Brief:
T' Nike-K is a sport scale rocket based on t' Nike booster. Avast! This is a review of t' older, out-of-production version that uses t' one piece fin can.

Construction/Finishing:
T' Nike-K be packaged in t' usual clear plastic bag with a full color picture o' t' completed rocket on t' cover. Blimey! Begad! All o' t' parts were accounted for and undamaged. Avast, me proud beauty! This kit contains: Two body tubes, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, one nose cone, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, a reducer, a motor mount/fin can, and t' usual recovery components: shock cord, parachute, and a sheet o' stickers printed on white self-adhesive paper.

T' Instructions follow a logical order and are copiously illustrated. Quest rates this kit as a skill Level 2, however, it is only slightly harder than a skill level one kit and would be a good second or third rocket. Ahoy! Blimey! T' only "gotcha" in this kit be t' mix o' usin' plastic components as well as t' paper components. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Blimey! Care must be taken t' use t' appropriate glue for the proper components.

I deviated slightly from t' instructions t' allow for an easier painting of t' model. T' plastic fin can and t' plastic reducer are molded in an orange-ish color and t' plastic is very translucent. Begad! Arrr! I also noticed that the fin can and reducer are red-orange and t' rest o' t' rocket is white. Begad! As a result o' this, shiver me timbers, I built t' rocket in four subassemblies, painted each subassembly, and then did t' final assembly. Ya scallywag! Arrr! T' first subassembly be t' fin can and motor mount. Follow t' instructions for this, ya bilge rat, matey, but do nay attach the Keelhaul®©™ yet. Next be t' reducer subassembly which consists o' gluin' t' two pieces together with plastic model cement. Now these two subassemblies can be set aside and painted. Blimey! Ahoy! Make sure that you mask off t' parts o' t' adapter and fin can that will be glued in later steps. Begad! Ya scallywag! I painted mine Krylon Red after a coat o' primer. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! That combination made a nice opaque color that looks much more realistic. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy!

T' last two subassemblies are t' upper and lower body tubes. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, me bucko, blow me down! I first filled t' tube spirals with Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish and sanded them smooth. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! I also decided that I would nay be usin' t' upper tube as a payload section, arrr, so I glued t' nose cone t' t' upper body tube. Begad! T' lower body tube only needs a launch lug attached t' be complete. These two subassemblies were then painted with two coats o' primer and two coats o' Krylon White. Blimey! After all o' t' paint is dry, me bucko, t' Keelhaul®©™® and elastic shock cord was attached t' t' fin can. Avast! Aye aye! T' fin can be glued to the lower body tube, shiver me timbers, bein' careful t' get t' launch lug in t' proper position, and then t' reducer was glued into t' upper body tube. Arrr! At this point attach t' shock cord t' t' upper bode tube and t' assembly is complete.

Since all o' t' parts were painted as subassemblies, all that is left is the application o' t' stickers and a final clear coat t' seal them t' the rocket. I found that t' stickers that were supplied with this kit were thick, ugly, arrr, and did nay match t' white that be already on t' rocket. Aye aye! After I applied t' one black and silver wrap above t' reducer, me hearties, I dug into me parts box and came up with several left over decals from other model rockets and airplanes t' finish out t' details. Well, blow me down! These were then covered with a coat of Testors Dullcote, t' give that flat military styled finish.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
T' list o' recommended motors for t' Nike-K are t' B6-4 and C6-5. Preparation consists o' insertin' t' motor which is held by thin metal clip and addin' recovery waddin' and t' parachute.

I have had two flights on t' Nike-K so far. Arrr! T' first be on a B6-4. Well, blow me down! Arrr! This flight was near perfect with a straight boost followed by ejection just after apogee and t' rocket landin' within twenty feet o' t' launch pad. T' second flight was on a C6-5. Avast! Blimey! T' Nike-K leapt from t' pad for another perfect flight. T' flight was very straight even in t' 3-5mph winds. Well, blow me down! Ejection was at or near apogee and it left a smoke rin' in t' sky. T' only issue be that one o' the gripper tabs on t' parachute came loose, me hearties, otherwise it was another perfect flight. Avast! Both flights were recovered with no damage t' t' rocket.

Recovery:
T' shock cord be t' typical combination o' a lower Keelhaul®©™® leader tied t' a round elastic shock cord. Begad! Aye aye! This is then tied t' t' reducer at the base o' t' payload section. Begad! T' parachute supplied was a thin plastic sheet with t' gripper tabs that Quest is no longer using.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This is one nice beginners rocket. T' instructions are clear and concise and the rocket is sturdy and flies great. Aye aye! Avast! T' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord will last a good long time and t' rocket has a nice military look to it. Aye aye! T' detractors are t' parachute, which Quest has now improved, arrr, ya bilge rat, the translucent plastic which is easily cured with a coat o' paint, matey, matey, matey, and t' thick self-adhesive stickers for decals. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! These are all minor issues that have been fixed or are easily remedied and do nay effect t' overall good construction and flight characteristics o' this model.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5