Brief:
QModelin' makes their upscale replica rockets big with long satisfyin' builds usin' a huge number o' parts (roughly 80 parts in this kit). T' Mega Snooper is no exception. This is a great kit.

Construction:
This kit is rated skill level 4. Havin' recently finished t' dauntin' QModelin' Andromeda, me hearties, it actually seemed a bit easier. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! On t' other hand, shiver me timbers, arrr, t' instructions list among t' additional needed items: "A Brain or Two". Well, blow me down! Definitely don't leave yours behind! My instructions listed 77 major steps, matey, nay countin' various sub-steps. Avast, me proud beauty! T' most challengin' part was t' aft engine pod area with t' radiator fins and several hand-made conic shapes.

Assembly is sufficiently complex that I can't detail t' whole process here. Well, matey, blow me down! Roughly, matey, me hearties, t' plan goes like this:

• Nose cone (all 4) and transition prep.
• Jig assembly. Arrr! QModelin' provides extremely clever multi-purpose jigs t' help with some o' t' more complicated alignment tasks. Aye aye! Once you've used jigs in a major build, shiver me timbers, you'll consider them t' be a feature that you'll be willin' t' pay a bit extra for next time you're shoppin' for a kit.
• Motor mount assembly. Arrr! QModelin' uses its specialized hexagonal bracin' system instead o' traditional centerin' rings. Arrr! This also provides an interior lattice for through-the-wall fin mounting.
• Construct t' outer pods and landin' assembly. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! This be t' fun part, with all sorts o' springs and special things.
• Upper and lower engine pod transitions. Begad! These are quite hard and require experience or great care t' get a good result. Ya scallywag! Arrr! These are made by gently and slowly rollin' card stock t' t' desired cone shapes. Arrr! There are all sorts o' things that can go wrong, includin' irregular shape, ugly seam, poor fit on tube or centerin' ring, etc. Avast, me proud beauty! One nice design feature is that t' upper portion o' t' lower cone fits inside t' bottom edge o' t' upper cone. Avast! This helps you hide what would otherwise be an ugly joint. Well, blow me down! I could continue with more details, but suffice it t' say that thar are no easy steps here. It takes a lot o' putty and sandin' afterwards t' get a perfectly clean look.
• Attach all fins. Begad! These fit onto t' landin' pods, on t' t' upper airframe, and through t' walls for t' main fins.
• Recovery system and launch lugs. Avast! Because o' all t' odd transitions, me hearties, two launch lugs are glued on t' upper and lower fins away from t' main body tube.
• Finishin' and painting. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! O' course, on a kit this complex, you should definitely do all t' filling, arrr, me hearties, putty, ya bilge rat, and sandin' before assembly. My paint was more orange than what be suggested. Aye aye! T' kit has a lot o' decals. Aye aye! Arrr! Alignin' t' stripes on t' fins is a bit tricky t' do by eye.

T' beauty o' this QModelin' kit (like their others) be t' plannin' that goes into t' assembly. Blimey! Aye aye! T' instructions and figures are pretty clear. Aye aye! T' build sequence is extremely linear, arrr, which prevents you from gettin' confused about where you are heading. Begad! And I love jigs! They help so much with gettin' all t' right angles and placements.

For me, me bucko, thar were only two problems I encountered. Arrr! First were t' radiator panels on t' engine pod. I got t' opposin' cones, rings, and so forth done quite well, shiver me timbers, but those 8 little fins were really tough. Blimey! CA wouldn't stick and I kept knockin' one off as I tried t' apply pressure t' another. Arrr! T' results were a little messy t' sand smooth with all o' t' little nooks and crannies. Arrr! I'm happy with t' result, matey, but it is nay flawless.

T' second, more serious problem involved t' retractin' spring-loaded landin' legs. Aye aye! I painted t' whole kit and applied t' decals. Tryin' t' show me wife how cool those legs were, matey, I suddenly found out that they were locked in place by t' paint. Aye aye! T' fit betwixt t' leg and its centerin' rin' leaves absolutely no extra room. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Therefore, absolutely no paint could remain on t' leg if t' leg is t' slide through t' centerin' rin' passage. Ya scallywag! There was no way I could sand down t' legs enough, ya bilge rat, and I wanted them painted anyway. Arrr! T' fix t' problem, I used t' Dremel t' drill a rin' o' small holes around t' leg entry. Then I used me knife t' knock out t' remainin' bits t' form a much wider, irregular hole which be wide enough t' allow t' legs t' slide. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! T' better way t' fix this is t' drill out these leg-centerin' rings before assembly. Avast, me proud beauty! I would recommend that t' diameter if t' inner hole should be about twice as large as t' diameter o' t' leg. Ahoy! Alternatively, arrr, shiver me timbers, you could finish t' legs with graphite, me hearties, pencil lead, me bucko, me bucko, stain, or markin' pen.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
T' first flight was on a cool day at t' prairie with gentle winds. Avast! Blimey! I had only me short rod (48in) whereas t' instructions wisely stress usin' a 72in rod. So I chose a E28-4 reload t' provide an extra takeoff boost. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Liftoff was quick, matey, and t' rocket climbed strongly but slowly enough for us all t' get a good look at it. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' rocket be very stable. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Havin' seen this launch, arrr, ya bilge rat, I think t' E28 is a great motor. Begad! Blimey! I would never fly it on a D12 and am reluctant t' use an E9, me hearties, but Chan reports good success with t' E9 motor. I'm goin' t' try a F21 next.

Ejection was at apogee. Begad! I had added a second parachute t' t' recovery system. T' do this, I began by addin' several extra yards o' Keelhaul®©™ betwixt t' lower and upper body portions. Arrr! Arrr! Then I tied about 8 feet o' Keelhaul®©™ from t' main strin' outward. Arrr! Begad! At t' end I attached a parachute. Then I added another 8ft strin' and another identical chute. Ahoy! Ideally, it would look like a "Y" comin' down: two chutes above and all t' rocket danglin' below in two parts. Both chutes fit in t' body tube, ya bilge rat, but thar wasn't a lot o' extra space.

One o' t' chutes failed t' open and fluttered as a wad o' nylon durin' descent. Avast! Avast! T' other chute was fine. Begad! Avast! (Next time, I'm goin' t' let t' two body parts descend separately with their own chutes.)

Recovery:
I think that t' unopened chute had some sort o' dampenin' effect because durin' t' last couple hundred feet down t' rocket had almost no swing. I thought thar was a serious chance that I could stick t' landing! Alas, arrr, shiver me timbers, no such luck. Avast! Ya scallywag! However, arrr, it did land legs-first and gave a nice bounce before fallin' sideways into t' prairie. There are so many parts t' break that it would seem almost impossible for such a big ornate rocket t' land unblemished, matey, ya bilge rat, but mine did. T' flight and recovery were perfect!

When I got home and removed t' motor casing, I noted that it be stickin' out t' aft about 1.5in extra. Aye aye! Apparently t' engine hook had broken free and slipped backward a bit. I had used a motor spacer t' compensate for t' length o' t' reload, me bucko, but thar had been a little empty wiggle space (1/16in?). My theory is that this helped ejection shoot t' casin' backwards into t' motor hook and knock it free. Arrr! Ya scallywag! T' damage is invisible and easily repaired.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
Once again QModelin' has hit a home run. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' Mega Snooper is a kit for t' serious builder, ya bilge rat, me bucko, arrr, and it will attract lots o' attention on t' ground. Begad! Blimey! Flyin' it is just as fun, but skip t' weak E9 motors and head straight for t' good stuff.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5