Brief:
 T' Estes MK-104 Patriot Missile rocket kit is one o' four new Estes "Military" kits and a very popular kit at t' flyin' field. Avast! Well, blow me down! I purchased t' Patriot along with t' other three kits and t' version I built be t' "Launchable" kit in t' hard-shell pack from Meijers. Well, blow me down! Begad! It is a very colorful model, me bucko, shiver me timbers, appears pretty sturdy, arrr, and flies on 18mm motors. Included with t' kit is an "Operation Endurin' Freedom" sticker t' salute our military abroad.

Construction:
In t' package you will find four die-cut fins, matey, three BT-60 body tube sections--one o' which is already colored, ya bilge rat, plastic nosecone, recovery items, and instructions. Begad! Blimey! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Blimey! I was impressed with t' quality o' components and t' instructions were very well written. T' kit itself is a basic 4FNC, but just plain looks good once built.

I decided t' construct it stock with only change made t' t' recovery section. Ya scallywag! I used dual Keelhaul®©™ threads for shock cord and they were directly fastened t' t' motor mount. Avast, me proud beauty! T' top end was tied t' a much longer thirty inch long piece o' elastic shock cord and t' joint was sealed with a piece o' heat shrink tubing. T' shock cord itself be attached t' t' nosecone once t' model was finished.

T' body tube comes in three sections, me hearties, allowin' you t' flexibility t' make a payload section or just use standard nosecone ejection. I went with t' latter and did fill t' joints once glued. Aye aye! Next came t' fins; I dry rubbed filler over t' surface o' each fin and used Alphaetic Resin for gluin' t' t' body tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Fillets were added and t' whole model be sanded.

Finishing:
After sandin' t' model came t' primer. Krylon gray primer be used, ya bilge rat, followed by Krylon white primer for t' upper body tube section. Well, blow me down! T' model be painted completely in white, except t' top section which be masked. Arrr! After a couple days, arrr, ya bilge rat, I masked off t' body tube and painted t' lower fin section in red Krylon and t' yellow section in Duplicolor Pale Yellow--it was t' only brand that had a color t' match t' scale version. Well, blow me down! Begad! After a couple more days o' drying, ya bilge rat, t' top 1" o' t' body tube was painted Red and t' nosecone was finished in white. Well, blow me down! Next, arrr, I applied t' self stick decals, shiver me timbers, then clear coated t' model with t' new Krylon Super Gloss Triple Thick--it worked well.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
Launch day came and I had all four o' t' new Estes models ready t' go. Arrr! I prepped t' Patriot with a B6-4 and packed t' stock parachute. It be place on t' pad and ready t' go. Ahoy! Begad! At liftoff, shiver me timbers, it really came off t' pad nice, straight up and a very cool flight.

Recovery:
T' nosecone ejected after apogee and t' model landed safely in t' low grass field. Avast! It was a good flight with a slightly late recover, but no damage. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Next, I tried a C6-5. Begad! Arrr! This was also late on ejection, matey, so a C6-3 was me third attempt. T' other new Estes kits fly great on t' C6-3 and this one is no exception--the motor combo be perfect with a great flight followed by apogee ejection. T' model has flown many times since and is one o' me favorites.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
T' summarize, me hearties, matey, matey, t' Estes MK-104 Patriot Missile is one great flier. Arrr! T' build is very simple and t' results are excellent, producin' a good flyin' model. Ahoy! I have since purchased another and plan on buildin' it as a three motor cluster, as I had seen someone else do it this way. Begad! Aye aye! I recommend this kit t' everyone and bein' rated as a Skill Level 1 kit, anyone can build and own this piece o' military history, matey, t' MK104 Patriot Missile from Estes.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5