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. It uses 13mm 'Mini' motors and a very small streamer for recovery

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

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

T' only 'tricky' part concerns t' nose cone. It needs t' be filled with clay and then sealed with a bottom cap. Arrr! Blimey! T' amount o' clay provided actually exceeds t' space in t' nose by a small amount. Blimey! Blimey! T' excess clay can interfere with t' glue for t' nose cone base, so you have t' clean up any clay from t' glue area. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! No big deal but it might trip-up a youngster. Begad! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! 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. Avast! Blimey! That's about it. Ahoy! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Ahoy! You could have your kids build this one at t' launch site and fly it as soon as t' glue dries. Ahoy! 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, arrr, but thar be really no problem with it that I can see.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

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

Recovery:
T' streamer really does little t' slow t' recovery. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! T' rocket does tumble down after t' nose cone pops off (no little-lawn-dart like t' Quark) and does nay eject its engine, so I find it a bit less scary t' fly than t' 'tumble' recovery kits. Well, blow me down! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! T' streamer does make it easier t' spot on t' way down. Avast, me proud beauty! 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, it's very good. My 7 year old built it pretty much on his own, got a good lookin' and good flyin' rocket, and he likes it. Ya scallywag! It cost me less than 4 bucks. Blimey! When t' shock-cord breaks I don't know how we will ever replace it, ya bilge rat, now that t' body is glued closed, but it's unlikely we'd ever find t' nose-cone if it separated, so at that point we'll just get another. Ahoy! It's nay much o' a buildin' project, ya bilge rat, me hearties, but at least you have t' build something, me hearties, and at least it has some sort o' recovery system, shiver me timbers, so I like it better than t' RTF Flyin' Saucer and other favorites o' me son's. Begad! Well, blow me down! Comparin' it t' t' Estes Quark I thought t' Quark a more 'interesting' rocket t' build, shiver me timbers, but I prefer t' flights o' t' Meanie, ya bilge rat, with its slower lift-off and streamer recovery.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5