Brief:
This is a new, upscaled version o' t' well known Estes Super Neon kit and it's a biggie at 35 inches tall and 1.6 inches (BT-60) in diameter. Well, blow me down! Avast! Blimey! This new kit flies on 24mm D and E motors up t' 975 feet and is recovered on a 24 inch parachute.

Although it took well over 2 years for this kit t' be released, arrr, shiver me timbers, it's finally here at last!!!

Construction:
This kit comes in a big plastic bag and included t' followin' components.

You might also notice that Estes started usin' balsa nose cones in their kits. Begad! Blimey! Some might like this while some might not. Ahoy! I personally didn't mind it.

T' kit contained:

• 1 balsa nose cone and screw eye
• 1 lower and upper BT
• 1 tube coupler
• 1 launch lug
• 6 laser cut balsa fins
• 6 tubes
• 2 centerin' rin' sheets (more on this later)
• 1 thrust ring
• 1 MMT tube
• 1 motor hook
• 1 shock cord
• 1 24 inch orange plastic parachute
• 1 orange spacer (used when flyin' on D motors)
• 1 waterslide decal sheet

T' instructions are t' typical Estes material with plenty o' illustrations and text and as usual, me hearties, t' shock cord mount and tube markin' guide are included.

Also, shiver me timbers, me bucko, a change has been made t' how individual parts are mentioned. Begad! For example, arrr, me bucko, parts used t' be mentioned by name. Now they are mentioned by a part letter, me hearties, glue A t' B, cut C from balsa sheet, shiver me timbers, me hearties, etc. Begad!

I will note that I had no trouble understandin' this new format but found it rather unusual at first. Avast!

Although this kit is a skill level 3, I really didn't find it that hard. Begad! I would say that it is more like a skill level 2 at most. Ahoy!

T' construction starts with t' preparation o' t' fins. I started by sandin' t' sheet with a piece o' 320 grit sandpaper and then cut out and rounded t' leadin' edges o' t' fins. Begad!

Next up be t' MMT assembly. T' reason why thar are two sets o' rings included is you cut out both sets of rings and glue them together t' form two individual rings. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Just make sure t' glue t' appropriate rings together (slotted rin' t' slotted rin' and plain rin' t' plain ring) and place a heavy object ( I used full cans o' spray paint) on top o' them t' make sure they dry flat. Begad! Ya scallywag!

Now t' tube is marked at t' locations shown for t' rings and motor hook and t' motor hook is installed and t' rings are then added. Aye aye! I then glued in t' thrust rin' and added fillets t' t' rings t' complete t' MMT assembly. Avast! Begad!

At this time t' lower BT is marked with t' tube lines and launch lug line and t' tube fins are also marked with alignment lines t' make attachin' them easier. Well, blow me down! Ahoy!

With this kit, me bucko, shiver me timbers, t' fins are glued onto t' tubes usin' a balsa jig included in t' fin sheet and then t' tubes are glued together t' make 3 individual tube assemblies. Arrr! Blimey! This is much easier. With t' regular Super Neon kit, t' tubes were glued onto t' BT and then t' fins were added.

T' attach t' tube fin assemblies, you stand t' lower BT on its end on a flat surface and glue t' fin assemblies onto t' BT. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! Just make sure everythin' lines up properly. Ahoy! Blimey! You don't really need a lot o' glue for this but don't exactly skimp on it either as these assemblies encounter significant stress in flight.

At this point t' tube coupler is marked and t' upper and lower BT is joined together. Blimey! After that, I sanded the launch lug and mounted it on t' launch lug line as instructed. Avast!

Now t' MMT is installed and after that, matey, I assembled and installed t' shock cord mount and then mounted the screw eye in t' base o' t' nose cone. Aye aye! Blimey! Although white glue would probably work fine, I used CA for this step. This completed t' construction o' t' model.

PROS: Builds fast and all t' parts fit with no problems. Aye aye!

CONS: None really.

Finishing:
To finish t' model, I started by sandin' everythin' smooth and applied two coats o' white primer and sanded betwixt each coat.

At this point, I sprayed two light coats o' gloss white and then applied three coats o' Valspar Florescent Green paint. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! T' reason for applyin' t' white first is that this florescent paint is quite transparent and it also took three coats t' achieve even coverage.

One really nice thin' about this paint is it glows magnificently under black light. Blimey!

After t' green was dry, I masked off t' body and fins and painted t' tubes with Krylon Gloss Plum enamel. Ahoy!

You will definitely notice this kit includes a HUGE decal sheet. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! My kit included two decals - a dark purple and a silver one. Ya scallywag! Blimey! It was so big that I dipped it in me bathroom sink. Begad! Blimey! I started with t' purple one and due t' t' huge size, I had a lot o' problems gettin' it positioned properly and ultimately ended up ruinin' it, arrr, me bucko, ARGH!!! Blimey!

I then used t' silver one and had t' same problems but I be determined t' get this one on and after a LOT of positionin' and cuttin' away some bad spots in t' clear film, me bucko, it looks good enough for me. Aye aye! Ya scallywag!

I would highly recommend cuttin' this decal in half or maybe thirds t' make t' application much easier. Begad! But in me opinion, me bucko, arrr, this is where a vinyl decal would work really well. Blimey!

After t' decal dried for 24 hours, I sprayed t' model with gloss clear enamel t' protect t' decal and bring some gloss t' t' rather flat green. Ahoy!

PROS: Easy t' finish - nice simple two color scheme. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down!

CONS: T' decal issues mentioned earlier.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' recommended motors for this kit be t' D12-3 (first flight), shiver me timbers, arrr, D12-5, E9-4, E9-6.

This kit does require recovery waddin' and t' motor hook securely retains t' motor in place. Be sure t' use the included orange spacer when flyin' with t' D12 motors. Blimey!

For t' first flight, me bucko, arrr, I went with a D12-3 and t' boost could nay have been better. Arrow straight flight to maybe 500 feet and t' rocket stopped dead at apogee and just started t' come down tail first ever so slowly while remainin' in a NC up attitude when t' parachute deployed. Ahoy! Blimey! A perfect first flight. Ahoy! Aye aye!

For t' second flight, I went with an E9-4 and got a nice flight with a little weathercockin' due t' t' lower thrust o' t' E9 t' maybe 800 feet or so and t' chute deployed a bit past apogee.

In this case, shiver me timbers, I would avoid t' use o' t' E9-6. Ya scallywag! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down!

PROS: Flies very well.

CONS: Might weathercock on t' E9. Aye aye! Don't use t' E9 in windy conditions.

Recovery:
T' 24 inch parachute is definitely enough t' brin' this rocket back safely and t' rubber shock cord seems long enough t' keep t' BT and NC from hittin' each other. It might even be a bit oversized but you want this rocket t' come down slowly t' avoid damage t' t' tube fins.

Also, arrr, t' orange parachute was easy t' see in t' air and on t' ground. Estes appears t' have stopped using their normal printed chutes due t' regulations concernin' printed materials. Ya scallywag! Begad!

PROS: Recovers well with t' provided components. Well, blow me down!

CONS: None here.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
I really liked this rocket and feel it was well worth t' 2 - 2 1/2 years it took for Estes to finally release this kit. Blimey! Avast! It be easy t' build and it flies great too and is well worth t' cost. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! It also is nice to see Estes offer a tube fin rocket.

Main PROS: Easy t' build, matey, high quality components, flies great.

Main CONS: T' quality o' t' waterslide decal be mediocre at best. Avast, me proud beauty! Maybe Estes has corrected this by now. Well, matey, blow me down!

I would have given this kit a perfect 5 ratin' but t' issues with t' decal has forced me t' deduct half a point from t' overall rating.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5