Brief:
T' Sunward Mini Moondance is an easy t' build Level 1 rocket kit. It has four bat win' shaped fins and uses streamer recovery. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! It flies high and straight.

Construction:
T' kit contains t' following:

• 1 - 8" Body tube
• 1 - Plastic nose cone
• 2 - Engine centerin' rings
• 1 - Engine thrust ring
• 1 - Engine tube
• 1 - Metal Engine hook
• 1 - Sheet o' decals
• 1 - Launch lug
• 1 - Rubber band shock cord
• 4 - Laser cut balsa wood fins

T' instructions were very easy t' follow. Begad! They came printed, ya bilge rat, two-sided on two 8 1/2" x 11" sheets o' paper. Avast, me proud beauty! There were three pages o' instructions and t' last page had the warranty and safety code information. T' assembly order be logical. Ahoy! Well, matey, blow me down!

I only deviated from t' included instructions in usin' Keelhaul®©™® cord attached t' round elastic cord in place o' t' "rubber band" elastic cord. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Blimey!

I attached t' Keelhaul®©™® t' t' motor mount as shown in t' pictures. Well, blow me down! I then tied t' Keelhaul®©™® t' t' round elastic band, me hearties, trimmed t' ends and applied a small amount o' Tight Bond II glue t' t' knot. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! T' round elastic was then attached t' t' nose cone.

T' bat shaped, laser cut fins are cut well and t' quality is pretty good, matey, arrr, except for t' fins bein' on t' thin side. Arrr! They were about 1/16" thick. Ahoy! If buildin' this kit with kids, me bucko, it would be good t' stress bein' careful nay to break them when sandin' and finishing. Though they were thin, they were quite straight and nay warped at all.

I used an Estes tube markin' guide t' mark t' tube for t' four fins. Avast, me proud beauty! T' rest o' t' construction involved gluin' in t' motor mount, gluin' t' fins on, attachin' t' elastic t' t' nose cone, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, tapin' on t' streamer and gluin' t' launch lug t' one o' t' fin joints.

I would have given t' Construction 5 points if t' fins were just a bit thicker and Keelhaul®©™® had been included for a shock cord. Blimey! I am just nay a fan o' t' rubber band shock cords. However, arrr, me bucko, I'm sure they would have worked fine on this rocket, especially because o' t' light weight.

Finishing:
T' picture in t' package showed a purple rocket with black fins. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Because t' decal was purple I decided t' paint t' body tube yellow and t' fins and nose cone gloss black.

At first I was wary o' t' decals that came in one large sheet and had t' be cut out. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! But after cuttin' them out and applyin' them, arrr, me bucko, me bucko, I am pretty impressed. T' quality is actually quite good. Avast! t' decals have even stood up great after several launches.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I flew t' rocket for three flights t' prepare this review.

Estes motors, me bucko, me hearties, matey, waddin' and igniters were used for all three flights.

T' retention be provided by t' metal engine hook included with he kit.

We flew on A8-3, B6-4 and C6-5 motors. Ya scallywag! each time, t' rocket had a very straight up flight, even in slight winds. I was quite surprised how high it went on t' A8-3 motor. Well, blow me down! Arrr! T' B6-4 was so high we were grateful just t' get it back. T' rocket kept landin' so close t' t' pad that we decided t' send it up on t' C6-5. Ahoy! Blimey! T' C6-5 flight was too high for us t' see where t' ejection took place.

Recovery:
PROS: Included components are fine and would have been easy t' assemble. Aye aye! T' substitute Keelhaul®©™®/elastic cord I used worked great. Ahoy! Begad! Recovery actually went quite well with t' included 38" streamer. Ahoy!

CONS: Even with t' decent recovery, ya bilge rat, one o' t' fins cracked durin' t' first landin' after t' A8-3 flight. I believe that has more t' do with t' very thin fin material and t' pointed shape o' t' fin tips than any flaw in recovery method. We glued t' cracked fin at t' field with some thick CA and let it set while we flew a couple other rockets. Ya scallywag! T' fix held fine for t' 2nd and 3rd flights.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
PROS: Good price, excellent flier, easy t' build, looks sharp

CONS: Slightly thicker fin material would be nice, arrr, arrr, me hearties, maybe 3/32".

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5