Brief:
Originally produced by Estes in 1991, t' Super Neon was reintroduced on 2007. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' Super Neon is a tube fin rocket that also sports small “stub” fins on each o' t' tube fins. T' Super Neon flies on t' standard assortment o' 18mm black powder motors and uses a 12 inch parachute for recovery. Arrr! Blimey! T' header card promises soarin' flights t' 1000 feet, which is beyond optimistic (borderin' on ridiculous) for this design, ya bilge rat, me hearties, but like most tube fin rockets, matey, shiver me timbers, t' Super Neon is a stable flier, shiver me timbers, and a solid performer that can take a lot o' abuse and keep comin' back for more.

Construction:
T' Super Neon comes packaged in a standard “hang-tag” plastic bag with all t' artwork, inserts and instructions common t' Estes products. T' components were all good quality. Ahoy! T' followin' items are included it t' kit:

• BT-50 Body Tube 18”
• BT-50 Fin Tubes 6x 3.5”
• BT-20 Motor Tube 2.75”
• Motor Hook
• Thrust Ring
• Long Motor Mount Centerin' Rin' CR20/50L
• 3/32” Laser Cut Balsa Fin Sheet
• 2 Piece Nose Cone PNC-50YR
• 1/8” x 2.375” Launch Lug
• Rubber Shock Cord 24”
• 12” Assembled Parachute
• Instruction Sheet
• Decal Sheet

Tube fin rockets are nay new, although they are still somewhat unique at t' range. Arrr! Aye aye! Blimey! Normally a tube fin rocket which uses t' same sized tube for both t' body and t' tube fins is about t' easiest thin' thar be t' put together since t' 6 tube fins fit perfectly around t' main body and are self-aligning. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! T' header card indicates this is a skill level 2 build. Aye aye! T' unique look o' t' Super Neon comes from t' “stub” fins which are mounted on each o' t' tube fins. Unfortunately, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, this configuration also presents some challenges with respect t' alignin' t' stub fins, matey, and t' instructions presented for accomplishin' this are very poorly executed. Arrr! Aye aye! Blimey! There are several steps given for markin' both t' main body as well as t' tube fins, shiver me timbers, and then for mountin' t' tube fins along t' alignment lines. Aye aye! This is t' presumably allow for t' use o' alignment lines on t' top o' t' tube fins for subsequent placement o' t' stub fins, but all it does is make assembly unnecessarily complicated. Begad! Ahoy! Blimey! T' remainin' instructions are simple, effective and well illustrated, shiver me timbers, more in keepin' with normal Estes fare.

Motor mount assembly is fairly standard. Well, blow me down! A slit is cut in t' motor tube for t' engine hook, and then t' single long centerin' rin' is glued in place, securin' t' hook. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! T' thrust rin' is glued in t' forward end o' t' motor tube against t' end o' t' engine hook. Begad! Avast! At this stage I also added a 36” length o' Keelhaul®©™® strin' t' t' recovery system. Begad! Blimey! This be accomplished by tyin' t' cord around t' motor mount tube aft o' t' centerin' ring, ya bilge rat, and t' cuttin' a shallow groove in t' rin' t' allow t' cord t' pass. Begad! Blimey! I tucked t' Keelhaul®©™® cord back through t' motor tube t' keep it out o' t' way and waited until t' rocket was finished t' fish it back out. Aye aye! Arrr! After applyin' glue fillets t' t' motor mount centerin' ring, I swabbed a rin' o' glue inside t' body tube and slid t' motor mount into place with t' end o' t' motor tube even with t' end o' t' body tube.

At this point t' instructions included in t' kit direct you through a complicated set o' steps for first markin' t' main body and t' tube fins and then attachin' t' tube fins usin' these “alignment lines”. Blimey! In theory this will aid in attachin' t' stub fins later in t' assembly. At best this makes t' Super Neon unnecessarily complicated t' build. Blimey! At worst one could end up havin' t' tube fins nay in line with t' main body leadin' t' some interestin' flight characteristics. Well, me bucko, blow me down! Needless t' say, me bucko, shiver me timbers, I did nay follow t' instructions for t' assembly o' t' tube/stub fins.

T' tube fins were attached t' t' main body usin' t' “flat table” method. With t' body tube and tube fins sittin' on a flat surface, t' tube fins were glued t' t' body tube, matey, arrr, me bucko, makin' sure that t' ends o' all t' tubes were even. Once t' first two tubes were dry t' next two tube fins were set into t' notches created by t' existin' tubes and glued into place. Finally t' whole assembly is turned over and t' final two tubes are glued into place. Ahoy! You can either prop up t' front end o' t' rocket or tape down t' back end t' keep t' whole assembly as level as possible. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! Usin' this method t' tubes are self aligning, me hearties, and all you really need t' check is that t' ends are even. Begad! Well, blow me down! I also added a thin fillet o' glue betwixt each tube fin joint, usin' a toothpick t' try and spread t' glue evenly. I ended up with a few bubbles, me hearties, but nothin' really ugly.

Next t' “stub” fins were separated from their balsa sheet and cleaned up with sandpaper. After some consideration I decided that I really did nay like t' shape o' these fins. Arrr! All I could see when I looked at them was t' shock cord and or parachute tangled up around them. I also did nay want t' discard them all together (which is certainly an option since t' rocket will perform just fine without them) since they definitely add t' t' look o' t' finished rocket. Arrr! After a little fiddlin' I came up with a shape that I liked usin' t' existin' stub fins, ya bilge rat, and modified them all accordingly.

T' next step was t' find a way t' mark t' tube fins t' allow for placement o' t' stub fins. Blimey! You could certainly use t' TLAR (That Looks About Right) method and get a decent result. Avast! Arrr! There are also a couple o' ways t' more accurately mark t' tube fins for t' correct location o' t' stub fins. Ya scallywag! Begad! By settin' t' back end o' t' rocket with two o' t' tube fins on a flat surface, t' middle two tube fins will be projectin' straight out on a horizontal line from t' main body tube. You can then either calculate t' height o' t' center point o' t' middle tube fin usin' some fundamental high school geometry, or you can find a convenient item with two perpendicular edges, shiver me timbers, and hold it against t' flat surface and t' horizontal tube fin. Begad! Where your “square” touches t' tube fin be t' exact point on a line betwixt t' centers o' t' tube fin and main body tube. Mark t' tube there, and then turn t' rocket and repeat for all six tube fins. Avast! T' process is actually much simpler than me explanation. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! I use a piece o' small aluminum angle stock t' extend lines from t' marks on t' tube fins. Well, blow me down! My normal routine for attachin' fins is t' attach them with a double glue joint, matey, and then add a second fillet o' wood glue. Aye aye! Ahoy! T' instructions do direct you t' attach t' stub fins 1/8” back from t' leadin' edge o' t' tube fins, but since I wasn’t actually readin' t' instructions at this point I missed that detail.

T' launch lug is attached t' t' main body tube just in front o' t' tube fins, me hearties, aligned with t' gap betwixt two o' t' tube fins. Begad! It might even be possible t' leave t' launch lug off and just use t' space betwixt t' tube fins as a pseudo-lug, me bucko, arrr, but a standard 1/8” launch rod is kind o' loose in t' gap, arrr, and might be prone t' twistin' and/or binding. T' nose cone be assembled usin' plastic cement by gluin' t' shoulder/base section into t' cone section. Begad! Blimey! T' last thin' t' take care o' was t' fish t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord out o' t' body tube, tie t' elastic shock cord t' t' Keelhaul®©™® and then t' t' nose cone. I did replace t' stock “rubber band” shock cord with a slightly longer piece o' flat elastic.

Finishing:
Finishin' tube fin rockets is a pain in t' rear… thar just isn’t any other way t' say it. Arrr! Blimey! My standard finishin' routine starts with usin' Elmer’s Wood Filler t' get nice smooth fillets along t' fin joints. Aye aye! Next I used 2 coats o' thinned down Elmer’s Wood Filler t' fill t' grain on all t' fins, followed by two coats o' primer, matey, sandin' betwixt coats. Begad! Findin' colors t' match t' paint scheme on t' header card also turned out t' be a challenge. Eventually I came up with somethin' close. Begad! I attempted t' pull off t' “fade t' white” look on t' main body tube as shown on t' header card, shiver me timbers, but I wasn’t able t' make that work and eventually just masked it off and painted it t' a hard line. Begad! T' final step in finishin' t' Super Neon involves applyin' all t' decals, and this is where I had t' only real trouble with this build. Ya scallywag! T' decals in me Super Neon kit were t' absolute worst I have ever encountered, me hearties, bar none. Ahoy! They would nay easily release from t' backin' paper, takin' well over a minute o' soak t' come loose, and when they finally did come loose they would stick instantly t' t' rocket and proceed t' stretch (I did check after t' first one and verify that they were indeed waterslide decals and nay peel and stick). After manglin' t' first couple I managed t' get t' rest on by usin' a lot o' water and gettin' them as close t' t' final position as possible t' minimize adjustments. All o' t' decals are wrinkled and/or stretched t' some degree, which is a shame, because they add a nice finishin' touch t' this rocket. Ahoy! In spite o' me problems this is still a sharp lookin' rocket and it looks good on t' pad.

Construction Rating: 2 out o' 5

Flight:
T' Super Neon flies on t' standard assortment o' 18mm black powder motors. Ahoy! My finished weight without a motor was 2.2 oz and t' CG be only about 1/10 o' an inch aft o' t' Rocksim prediction, resultin' in plenty o' margin. Aye aye! Aye aye! My Super Neon has flown a total o' seven times, on B6-4s, C6-5s, and one D10-5 motor and turns in straight stable flights every time. Aye aye! Begad! T' tube fin design shows no tendency t' weathercock, even in high winds and will boost straight in whatever direction you point t' launch rod. Begad! As I alluded t' in t' beginnin' o' t' review, me hearties, t' max altitude o' this bird on black powder motors is far less than advertised, me bucko, but it is still a great performer. Ahoy! Avast! If you need some serious altitude, just stuff an 18mm composite in this baby and let it rip, it will eat it up and come back for more!

Recovery:
T' Super Neon comes with an Assembled 12” parachute. 3 sheets o' standard recovery waddin' are sufficient t' protect t' chute. I have flown mine with both t' standard chute and a 9 inch nylon chute with no issues. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! My Super Neon has also recovered without a chute from over 1000 feet (after strippin' t' chute on an Aerotech D-10) with only minor damage t' one o' t' tube fins.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
PROS: Classic tube fin design with unique look created by t' additional “stub” fins. Avast! Avast! Solid performer in all types o' conditions, holds up well t' abuse (with possible exception o' “stub” fins)

CONS: Overly complex assembly instructions. Avast! Blimey! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Blimey! Stub fin shape susceptible t' landing/handlin' damage, and potential snag hazard for recovery system. Horrible quality decals.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5

Other:
I like this rocket, shiver me timbers, I enjoy flyin' it, and I’m even buildin' a high power version o' it. Blimey! T' poor decals I can overlook, since after enough folks complain about them, me bucko, they will most likely improve. T' unnecessarily complex instructions, however, just do nay allow me t' give t' Super Neon more than an average rating. Aye aye! This should be a simple build, arrr, well within t' reach o' a beginnin' rocketeer, but as is will more likely cause frustration. Avast! Arrr! As I write this review, me hearties, matey, I notice that Estes has released an up-scaled version o' t' Super Neon, and has another tube fin rocket slated for release in t' summer o' 2010. Begad! Here’s hopin' they can improve t' buildin' instructions and make these rockets as nice as they should be.