Brief:
T' Tango Papa 3.9 Lander is technically an upscale o' t' classic Estes K-43 Mars Lander, ya bilge rat, first released in 1969. In one o' those ‘what were they thinking’ decisions, matey, Estes discontinued t' Mars Lander kit in 1983, and original Estes Mars Lander kits now go for major bucks on eBay, with even mediocre partially built kits sellin' for well over $100. Aye aye! Begad! Fortunately, 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. I had built an original Estes Mars Lander back in 1970, and it was one o' me favorite rockets. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! When I became a BAR last year, buildin' a new Mars Lander be high on me priority list. Avast! T' Tango Papa 3.9 Mars Lander appeared t' be an ideal alternative. As it turns out, arrr, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, 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. T' kit showed up about 10 days after I mailed me order, me hearties, which was 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. Begad! Arrr! 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. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Since I have a supply o' good quality 24” nylon parachutes I ordered mine without a ‘chute. Aye aye! Aside from t' intentionally omitted parachute, arrr, all t' parts were present when I opened t' bag. Begad! 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. Avast! T' kit contains three body tubes – t' main body tube is a PML 3.9 phenolic tube that appears nearly indestructible, t' parachute tube is a generic BT-60, and t' engine mount is a foil lined ‘toast resistant’ BT-50. Avast! Well, blow me down! There is a large pre-cut sheet o' heavy card stock centerin' rings, me bucko, another pre-cut sheet o' lighter card stock parts, several sheets o' shrouds and wraps, me bucko, arrr, laser cut balsa legs, dowels, arrr, aluminum rods, matey, arrr, both Keelhaul®©™® and elastic shock cords, decals, ya bilge rat, a balsa nose cone, etc. Begad! In other words this is a large, me bucko, complex kit. Aye aye! All o' t' parts in me kit were o' very high quality and arrived in good condition. T' balsa nose cone did have some small dents but they were easily repaired with Elmers wood filler. Well, blow me down! 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. Blimey! Begad! Tom P. Avast! has made several improvements compared t' t' original. T' 3.9 Mars Lander is much stronger, me bucko, usin' t' incredibly strong PML main bodytube and aluminum rods in t' legs and leg supports. Avast! Plus, arrr, 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, ya bilge rat, and while t' original Estes Mars Lander be designed for 18mm motors, t' 3.9 Lander is designed for 24mm motors - needed for a rocket this big and heavy. Arrr! If you are thinkin' o' an even bigger motor, 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. Well, blow me down! 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, t' 3.9 Lander is a complex rocket, and it took quite a while t' build. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Although t' kit includes an illustrated booklet o' instructions, me hearties, theses instructions could use some work. Ahoy! Blimey! I sometimes struggled t' understand what was bein' said in t' 3.9 Lander instructions. Ahoy! Blimey! Ya scallywag! 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. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' instructions also assume a certain level o' experience and competency in buildin' rockets (which is probably fine for t' BAR, shiver me timbers, me bucko, but could prove problematic if someone relatively new t' t' hobby is tryin' t' build it). Begad! Blimey! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Despite t' difficulties with t' instructions, t' Lander be reasonably straight forward t' build (given t' kits complexity), and t' pre-cut parts all fit together nicely ! Blimey! with a minimum o' trimmin' and/or sanding. Begad! Blimey! While unusual in a model rocket, me hearties, t' aluminum rod was easy t' work with – it’s easily cut with a razor saw, and adds greatly t' t' strength o' t' Lander’s legs and leg hinges. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I ended up usin' me Moto-tool t' cut t' leg slots in t' PML main body tube. Begad! Blimey! T' tube is so hard and strong that a brand new X-acto blade barely scratched it. Ahoy! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! One other construction tip – t' kit includes six small plastic beads. Although t' instructions do nay mention this, matey, they are two different sizes – t' four larger beads are for t' leg hinges, ya bilge rat, t' two smaller beads are for t' Lander antenna.

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

As noted previously, t' base o' t' Lander is removable, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, allowin' access t' t' leg hinges. Well, blow me down! This allows complete removal o' t' legs and replacement o' t' rubber band “springs”. Well, blow me down! T' base is held in place by some two-piece plastic rivets, shiver me timbers, which can be accessed by removin' t' main engine nozzle (which is a simple friction fit over t' engine tube). Begad! Avast! T' space is tight, shiver me timbers, 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, arrr, especially since you can remove t' legs and engine nozzle and paint them separately. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! T' seams on t' PML body tube are rather pronounced, ya bilge rat, and fillin' them took two applications o' filler (I used Elmer’s Carpenter’s Wood Filler, matey, thinned with a little water), but t' filler, ya bilge rat, a couple coats o' primer, and two coats o' Krylon gave a nice, arrr, smooth finish. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! T' decals are typically high Tango Papa quality, arrr, shiver me timbers, but t' decal film material is thin so you need t' use care t' make sure t' decal doesn’t tear or curl over. Ya scallywag! Begad! Tom P. Begad! also had a little fun with t' decals – t' Mars Lander “emblem” decal reads “Tango Papa Mars Lander” (instead o' Estes), matey, and t' “Martin Marietta” decal reads “Tango Papa Aerospace” rather than Martin Marietta. Ahoy! If you'd rather have t' original “Estes” and “Martin Marietta” decals, me hearties, those are also available from Tom P.

To counteract t' effect o' t' heavy duty construction on t' rocket’s CG, you must add ballast t' t' front and/or nose o' t' 3.9 Mars Lander. Begad! Ahoy! I hollowed out t' balsa nose, and epoxyed in 2 ounces o' lead shot, shiver me timbers, which was just right t' get t' desired CG. Ya scallywag! 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. Avast! 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. Arrr! Tom includes a list o' popular E and F composite motors that he recommends, along with t' estimated altitude and ejection velocity for each motor. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! However an Estes D12-3 will also work nicely. Well, blow me down! Blimey! 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, matey, me hearties, and it was spectacular. Blimey! Noisy, arrr, me bucko, smoky, ya bilge rat, and nearly straight up t' an estimated 350 feet. Arrr! Blimey! Ejection be well past apogee, but otherwise t' flight be perfect and very favorably received by t' small crowd. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! Blimey! For its second flight, matey, I decided t' try an Estes D12-3. Ya scallywag! Avast! Blimey! Unfortunately that didn’t go as well, ya bilge rat, but it was me own dumb fault. Well, blow me down! Begad! Blimey! T' flight was again nearly perfect (estimated altitude 200 feet), right up t' t' point where t' parachute didn’t open (whoops). Arrr! Blimey! Apparently I didn’t use quite enough recovery wadding, matey, and t' ejection charge made a small spot weld on t' nylon parachute, arrr, arrr, in just t' right place t' effectively prevent it from unfurling. Begad! T' Lander impacted sideways, doin' serious damage t' two legs and lesser damage t' a third. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Havin' t' landin' legs readily removable was a huge benefit, me hearties, makin' it relatively easy t' repair and repaint t' damaged legs, me hearties, 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), shiver me timbers, which worked nicely. Avast! As noted, arrr, matey, Tom gives t' option o' either two 18” or one 24” parachutes. Well, blow me down! I opted for t' single 24” in part because I felt a single ‘chute was less apt t' get tangled, arrr, however t' dual 18” ‘chutes give a little more effective parachute area (and maybe t' chances are better o' at least one opening?). Aye aye! 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, matey, me bucko, since t' melted parachute was user error. 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, matey, as good or better than t' original Estes Mars Lander in almost every respect. Avast! Arrr! It’s a complex, involved rocket t' build, arrr, arrr, but then again so was t' original. Ahoy! Tom P. Well, blow me down! has done a superb job o' recreatin' one o' rocketries all time classics, and even improved on it in t' process (specifically makin' it stronger, and makin' t' legs removable). Ahoy! In addition t' t' 3.9 Mars Lander, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, Tom also offers a 1.6X Mars Lander (for 29mm motors) and a 2.0X Mars Lander (for 38mm motors). Well, blow me down! He also sells “downscale” Mars Lander decals, matey, 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, 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