Brief:
T' Mini Meanie is a very small plastic rocket similar t' t' RTF Mighty Mites, ya bilge rat, except that you get t' do a bit o' assembly. Begad! It uses 13mm 'Mini' motors and a very small streamer for recovery

Construction:
This kit assembles like a plastic model. Avast! There is no body tube as such, just t' two halves o' t' rocket with fins already attached. Aye aye! Estes does provide a motor tube and hook along with t' nose cone, matey, recovery system and a square o' clay for ballasting.

T' whole thin' goes together in moments. Ya scallywag! Instructions are pretty good, arrr, and should be easy for children t' follow. Arrr! Begad! T' rocket body is delivered in two halves, with t' fins built in. Blimey! Arrr! T' shock cord is attached t' one half, matey, t' motor tube and hook are laid in place, shiver me timbers, matey, and t' other half glued on with plastic cement.

T' only 'tricky' part concerns t' nose cone. Arrr! It needs t' be filled with clay and then sealed with a bottom cap. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! T' amount o' clay provided actually exceeds t' space in t' nose by a small amount. Begad! T' excess clay can interfere with t' glue for t' nose cone base, shiver me timbers, so you have t' clean up any clay from t' glue area. Avast, me proud beauty! No big deal but it might trip-up a youngster. Begad! T' free end o' t' shock cord is secured t' t' nose cone base unit (another reason t' make sure you have a good glue bond there), and t' streamer ties t' t' cord. Aye aye! That's about it. Blimey! You can build this whole rocket while t' glue on one fin sets on your larger project!

Finishing:
T' only finishin' be t' stick-on decals. Begad! You could have your kids build this one at t' launch site and fly it as soon as t' glue dries. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I'm ratin' it 4 1/2 only because it's a plastic kit and I can't brin' myself t' rate it a 5, but thar be really no problem with it that I can see.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Flights are actually pretty satisfying. Ya scallywag! Avast! On 1/2A power t' rocket gets 200-300 feet, I'd estimate. Ya scallywag! Stable even in a breeze. T' flight is nay so fast you cannot follow it easily, me hearties, which adds t' t' fun. Aye aye! Ejection has been right at apogee. Our one flight on an A motor be quick but still could be visually tracked. Avast, me proud beauty! I be watchin' another rocket in t' drag race and did nay see t' apogee and separation, ya bilge rat, but I hear it be still visible.

Recovery:
T' streamer really does little t' slow t' recovery. Begad! T' rocket does tumble down after t' nose cone pops off (no little-lawn-dart like t' Quark) and does nay eject its engine, arrr, shiver me timbers, so I find it a bit less scary t' fly than t' 'tumble' recovery kits. Arrr! T' streamer does make it easier t' spot on t' way down. You won't have t' hunt for it much though, even in winds all our flights landed very close t' t' pads.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
For what it is, shiver me timbers, me bucko, it's very good. My 7 year old built it pretty much on his own, got a good lookin' and good flyin' rocket, me hearties, me bucko, and he likes it. It cost me less than 4 bucks. Well, blow me down! When t' shock-cord breaks I don't know how we will ever replace it, me hearties, matey, now that t' body is glued closed, arrr, matey, but it's unlikely we'd ever find t' nose-cone if it separated, ya bilge rat, me bucko, so at that point we'll just get another. Ahoy! It's nay much o' a buildin' project, but at least you have t' build something, arrr, and at least it has some sort o' recovery system, me hearties, so I like it better than t' RTF Flyin' Saucer and other favorites o' me son's. Comparin' it t' t' Estes Quark I thought t' Quark a more 'interesting' rocket t' build, arrr, but I prefer t' flights o' t' Meanie, shiver me timbers, matey, with its slower lift-off and streamer recovery.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5