Picture courtesy o' Discount Hobbies

Brief:
Tiny and awfully cute (1/396) scale Saturn V for mini-motors. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Parachute recovery.

Construction:
T' kit is actually fairly simple t' construct despite its appearance. Aye aye! Blimey! T' kit basically consists o' a short length o' 24mm tube, arrr, shiver me timbers, one giant epoxy-cast nose-cone and four epoxy-cast fins-shrouds. T' motor mount and t' chute are standard for mini-kits -- a centered 13mm motor tube and a tiny plastic chute. T' tubes and chute are basically Estes quality. No surprises there. Avast! Ahoy! T' cone and fins are very nicely done. Begad! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! T' cone was perfect, me hearties, but a couple o' fins had "dents" in 'em from bubbles formin' durin' t' casting. I didn't even bother with anythin' elaborate t' fill t' dents. A little Elmer's was fine.

T' instructions are quite easy t' follow, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and t' kit will be a snap for anyone who's built small rockets before. T' only part that was a bit hairy was puttin' on t' big roll-pattern on t' main tube. Take your time with this step. Blimey! Aye aye! I don't recall what's recommended, but I glued on t' fins/shrouds with a little bit o' 5-minute epoxy. Well, blow me down! I also poked some holes through t' roll-decal with a pin before epoxying, so t' fins weren't just attached t' t' decal. This seems t' have done t' trick, ya bilge rat, me hearties, because t' fins are on quite well. T' only other thin' I'd recommend is t' bevel t' shoulder o' t' nose cone a bit. Avast, me proud beauty! The base o' t' cone is concave and has a sharp edge from t' castin' process, which makes it difficult t' insert in t' body tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! I carved away that sharp edge and sanded a bevel into t' bottom o' t' shoulder, ya bilge rat, and it fit very nicely now. No special tools are required for this kit, shiver me timbers, although I do recommend some epoxy for t' fins and for t' edge o' t' decals, ya bilge rat, t' keep 'em from wantin' to peel up.

Finishing:
Finishin' is quite simple. You need t' paint t' cone white before applyin' the other roll-decals, ya bilge rat, as a couple o' sections o' it and t' escape-rocket don't have decals. You also need t' paint t' fins. Blimey! Blimey! I'd recommend a brush, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, because maskin' off t' fins from t' rest o' t' body would be a pain. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Paintin' the fins is a bit o' a pain, arrr, as they need t' be black, me bucko, white, and silver t' match the scale paint scheme. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I used a black marker and a silver paint-pen, matey, and I got reasonably good results. Avast! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Once everything's painted, go over t' entire rocket with some matte-finish spray, shiver me timbers, and it'll look great.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I fully expected this rocket t' fly like a pig, because t' huge epoxy cone makes it so heavy for its tiny size. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! I was pleasantly surprised t' find that it flies quite well. Aye aye! Another plus is that it's got so much nose-weight that you don't have t' snap any extra clear plastic fins on it t' keep it stable. Begad! I've flown it several times on an A3-4, and it's done quite well, poppin' at t' top and droppin' a bit too smartly for comfort on its tiny parachute. Well, me hearties, blow me down! T' little escape-rocket point at t' top isn't as sharp as it used t' be, but I build 'em to fly, matey, nay t' sit on t' shelf.

Recovery:
No real flight and recovery cons t' speak of. It flies surprisingly well, matey, shiver me timbers, and it always gets interest when I brin' it t' t' pad. Blimey! Ya scallywag! It's a cute little rocket. Motor selection for it is pretty limited, though. Avast! I don't think I'd fly it on anythin' other than an A3-4. Begad!

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
Pros: Goes together easily. Aye aye! Looks great on t' shelf or t' pad. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Flies better than expected. Avast! Arrr! Cons: Shoulder o' big cone could damage tube if you don't sand on it first.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5