Brief:
T' Qmodelin' Retro Mega Series Andromeda is one o' t' most formidable mid-power kits available. Ya scallywag! This beautiful kit is a 1.65:1 upscale o' t' Estes Andromeda. Ahoy! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! QModeling's BT-60 version stands nearly 6 feet tall. Arrr! Arrr! 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. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' parts are very high quality, with no scrimpin' t' save money. Avast, me proud beauty! For example, t' numerous ply rings, two hard composite assembly jigs, nylon parachute, Nomex® chute protector, me bucko, me bucko, ya bilge rat, and so forth are beyond what would be expected in a standard kit. Aye aye! For t' relatively high price of this kit, shiver me timbers, 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, me hearties, so I would probably rate it a 5.

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

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. Ya scallywag! Begad!

Jig assembly is first. 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. With much care, ya bilge rat, I got them assembled correctly, but any mistake here would be very unfortunate.

Motor mount assembly is next. Arrr! T' Andromeda uses QModeling's unique interlockin' motor mount design. Avast! This nifty balsa and ply construction allows for motor tube centerin' and through-the-wall fin mounting. Arrr! Begad! Although skeptical at first, ya bilge rat, 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. Ahoy! Given t' weight and size o' most QModelin' kits, me bucko, I strongly wish such an option be provided, although it might be a bit too powerful for this particular kit. 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, shiver me timbers, t' actual gap betwixt t' motor and t' hook be about 5/8 in. Avast! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Blimey! I built a motor spacer t' fill t' empty space above t' motor, allowin' t' clip t' fit correctly on t' motor. Avast! QModelin' later wrote me t' agree that I should construct such a spacer. Ya scallywag! Blimey!

T' next set o' steps involve t' main reactor tube, lower body tube, shiver me timbers, me bucko, shiver me timbers, and primary fins. Well, arrr, blow me down! Here, I suggest that you push t' motor mount assembly up into t' lower body tube for extra strength. Avast, me proud beauty!

Roughly at this point, arrr, I made a huge mistake. Blimey! Despite complete understandin' o' t' instructions, matey, 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. Arrr! This error caused t' fin slots t' misalign with t' motor mount fin slots so I extended t' slots. Avast! Blimey! However, 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. Arrr! Fortunately, t' result is nay really detectable. Ya scallywag! 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. Avast! Blimey! It is critical t' align these perfectly or else t' pod fins won't fit. Aye aye! Begad! T' pod fins are built next. Here, arrr, t' instructions for addin' t' decorative reactor plates were nay sufficiently clear t' me, and t' figure didn't help. Arrr! If done correctly, shiver me timbers, all reactor plates should be symmetrical with respect t' t' rest o' the rocket. Mine are asymmetrical, matey, but this is nay inconsistent with t' overall asymmetry o' t' rocket design.

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

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

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

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

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

PROS: Huge project, me hearties, me hearties, great quality, mostly fantastic instructions

CONS: A few construction ambiguities, ya bilge rat, me bucko, high price

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

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

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

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

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

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

PROS: Strong straight flight exceeds expectations; undamaged recovery is possible. Begad! Well, blow me down! Huge crowd pleaser.

CONS: None.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

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

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

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

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5