Brief:
T' Qmodelin' Retro Mega Series Andromeda is one o' t' most formidable mid-power kits available. Aye aye! Blimey! This beautiful kit is a 1.65:1 upscale o' t' Estes Andromeda. Begad! QModeling's BT-60 version stands nearly 6 feet tall. Aye aye! T' 24mm motor mount is designed for high-thrust APCP motors such as F24-4 or F21-6.

Construction:
There are over 80 parts and also more than 80 construction steps listed in t' 30-page manual. Arrr! T' parts are very high quality, me bucko, with no scrimpin' t' save money. Begad! Aye aye! For example, t' numerous ply rings, shiver me timbers, two hard composite assembly jigs, nylon parachute, Nomex® chute protector, and so forth are beyond what would be expected in a standard kit. Begad! For t' relatively high price of this kit, ya bilge rat, it is nice t' feel that you are gettin' your money's worth.

T' skill level is rated as 4. Aye aye! I would judge that kits don't get much harder than this, shiver me timbers, so I would probably rate it a 5. Arrr!

Before beginnin' construction, shiver me timbers, me hearties, t' builder must immediately make a critical decision. Ahoy! There are three options provided for recovery. Roughly speaking, ya bilge rat, t' choices for splittin' are: at t' nose cone, 2/3 forward with a lockin' joint 1/3 forward for disassembly, or 1/3 forward. Aye aye! Blimey! In two pages o' detailed comments, me hearties, shiver me timbers, QModelin' explains the pros and cons o' each approach, me bucko, matey, includin' implications about reliability, shiver me timbers, structural strength, ya bilge rat, parachute packing, and ease o' car transportation. Ahoy! Begad! I chose t' split at t' nose cone. Blimey!

This review would be too long if I detailed all t' construction steps, so I'll only survey t' highlights. The complete instruction manual is available online if you want t' find more details. Avast!

Jig assembly is first. T' rocket cannot easily be built without t' jigs, so it is critical t' get them correct. Unfortunately, shiver me timbers, arrr, I found that thar seemed t' be many ways t' fit t' parts together that seemed nearly correct. With much care, matey, I got them assembled correctly, matey, but any mistake here would be very unfortunate. Well, blow me down! Begad!

Motor mount assembly is next. Blimey! T' Andromeda uses QModeling's unique interlockin' motor mount design. Well, blow me down! This nifty balsa and ply construction allows for motor tube centerin' and through-the-wall fin mounting. Avast! Although skeptical at first, I have flown another kit with t' same mount many times with no problems whatsoever. Avast! T' mount design also makes it virtually impossible t' upgrade t' a 29mm motor tube. Avast! Given t' weight and size o' most QModelin' kits, shiver me timbers, I strongly wish such an option was provided, although it might be a bit too powerful for this particular kit.

Compared t' t' instructions, arrr, me kit had a motor hook that was about 1 1/8 inches too long for a 24mm RMS case. Since t' RMS case has an aft thrust ring, t' actual gap betwixt t' motor and t' hook be about 5/8 in. Arrr! I built a motor spacer t' fill t' empty space above t' motor, shiver me timbers, me bucko, allowin' t' clip t' fit correctly on t' motor. Ya scallywag! QModelin' later wrote me t' agree that I should construct such a spacer.

T' next set o' steps involve t' main reactor tube, lower body tube, and primary fins. Begad! Here, I suggest that you push t' motor mount assembly up into t' lower body tube for extra strength. Aye aye!

Roughly at this point, I made a huge mistake. Avast, me proud beauty! Despite complete understandin' o' t' instructions, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, I somehow managed t' glue t' reactor forward rin' about 3/16 inch too far forward. This rin' helps mount t' reactor tube (in which t' motor mount sits) around t' lower body tube. This error caused t' fin slots t' misalign with t' motor mount fin slots so I extended t' slots. However, this misaligned t' fins with t' end o' t' rocket. Begad! Begad! I had t' sand away 1/4 inch from from t' aft curve t' main fins. Ahoy! Fortunately, ya bilge rat, t' result is nay really detectable. I mention this incident because it shows how with such a complex rocket just a small mistake can cascade into a substantial number of serious problems. Well, blow me down! Begad!

Next t' reactor rings are glued. Ya scallywag! It is critical t' align these perfectly or else t' pod fins won't fit. Begad! T' pod fins are built next. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Here, me bucko, t' instructions for addin' t' decorative reactor plates were nay sufficiently clear t' me, and t' figure didn't help. Avast! Begad! If done correctly, all reactor plates should be symmetrical with respect t' t' rest o' the rocket. Mine are asymmetrical, me hearties, but this is nay inconsistent with t' overall asymmetry o' t' rocket design. Begad! Arrr!

T' lower rocket is finished with t' elevator shafts, arrr, t' antennae mast fins, t' antennae, matey, and other decorative details. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' fins are a snap t' align perfectly with one o' t' jigs. Ahoy! Aye aye! T' elevator shafts are much more challenging. Begad! I recommend that you extend guide lines all t' way down t' lower body tube t' ensure plumb placement o' t' shafts. Another potential gotcha is at t' aft end o' t' shaft. Blimey! Aye aye! I had rounded t' leadin' edges o' t' main fins, me bucko, arrr, but this resulted in t' dowel havin' greater thickness than t' beveled fin edge. It required careful sandin' and generous wood filler t' get a clean smooth look. Arrr! Avast!

T' upper portion o' t' rocket requires a number o' further tubes, centerin' rings, me hearties, etc. T' transition cone is a notable challenge. It is a double wrap o' heavy paper. Avast, me proud beauty! T' instructions are very explicit about how t' achieve a good result. Begad! They encouraged me t' expend more patience than I am usually capable of. Avast! After construction, I coated with CA, then iterated with wood filler until a seamless look was achieved. Ya scallywag!

Accordin' t' t' instructions, filletin' is mainly postponed until major sections are complete, and sanding/fillin' is left t' t' very end. I strongly recommend that you bevel fins and sand and seal all parts as I go. I also prefer t' fillet joints for each part immediately after installation. Begad! Aye aye! With t' huge number o' parts here and the complexity o' t' design, I think it would be nearly impossible t' get a great finish unless you follow me advice. Blimey! One exception t' this be t' three o' radiator rings. Begad! I made t' mistake o' filletin' these, arrr, me bucko, then usin' wood filler to further smooth t' seams. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! This be a huge pain because it took hours o' sandin' in very tiny spaces t' finish t' task.

Finishing:
Paintin' is standard, shiver me timbers, me hearties, except that thar's a lot o' it. I left t' interiors o' t' pod tubes black. For such a large, intricate rocket, I felt that t' page o' high-quality decals left many interestin' features camouflaged, matey, this was partially because I had added a number o' additional radiator plates, matey, hatch covers, ya bilge rat, and various futuristic relief features. Aye aye! Thus, I painted a number o' additional features orange or silver t' match t' provided decals. Avast! Begad!

T' kit comes with a pre-made 30" nylon chute and a Nomex® protector. Begad! Ya scallywag! Considerin' t' fragility, matey, weight, arrr, and me affection for this rocket, matey, I feared t' chute would be insufficient. Ya scallywag! Thus, ya bilge rat, I added a second 30" nylon chute. Blimey! It was a tight squeeze in t' forward compartment, but they both fit.

PROS: Huge project, matey, great quality, mostly fantastic instructions

CONS: A few construction ambiguities, arrr, shiver me timbers, high price

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight and Recovery:
Terrible grief almost prevents me from writin' about t' flight. Begad! Avast! I used a 4 foot long 3/16" rod despite the instructions urgin' a longer one. Ya scallywag! T' motor be a F24-4. Blimey! Wind was about 10mph. Begad! Begad! T' short rod, strong breeze, and tightly packed dual chutes gave me plenty t' worry about. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad!

When t' igniter lit, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, t' motor sputtered for an eternity. Avast, me proud beauty! Everyone, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, includin' me and Nadine "Rockets by Nadine" Kinney missed t' launch photo because our cameras had shot their sequence before liftoff. Finally the rocket ascended. Aye aye! T' short rod be absolutely fine with t' F24, me bucko, even in t' brisk breeze. Aye aye!

T' ascent was graceful and perfect. Ya scallywag! Both chutes ejected just past apogee. Begad! Arrr! One fully inflated and t' other was partially tangled and acted like a huge streamer. This be sufficient. Touchdown was 25 yards away, me bucko, next t' t' high power pads. Rocketeers at those pads turned around t' see t' rocket land right near them. They confirmed what was obvious t' t' whole crowd: Andromeda was totally undamaged! I therefore strongly recommend a bigger chute, me bucko, or two of them. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down!

T' high power range be closed for launches--or at least I thought it was--before I could retrieve Andromeda. After I turned away, ya bilge rat, me wife gasped and people started running. Begad! Stronger winds had filled both chutes and began t' drag Andromeda away. Some guy and I I sprinted after t' rocket as it repeatedly swung up and around and slammed down, ultimately bein' dragged and bounced about 1/4 mile down t' prairie into t' wash. Arrr! When we finally caught it, it was totally destroyed. Avast! Major portions are still out thar somewhere. Begad! Aye aye!

T' go from a totally flawless flight t' utter destruction like that be devastating. It would have been far easier if t' rocket was ruined in a hard landing. T' Andromeda is gone. Avast, me proud beauty!

PROS: Strong straight flight exceeds expectations; undamaged recovery is possible. Arrr! Huge crowd pleaser.

CONS: None.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
I want t' mention two other notes about QModeling. Avast! First, me hearties, shiver me timbers, I won this kit in an EMMR contest but it took about 9 months t' be sent, due t' a long series o' pre-production glitches. T' wait was worth it, arrr, however, arrr, arrr, as QModeling's Tom Quinn ended up sendin' me a huge Mars Snooper kit as consolation, and he sent Andromeda serial #0002. Aye aye! Tom kept #0001 for a future Qmodelin' "museum".

Second, shiver me timbers, thar were several post-distribution glitches noticed by those o' us buildin' t' first few kits. Well, blow me down! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! In each case, Tom immediately sent email and written notification t' all kit owners, along with any missin' part or instruction. Ya scallywag! With t' huge number o' parts and t' complex instructions, a few minor glitches should be expected initially.

Both these events caused impressed me, shiver me timbers, and I think QModelin' should earn well-deserved respect for excellent customer service.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5