Brief:
I received this as a Christmas present from Hawks Hobby. T' Snooper really takes me back t' me early days of rocketry, ya bilge rat, and Hawks' upscale has excellently reproduced this rocket with lots o' upgrades t' go with t' larger size. This is their latest version with through-the-wall basswood fins and is one huge, fantastic rocket. Avast! Blimey! It flies on 24mm motors and recovers by parachute. Arrr! A spacer is included in t' motor mount kit t' allow t' use o' either Estes D or E motors. Avast, me proud beauty! T' rocket stands 35 ½ inches tall and has a fin span o' 13 ½ inches!

Construction:
T' first thin' you'll notice be t' kit is jam packed with a ton o' high-quality parts. Also, me hearties, all o' t' small parts are contained in plastic bags, matey, which I greatly appreciate. Begad! A Fin/Pod Markin' Guide is included t' assure proper alignment o' those items. T' instructions are very straightforward and include lots o' helpful illustrations. Ahoy! Arrr! Although the normal "dread" with t' Snooper is makin' those three card stock transitions, ya bilge rat, t' larger size o' the Hawks Snooper makes this much easier. Avast! Blimey! Follow their helpful illustrated instructions and I think you'll be surprised at how well these will come out. Aye aye! Aye aye! Mine are t' best I've ever done. Avast, me proud beauty! An ST-16 is used for t' main tube, a 29mm heavy-duty motor mount tube is used for t' upper airframe, matey, shiver me timbers, and ST-8 is used for t' pod tubes. Ahoy! An internal heavy-duty 29mm tube is also used t' house t' motor mount and then centered inside t' lower airframe with t' centerin' rings attached to align with t' fin slots and support t' card stock shrouds. Well, blow me down! I filled t' grain in t' nose cones (all seven o' them!), fins and transitions, and t' seams in all o' t' tubes with Elmer's Fill ‘n' Finish. Arrr! T' nose cone and transition are very nice balsa, me hearties, except t' shoulder o' t' transition in me kit was way too short. Ya scallywag! I recommended t' Loretta t' use a longer shoulder in future kits. Avast! T' fins are basswood and laser cut which also makes for a much sturdier rocket than the balsa used in t' earlier kits. Ahoy! T' "radiator" fins at t' aft are still balsa, but that is actually helpful by keepin' weight down. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' 24mm motor mount fits t' longer Estes "E" motor. Aye aye! Arrr! T' centerin' rings used t' support t' card stock transitions and t' center t' internal tube are all laser-cut light-ply, and t' motor mount kit includes a 3.75" engine hook. A Keelhaul®©™®/3/8" elastic shock cord combo is included, arrr, along with a big 3/16" launch lug, shiver me timbers, a hefty eye screw, me hearties, and some really nice waterslide decals. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! T' enlarged decals match t' original perfectly and are exceptionally reproduced. Ahoy! T' shock cord was super long as I modified t' way it is installed. Arrr! T' instructions indicate t' attach t' Keelhaul®©™® cord t' t' motor mount and then attachin' t' elastic cord t' a loop at t' end. Begad! Begad! I used me standard tri-fold shock cord attachment t' allow inspection o' t' shock cord. Well, blow me down! I do love it though when t' manufacturer puts Keelhaul®©™® in t' kit! T' pre-assembled, shiver me timbers, me hearties, 30" rip-stop nylon parachute that is included is an excellent plus, shiver me timbers, arrr, too, and exhibits t' same level o' quality as t' rest o' t' kit--top notch!

I pre-sanded and prepped all o' t' parts before startin' construction, which is me usual routine. Arrr! Aye aye! That way I am sure t' have sanded any attachment points and minimize any sandin' in tight places that might otherwise be required in the final finishin' steps. Similarly, shiver me timbers, after makin' t' card stock shrouds, ya bilge rat, I sanded those t' a smooth finish. Arrr! After gluin' t' pod cones t' t' pod tubes, me hearties, I also prepped those t' fill t' joints and sanded them for a smooth transition between t' cones and tubes. Begad! Except for havin' t' cut t' fin slots, me hearties, alignin' t' motor mount centerin' rings with the fin slots, and t' alignment o' t' centerin' rings for t' shrouds and launch lug, me hearties, construction o' t' rocket is pretty straightforward. Ahoy! I read through those sections o' t' instructions several times and test fitted everythin' to make sure I knew how it all fit together. Begad! Also, don't do too much sandin' on t' radiator fins since they need t' fit seamlessly at t' attachment points on t' three shrouds. Ahoy! I used yellow glue for all o' t' construction except I smoothed in JB-Weld for t' fillets on t' three main fins due t' t' slope o' t' transition. Usin' the "double-glue" joint method makes attachin' t' pods and outer fins a lot easier t' manage. Avast! T' double-glue joint attaches must faster so t' parts are much less likely t' "un-align" while drying. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! As is usual on any rocket I build, ya bilge rat, arrr, ya bilge rat, I installed a length o' Keelhaul®©™®, which was provided, in a paper shock cord attachment (not provided) with a loop at t' end t' attach t' elastic shock cord. Well, blow me down! T' minimize abrasion from t' Keelhaul®©™® against t' body tube, me bucko, shiver me timbers, me hearties, I soaked in CA around t' top 1/2" o' t' body tube and tied a knot in t' Keelhaul®©™® to meet t' lip o' t' body tube. Blimey! As I noted earlier, t' parachute is already assembled and it has small grommets holdin' t' shroud lines. It's a very nice parachute!

T' instructions note t' position o' t' CG and explain how t' modify the rocket t' add variable weights t' t' nose cone dependin' upon motor use. Supplies for this modification are not included. Ya scallywag! Hawks suggests installin' an eye screw in t' upper nose cone that may be removed and then weights added as necessary. Ya scallywag! Arrr! I used a length o' all-thread instead with nuts and lockin' washers. Aye aye! Blimey! That way, me hearties, t' all-thread can be permanently glued in, matey, shiver me timbers, which works better in me opinion. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! Removin' and re-installin' t' eye screw will eventually wallow out t' hole, which could cause t' weights t' drop down into t' tube upon t' force o' take-off.

Finishing:
As I noted earlier, ya bilge rat, all o' t' pre-finishin' be done up front before anythin' was installed. Only a light coat of filler was used on t' fins as t' basswood was very smooth after sandin' with 400 grit sandpaper. Aye aye! Due t' t' paint scheme I chose, I painted t' radiator fins separately and then added them after paintin' t' rest o' t' model. Be sure t' mask off where they will attach t' assure a good bond. Avast! T' finish is from t' front cover o' t' 1966 Estes Product Catalog. Begad! I used this same paint scheme on a regular size model that was entered into t' DARS Annual Fall Classic contest, me bucko, and it won first place! I'm hopin' t' be able t' enter this one into this year's contest in the "Open" category. Arrr! I sprayed t' entire model with a light coat o' Kilz t' seal off t' glue and provide a solid base coat. Ya scallywag! Avast! Next, ya bilge rat, I lightly sanded t' entire model with 240 grit sandpaper and then sprayed on a coat o' primer. Next, sand and primer and sand and primer again, ya bilge rat, arrr, sandin' with 400 grit sandpaper. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! Paintin' t' rocket with this paint scheme takes a lot o' maskin' and waitin' for paint t' dry before maskin' and paintin' t' next set o' colors. Paints used were Krylon for t' yellow and blue, me hearties, Valspar's Restoration Series Allis-Chalmers orange, me bucko, and Rustoleum's Metallic silver. Arrr! Aye aye! I initially used Rustoleum's Bright Metallic silver but somethin' went wrong there, ya bilge rat, arrr, and I had t' strip it off and repaint. Ya scallywag! It just never dried. After puttin' on maskin' tape t' paint t' orange after three days o' drying, me bucko, the paint lifted or thar were impressions o' t' tape after removal. Begad! Anyways, after dryin' for a couple o' days after repaintin' I applied t' decals. T' decals went on much easier and laid down much better than I anticipated. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' main decal is fairly big for waterslide! It went on easily enough though and looks fantastic! I didn't install t' "1 2 3" fin decals due t' t' paint scheme I chose. Ya scallywag! Once complete, I put on a thick coat o' Future Floor Finish to protect everything.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
My first flight be on an Estes E9-6. Well, blow me down! T' face card indicates t' use t' Estes E9-4, shiver me timbers, but t' winds were really light so I decided t' use t' 6 second delay. Arrr! Well, arrr, blow me down! That may have been a mistake. T' up part was fantastic, shiver me timbers, straight, me bucko, and true.

Recovery:
Ejection didn't occur until after t' rocket be headin' down and when t' parachute came out it got caught up in one of t' fins. Arrr! Ya scallywag! T' ground be pretty soft so nay much damage occurred, although one o' t' pod tube/outer fins broke off on landing. Arrr! There were also some cracks in t' paint along a couple o' t' fin joints. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! George Sprague, matey, a fellow DARS member suggested puttin' on a round key holder around t' shroud lines t' allow t' parachute t' open slower. Ahoy! Good idea! Too bad he didn't suggest that before I sent it up. Ahoy! I've since fixed everythin' and touched up t' paint. Hopefully it will still be nice enough t' win t' contest!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
T' Super Mars Snooper is a fantastic rocket. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! It is hugely impressive on t' launch pad and beautiful in flight. Avast! The through-the-wall basswood fins are solid and are much better than t' previous surface mounted balsa fins. Aye aye! Recovery on the large, shiver me timbers, 30-inch rip-stop nylon chute is a big plus for a soft landin' with t' big fins. Begad! When you consider that the kit has seven balsa nose cones, me bucko, a huge balsa transition, shiver me timbers, and a big nylon parachute, me bucko, t' pricin' is excellent. Arrr! I highly recommend this kit.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5