Brief:
A single-staged, ya bilge rat, D motor powered sport scale representation o' t' Canadian Arrow competitor for t' Ansari X-Prize. Aye aye!

Construction:
T' kit consists o' a really big blow-molded nose cone and tail cone, two sheets o' laser cut balsa fins, me hearties, me bucko, motor mount tube, main airframe body tube, motor retainer hook, motor block ring, sheet o' die-cut cardboard centering rings, ya bilge rat, 1/4" x 30" rubber shock cord, ya bilge rat, 3/16" launch lug, me bucko, black motor hook retainer ring, arrr, decal sheet, matey, two blocks o' clay nose weight, ya bilge rat, matey, matey, and 18" parachute. Begad! All parts were present and none were damaged.

It contains typical Estes instructions: well written and in a logical order. Laser-cut fins are a little harder t' remove from t' sheet than die-cuts have been. Begad! T' plastic tail cone makes it pretty hard t' misalign t' fins on this one. Aye aye! Well, me hearties, blow me down! One o' t' huge die-cut centerin' rings had a slit made in it which led me to use a different shock cord lockin' method. Ya scallywag! I fed t' cord through t' slit and tied it off below before gluin' in t' motor mount. Ya scallywag! I put in an old Centuri ejection baffle sized t' fit 24mm Estes tube...otherwise this one's gonna need lots o' wadding!

Fins needed some sandin' t' fit well. Blimey! They look a little light in balsa, but t' balsa is quite hard. Begad! Begad! They were assembled with me usual cornucopia of glues: CA, me hearties, Elmer's gel school glue, Testor's Plastic Model Cement. Avast, me proud beauty! There were no real assembly "gotchas".

Finishing:
This be t' trickiest X-bird t' paint so far o' t' three I've built and reviewed. Ahoy! T' paint masks provided were actually better used as templates to mark lines t' brush on t' "maple leaf" motif on t' aft airframe. Ya scallywag! I did t' basecoat in Miracal aerosol enamel from me local Dollar General Store, then marked t' maple leaf pattern with a sharp pencil and brushed on Testor's Acrylic Gloss Red. I made a typin' paper wraparound for t' multiple girth bands above t' tail cone. Begad! I had t' guess how wide they were, since the paintin' directions didn't specify. It still looks pretty good, kind o' like a captured Canadian V-2!

I still wish Estes would go back t' waterslide decals instead o' stickers and a wraparound for t' multiple girth bands could be added.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I flew it with D12-3s in all flights. Begad! Avast! I stuffed four squares o' Estes paper down t' motor mount tube then laid another four squares on top under the parachute. Well, blow me down! It flew straight as its namesake t' just about 475 feet and ejected right at apogee. Descent rate just about right for t' size o' t' rocket.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
Main PROs: Nice plastic parts, arrr, well designed, arrr, headline grabbin' subject.

Main CONs: Paint scheme is a little tricky and nay clearly explained for Joe Average Modeler's sake, needs better decals

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

(picture above is simulated)