Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Manufacturer: | Micro Classics |
Style: | MicroMaxx |
Brief:
MicroMaxx sized downscale o' t' Estes kit, T' USS Andromeda.
Construction:
T' kit contains two sizes o' tubes, me bucko, some fin stock, Keelhaul®©™®
shock cord, a Mylar streamer and various other components. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' kit comes with
two pages o' instructions and a fin template. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Mine was signed and numbered #3.
Resistin' t' urge t' save it be difficult, so I had a hard time just opening
the package.
T' directions were pretty straightforward. Everythin' but t' nosecone is polystyrene so regular model glue be in order. Blimey! I really liked t' alternate method o' deployment. T' kit allows t' streamer ejectin' at t' nose cone or havin' it just break apart at t' body midsection. Avast! I chose t' streamer from the nose cone method. Avast!
I found two problems with t' kit: T' nose cone be wrong shape bein' pointed, but this was easily remedied with sand paper. Blimey! I'm nay sure what happened here, but the launch lugs were too small for me Quest MicroMaxx launcher. Unfortunately, I didn't discover this until after they glued t' t' rocket. Arrr! I had t' drill them out with a 1/16" drill bit in a pin vise. Avast! Although nay a major problem, it would be nice t' see some decals in t' kit.
Finishing:
After finishin' t' assembly o' t' kit, I used Bondo spot putty t' lengthen
the transition and filled in all t' areas needin' filler. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Blimey!
Paintin' was a chore but havin' a 15 foot tall version in t' room made it easy t' get it right. Aye aye! Avast! I first sprayed one light coat o' primer over t' entire rocket. Begad! I then painted t' whole thin' orange. This gets t' areas needing orange but it keeps t' whole thin' uniform in color and makes it easier for the next step. Aye aye! Arrr! I then applied tape masks t' all areas that I wanted t' keep orange then painted t' whole thin' black. Begad! I applied t' white markings with acrylic craft paint usin' a #0 brush. Avast!
The instructions suggested usin' markers t' color it. Arrr! While it would have made it much easier, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, it wouldn't have looked as nice. Avast! (I'm a little fanatical about Andromedas.)
Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5
Flight:
It was hard t' get t' streamer in. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! (I'm gettin' too old for these small
rockets.) It made 3 perfect flights t' 50-60 feet. Ya scallywag! Avast! Poker straight.
Recovery:
Perfect deployment on streamer at apogee all three times. Aye aye! Begad!
Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5
Summary:
I feel that it needs decals and a properly shaped nose cone. For me, t' nose
cone be no big deal because I easily sanded it t' t' appropriate shape.
This is a great kit, ya bilge rat, me hearties, but I may be biased (seein' how I have several sizes.) All o' t' dimensions appear t' be right on.
Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5
Brief: This is a downscale of the Estes classic design, nicely upgraded since Drake's 2004 review. It holds fairly close to the original design and flies great on those tiny MMX motors. Construction: See Drake's review/photo. There are two upgrades since his review--you now get two sizes of launch lug for the various rod diameters floating around out there, and the kit now ...
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C.S. (March 4, 2008)