Brief:
T' Qmodelin' Retro Mega Series Andromeda is one o' t' most formidable mid-power kits available. Avast! Blimey! This beautiful kit is a 1.65:1 upscale o' t' Estes Andromeda. QModeling's BT-60 version stands nearly 6 feet tall. 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. Aye aye! T' parts are very high quality, with no scrimpin' t' save money. Begad! For example, matey, t' numerous ply rings, me hearties, two hard composite assembly jigs, nylon parachute, ya bilge rat, Nomex® chute protector, and so forth are beyond what would be expected in a standard kit. Aye aye! Aye aye! For t' relatively high price of this kit, arrr, it is nice t' feel that you are gettin' your money's worth. Avast, me proud beauty!

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

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

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

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

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

Compared t' t' instructions, 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. Begad! Ahoy! I built a motor spacer t' fill t' empty space above t' motor, me bucko, allowin' t' clip t' fit correctly on t' motor. QModelin' later wrote me t' agree that I should construct such a spacer. Arrr!

T' next set o' steps involve t' main reactor tube, me bucko, lower body tube, arrr, and primary fins. Arrr! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Here, I suggest that you push t' motor mount assembly up into t' lower body tube for extra strength. Blimey! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey!

Roughly at this point, arrr, I made a huge mistake. Arrr! Despite complete understandin' o' t' instructions, I somehow managed t' glue t' reactor forward rin' about 3/16 inch too far forward. Aye aye! This rin' helps mount t' reactor tube (in which t' motor mount sits) around t' lower body tube. Blimey! This error caused t' fin slots t' misalign with t' motor mount fin slots so I extended t' slots. Begad! However, ya bilge rat, this misaligned t' fins with t' end o' t' rocket. Well, blow me down! I had t' sand away 1/4 inch from from t' aft curve t' main fins. Blimey! Fortunately, t' result is nay really detectable. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Begad!

Next t' reactor rings are glued. Ahoy! Blimey! It is critical t' align these perfectly or else t' pod fins won't fit. T' pod fins are built next. Here, ya bilge rat, me bucko, t' instructions for addin' t' decorative reactor plates were nay sufficiently clear t' me, and t' figure didn't help. Arrr! Blimey! If done correctly, matey, all reactor plates should be symmetrical with respect t' t' rest o' the rocket. Aye aye! Mine are asymmetrical, arrr, me bucko, but this is nay inconsistent with t' overall asymmetry o' t' rocket design. Arrr! Blimey!

T' lower rocket is finished with t' elevator shafts, matey, matey, t' antennae mast fins, me hearties, t' antennae, ya bilge rat, and other decorative details. Avast, me proud beauty! T' fins are a snap t' align perfectly with one o' t' jigs. 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. Begad! I had rounded t' leadin' edges o' t' main fins, arrr, but this resulted in t' dowel havin' greater thickness than t' beveled fin edge. Ahoy! Avast! It required careful sandin' and generous wood filler t' get a clean smooth look. Blimey!

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

Accordin' t' t' instructions, matey, filletin' is mainly postponed until major sections are complete, and sanding/fillin' is left t' t' very end. Aye aye! Arrr! Blimey! 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! Blimey! 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. Well, blow me down! Blimey! One exception t' this be t' three o' radiator rings. I made t' mistake o' filletin' these, then usin' wood filler to further smooth t' seams. Avast! Ya scallywag! Blimey! This be a huge pain because it took hours o' sandin' in very tiny spaces t' finish t' task.

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

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

PROS: Huge project, great quality, mostly fantastic instructions

CONS: A few construction ambiguities, arrr, high price

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

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

When t' igniter lit, t' motor sputtered for an eternity. Ya scallywag! Everyone, 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. Arrr! T' short rod was absolutely fine with t' F24, me hearties, even in t' brisk breeze.

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

T' high power range was closed for launches--or at least I thought it was--before I could retrieve Andromeda. After I turned away, me wife gasped and people started running. Avast! Stronger winds had filled both chutes and began t' drag Andromeda away. Begad! Begad! 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. Ya scallywag! When we finally caught it, it was totally destroyed. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! Major portions are still out thar somewhere.

T' go from a totally flawless flight t' utter destruction like that was devastating. It would have been far easier if t' rocket was ruined in a hard landing. Avast! Blimey! T' Andromeda is gone. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey!

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

CONS: None.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
I want t' mention two other notes about QModeling. Ya scallywag! First, 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. Avast! Begad! T' wait was worth it, however, as QModeling's Tom Quinn ended up sendin' me a huge Mars Snooper kit as consolation, and he sent Andromeda serial #0002. Begad! Tom kept #0001 for a future Qmodelin' "museum".

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

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

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5