast! T' kit showed up about 10 days after I mailed me order, which be quite impressive given that I’m located on t' opposite coast, plus I had ordered several sheets o' decals along with t' 3.9 Lander. Avast! Tom Prestia sells his Lander kits with or without parachutes – t' 3.9 Mars Lander can be had with either a single 24” or dual 18” parachutes. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! Since I have a supply o' good quality 24” nylon parachutes I ordered mine without a ‘chute. Begad! Arrr! Aside from t' intentionally omitted parachute, all t' parts were present when I opened t' bag. T' kit includes all t' parts necessary t' build t' 3.9 Mars Lander except for t' required nose ballast (more on that later).

T' basic layout and construction o' t' kit is very similar t' t' Estes original. T' kit contains three body tubes – t' main body tube is a PML 3.9 phenolic tube that appears nearly indestructible, me bucko, me bucko, t' parachute tube is a generic BT-60, shiver me timbers, and t' engine mount is a foil lined ‘toast resistant’ BT-50. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, me bucko, blow me down! There is a large pre-cut sheet o' heavy card stock centerin' rings, another pre-cut sheet o' lighter card stock parts, several sheets o' shrouds and wraps, shiver me timbers, laser cut balsa legs, dowels, me hearties, aluminum rods, ya bilge rat, both Keelhaul®©™® and elastic shock cords, decals, me hearties, a balsa nose cone, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, etc. Blimey! Begad! Blimey! In other words this is a large, arrr, complex kit. All o' t' parts in me kit were o' very high quality and arrived in good condition. Avast, me proud beauty! T' balsa nose cone did have some small dents but they were easily repaired with Elmers wood filler. Well, blow me down! Blimey! One minor quibble – t' BT-50 and BT-60 body tubes were nay cut t' length (in fact they had a rather rough cut on one end) – you are instructed t' cut them t' length durin' construction. Arrr! Aye aye! Blimey! Tom P. has made several improvements compared t' t' original. Avast! Blimey! T' 3.9 Mars Lander is much stronger, ya bilge rat, usin' t' incredibly strong PML main bodytube and aluminum rods in t' legs and leg supports. Aye aye! Blimey! Plus, t' base o' t' rocket can be readily removed t' remove and (if necessary) repair t' landin' legs. Unfortunately this adds considerably t' t' weight, and while t' original Estes Mars Lander was designed for 18mm motors, t' 3.9 Lander is designed for 24mm motors - needed for a rocket this big and heavy. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Blimey! If you are thinkin' o' an even bigger motor, me hearties, conversion o' t' 3.9 Mars Lander t' a 29mm mount would be problematic for two reasons: First, any extra motor length would eat into t' already marginal parachute volume. Avast! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Second t' legs attach t' t' motor mount tube – changin' t' motor mount t' a larger diameter would necessitate significant rework o' t' leg attachment.

Like t' original, me bucko, me bucko, t' 3.9 Lander is a complex rocket, and it took quite a while t' build. Begad! Although t' kit includes an illustrated booklet o' instructions, theses instructions could use some work. Avast, me proud beauty! I sometimes struggled t' understand what be bein' said in t' 3.9 Lander instructions. Blimey! On several occasions I had t' refer t' a copy o' t' original Estes Mar Lander instructions t' completely understand what I needed t' do. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! T' instructions also assume a certain level o' experience and competency in buildin' rockets (which is probably fine for t' BAR, but could prove problematic if someone relatively new t' t' hobby is tryin' t' build it). I’d definitely recommend goin' t' Jim Z’s site and downloadin' a copy o' t' original K-43 Mars Lander instructions as an aid t' buildin' t' 3.9 Mars Lander. Aye aye! Despite t' difficulties with t' instructions, t' Lander was reasonably straight forward t' build (given t' kits complexity), me hearties, and t' pre-cut parts all fit together nicely ! with a minimum o' trimmin' and/or sanding. While unusual in a model rocket, t' aluminum rod be easy t' work with – it’s easily cut with a razor saw, matey, and adds greatly t' t' strength o' t' Lander’s legs and leg hinges. Aye aye! I ended up usin' me Moto-tool t' cut t' leg slots in t' PML main body tube. T' tube is so hard and strong that a brand new X-acto blade barely scratched it. Ya scallywag! One other construction tip – t' kit includes six small plastic beads. Avast! Although t' instructions do nay mention this, me hearties, they are two different sizes – t' four larger beads are for t' leg hinges, t' two smaller beads are for t' Lander antenna.

Unlike t' original, ya bilge rat, arrr, which included embossed wraps, t' 3.9 Lander wraps are simply printed on heavy stock. Ahoy! T' get t' raised effect o' t' original embossed wraps, shiver me timbers, Tom includes a bottle o' fabric paint, me bucko, which you can use t' ‘paint’ t' raised lines on t' wraps prior t' assembly. Well, blow me down! Although t' fabric paint produces a nice raised effect, gettin' straight raised lines ‘freehand’ proved nearly impossible, at least for me less than steady hands. Aye aye! T' end result doesn’t look all that bad on me finished Lander, but it could be much better. Begad! I’m goin' t' experiment with methods o' usin' a straight edge t' help get straight lines with t' fabric paint. Ya scallywag! Begad! If I come up with a good method I’ll add it later as a tip.

As noted previously, me hearties, t' base o' t' Lander is removable, me bucko, allowin' access t' t' leg hinges. Blimey! This allows complete removal o' t' legs and replacement o' t' rubber band “springs”. T' base is held in place by some two-piece plastic rivets, arrr, which can be accessed by removin' t' main engine nozzle (which is a simple friction fit over t' engine tube). Arrr! T' space is tight, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and installin' or removin' t' rivets requires care and some good tweezers or small needle nose pliers.

Finishing:
Finishin' o' t' 3.9Mars Lander be straight forward, especially since you can remove t' legs and engine nozzle and paint them separately. Aye aye! T' seams on t' PML body tube are rather pronounced, me bucko, and fillin' them took two applications o' filler (I used Elmer’s Carpenter’s Wood Filler, me hearties, thinned with a little water), arrr, but t' filler, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, me bucko, a couple coats o' primer, and two coats o' Krylon gave a nice, smooth finish. Ya scallywag! T' decals are typically high Tango Papa quality, but t' decal film material is thin so you need t' use care t' make sure t' decal doesn’t tear or curl over. Avast! Tom P. Begad! Ya scallywag! also had a little fun with t' decals – t' Mars Lander “emblem” decal reads “Tango Papa Mars Lander” (instead o' Estes), and t' “Martin Marietta” decal reads “Tango Papa Aerospace” rather than Martin Marietta. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! If you'd rather have t' original “Estes” and “Martin Marietta” decals, me bucko, me bucko, those are also available from Tom P.

To counteract t' effect o' t' heavy duty construction on t' rocket’s CG, me bucko, you must add ballast t' t' front and/or nose o' t' 3.9 Mars Lander. Aye aye! I hollowed out t' balsa nose, me bucko, me bucko, shiver me timbers, and epoxyed in 2 ounces o' lead shot, shiver me timbers, matey, which be just right t' get t' desired CG. Arrr! You can also add ballast t' t' inside o' t' front shroud durin' construction, which may be a good idea since havin' all that weight in t' nose could result in some significant damage if it hit t' body o' t' Lander when t' parachute deployed. T' Tango Papa 3.9 Mars Lander is much heavier than t' Estes original. Mine weighs in at just over 10 ounces – 12 ½ ounces flight prepped with an E18-4 RMS (compared with t' admittedly optimistic 3.0 ounce weight Estes listed in their catalog for t' original Mars Lander).

I'm givin' t' 3.9 Mars Lander a 4 1/2, downratin' only for t' marginal instructions.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' 3.9 Mars Lander can use most short delay 24mm motors. Tom includes a list o' popular E and F composite motors that he recommends, me hearties, along with t' estimated altitude and ejection velocity for each motor. Begad! However an Estes D12-3 will also work nicely. Engine retention is by t' good old Estes engine hook, which works well for t' 24mm motors.

I used an E18-4W for t' maiden flight o' me 3.9 Lander, ya bilge rat, and it was spectacular. Aye aye! Noisy, me bucko, smoky, ya bilge rat, and nearly straight up t' an estimated 350 feet. Begad! Ejection was well past apogee, ya bilge rat, me bucko, ya bilge rat, but otherwise t' flight be perfect and very favorably received by t' small crowd. For its second flight, matey, I decided t' try an Estes D12-3. Begad! Unfortunately that didn’t go as well, but it be me own dumb fault. T' flight was again nearly perfect (estimated altitude 200 feet), me hearties, right up t' t' point where t' parachute didn’t open (whoops). Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Apparently I didn’t use quite enough recovery wadding, and t' ejection charge made a small spot weld on t' nylon parachute, in just t' right place t' effectively prevent it from unfurling. Ahoy! T' Lander impacted sideways, me hearties, doin' serious damage t' two legs and lesser damage t' a third. Avast! Blimey! Havin' t' landin' legs readily removable was a huge benefit, makin' it relatively easy t' repair and repaint t' damaged legs, me hearties, ya bilge rat, and me 3.9 Lander was nearly good as new just 24 hours after t' hard landing.

Recovery:
T' 3.9 Mars Lander uses a combination o' both Keelhaul®©™® and elastic shock cord (a technique I regularly use anyway), which worked nicely. As noted, me bucko, Tom gives t' option o' either two 18” or one 24” parachutes. I opted for t' single 24” in part because I felt a single ‘chute be less apt t' get tangled, me hearties, matey, however t' dual 18” ‘chutes give a little more effective parachute area (and maybe t' chances are better o' at least one opening?). Blimey! At any rate t' single 24” parachute provided a nice touchdown when it opened, with t' Lander remainin' upright after landing.

Anyway I give it a perfect 5 for flight and recovery, since t' melted parachute was user error. Avast! I just need t' be more careful packin' t' parachute and waddin' next time.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
Overall this is a great kit, shiver me timbers, as good or better than t' original Estes Mars Lander in almost every respect. Arrr! It’s a complex, involved rocket t' build, shiver me timbers, but then again so be t' original. Avast, me proud beauty! Tom P. Aye aye! has done a superb job o' recreatin' one o' rocketries all time classics, arrr, me hearties, ya bilge rat, and even improved on it in t' process (specifically makin' it stronger, and makin' t' legs removable). Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! In addition t' t' 3.9 Mars Lander, Tom also offers a 1.6X Mars Lander (for 29mm motors) and a 2.0X Mars Lander (for 38mm motors). Ya scallywag! Arrr! He also sells “downscale” Mars Lander decals, me hearties, which fit t' OOP Estes Mini Mars Lander and RTF Mini Marz Lander (which are a nearly perfect half scale o' t' original). Begad! I’ve already obtained a 1.6X Lander and just need t' find t' time t' build it, arrr, and I’ll probably get t' 2.0X Lander even though we don’t currently have anyplace locally t' launch high power right now.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5