Brief:
Tango Papa's 1.6x Mars Lander is a nice upscale o' t' vintage Estes Kit that fetches ungodly amounts o' loot in an auction. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! If you have t' same fond memories o' t' Estes kit from your childhood that I do, ya bilge rat, matey, then you need t' look at this kit. T' kit comes standard with a 29mm motor mount, ya bilge rat, matey, and parachutes are optional. Begad! Blimey! I believe t' standard parachutes come from Top Flight, but I'm nay certain. Ahoy! Shock cord is a length o' standard elastic.

A complete set o' decals, matey, arrr, ya bilge rat, upscaled from t' original Estes decals, comes on a sheet with t' kit. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! As one can expect from Tango Papa, shiver me timbers, me hearties, t' decal appearance is impressive.

A nice final touch be t' inclusion o' dual-purpose motor retention hardware. Nay only do t' bolts hold t' motor in place, but they also hold t' aft o' t' rocket on, which means it can easily be removed.

Construction:
T' kit includes a lot more parts than t' standard high-power kits, matey, which is understandable, arrr, ya bilge rat, considerin' t' complexity o' t' end result. T' parachute tube is a heavy, rough cardboard tube; normally, I wouldn't like this, matey, arrr, but since this tube is completely covered by t' shrouds, shiver me timbers, structurable integrity be t' only thin' that matters. T' descent stage tube, which is where t' legs come through, ya bilge rat, arrr, is a good quality phenolic. Well, blow me down! T' motor tube is good quality cardboard tube.

Also included are a plywood centerin' rings for t' large tube, as well as three wooden rings t' mount t' motor tube into t' parachute tube, arrr, arrr, ya bilge rat, and t' also provide a mountin' point for t' leg supports. Well, blow me down! All are high-quality parts.

Many o' t' smaller pieces are laser-cut from appropriate materials, includin' basswood and balsa. T' main leg braces are made from aluminum rod, arrr, which is appropriate since this is what takes t' primary force.

T' legs are attached t' t' body with heavy vinyl tubin' for t' hinges, just like t' Estes kit. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! T' kit also includes rubber bands for use as springs, shiver me timbers, once again like Estes. Begad! Begad! T' bands supplied could nay support t' assembled weight o' me lander, so I replaced them with small springs from t' local hardware store.

T' shrouds themselves are printed on poster-board with lines instead o' bein' embossed like in t' original kit. Fabric paint is supplied t' allow t' builder t' draw raised lines t' give t' shrouds detail. Avast! More on this later.

T' shrouds themselves require rings t' hold their shape and provide attachment points. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! These rings are foam-core board, shiver me timbers, which is plenty sufficient for this purpose.

To complete t' kit, you will have t' provide appropriate weight, me bucko, me bucko, which t' kit provides placement instructions for. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! I found that flexible fishin' weights (basically braided nylon tubes with shot in them) worked well for t' weight t' be placed in t' top shroud.

This kit is nay for t' impatient. Blimey! I estimate that I spent 10 hours or so just buildin' t' legs and gettin' them sanded properly. Ahoy! Durin' this time, arrr, me bucko, me bucko, t' kit progress really seemed t' creep along. Once t' legs were done, things picked up a bit, shiver me timbers, arrr, although I still estimate I spent about 30 hours in construction time.

T' instructions are fairly detailed and quite lengthy, although a bit confusin' in some cases. Begad! Blimey! It is critical that you read and understand t' steps before performin' them, me hearties, or it may come back t' bite you later on. Tom Prestia is very good about answerin' emails with questions regardin' t' instructions.

There are also some photographs included t' help with certain aspects. Begad! These definitely are valuable.

As started earlier, ya bilge rat, t' shrouds are made from poster-board with lines printed on them where t' Estes shrouds were embossed. Begad! T' fabric paint supplied works nicely for creatin' raised details, ya bilge rat, arrr, although it takes a steady handy for best results. Begad! Ahoy! Because I can't draw a straight line with a ruler, me details aren't as nice as what others are able t' do, me bucko, although I am happy with t' result.

In formin' t' shrouds, I suggest usin' rubber cement t' glue t' ends o' t' shroud together. Begad! I used white glue, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, and have a minor point where mine are joined. Avast! With rubber cement, t' joint stays flexible while t' support rings are installed, so t' end result is better. Begad! Since t' rings themselves are what actually hold t' shrouds in place, shiver me timbers, matey, usin' rubber cement will nay present a structural issue down t' road.

Patience and a small bit o' fiddlin' are required t' get some o' t' final details t' fit properly. Aye aye! This task isn't overly difficult, ya bilge rat, but is also somethin' that you cannot rush, me bucko, or it will show in t' end result.

Finishing:
Finishin' is quite easy, since t' legs are removable. On t' original Estes kit, me bucko, arrr, it is necessary t' paint t' legs prior t' assembly, arrr, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, then mask them off when t' main portion o' t' rocket is assembled. T' Tango Papa kit has removable legs, so paintin' is a lot easier.

Since t' kit includes a lot o' decals, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and all t' decals come on a single sheet, me bucko, it takes time t' cut and place everythin' appropriately. Also, t' decal film is a bit thin, me hearties, so if you are nay careful, they will curl under themselves. Ya scallywag! Patience, arrr, matey, once again, is necessary for t' best final result.

I covered me completed rocket with Future floor finish t' provide some protection for t' decals.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
While Tom Prestia recommends G motors for this lander, I wasn't comfortable with such a small motor in a rocket this heavy. Ahoy! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Instead, I used an H128-S for all me flights.

My lander has flown four times, shiver me timbers, with three beautiful launches. Ahoy! Avast! Up be quite impressive on those three, matey, shiver me timbers, me hearties, with t' fourth havin' problems which I can only blame on myself.

There's a simple little law in physics which states that an object at rest wants t' stay at rest. Ahoy! This applies well t' our rockets, and in provides itself on t' second flight o' me lander. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' first time I flew t' lander, ya bilge rat, I used a standoff which kept t' base fairly high off t' pad. On t' second flight, for some reason, matey, I didn't use a standoff. Well, blow me down! Begad! This meant that t' aft o' t' rocket be pretty much right on t' blast deflector plate. Begad! That was fine, matey, except for t' legs. Begad! Because t' legs are hinged, shiver me timbers, when t' motor first fires, me hearties, me hearties, t' legs try t' stay in place when t' rocket body begins moving. Blimey! This results in t' feet "tuckin' under" t' rocket a bit. Ya scallywag! Begad! Due t' t' size o' our club's blast deflectors, shiver me timbers, me hearties, once foot was able t' catch on t' deflector when this happened. Well, blow me down! Arrr! That put a pull on one side o' t' rocket, ya bilge rat, arrr, causin' t' rod t' flex in that direction. Arrr! Eventually, t' leg pulled free form t' lander body, freein' t' rocket. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! Now, physics comes into play twice -- first be t' asymmetrical drag on t' rocket. Second be t' launch rod now snappin' back t' t' other side, causin' t' rocket t' be flung off t' rod on an arc. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! T' rocket spun in t' air, then slammed into t' ground when t' motor cut out.

Moral o' this story? ALWAYS use a stand-off with t' Mars Lander, arrr, unless t' deflector can in no way hook t' feet when t' legs tuck under on launch.

On me fourth and latest launch, matey, I ran into a different issue, shiver me timbers, me hearties, which is also nay t' manufacturer's fault. T' parachute tangled on deployment, shiver me timbers, keepin' t' canopy from fully inflating. Well, arrr, blow me down! Blimey! This caused t' rocket t' come in a bit fast, matey, and sustain some (repairable) damage on landing.

Recovery:
There are two decent quality parachutes included with t' kit. On me first two launches, I used t' included parachutes for t' main body o' t' rocket, matey, and recovered t' nose cone on a separate 15" parachute, at t' recommendation o' t' manufacturer.

Due t' space limitations, packin' that much parachute into t' rocket is tricky, me hearties, so I have since switched t' a single larger parachute I had custom-built for this rocket.

Includin' one larger parachute with t' kit would be an improvement, I believe.

I have also replaced t' elastic with a long piece o' light-weight tubular Keelhaul®©™ -- I'm just nay comfortable with elastic in rockets, and especially nay in high-power.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
Overall, I be very pleased with this kit. Well, blow me down! Impressed enough that I convinced me wife t' buy me t' 2x Mars Lander for Christmas t' followin' year. Aye aye! T' 1.6x Lander was a Christmas gift, also.

T' biggest improvement that Tom made with this kit is makin' t' back end removable, so that t' legs can be serviced.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Other:
You could, matey, me bucko, with minor edits, use t' 2x review for t' 1.6x kit. Begad! T' only difference would be t' motors and flight info.