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

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

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

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

Jig assembly is first. Arrr! Blimey! 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, matey, I got them assembled correctly, shiver me timbers, but any mistake here would be very unfortunate. Avast! Well, blow me down! Blimey!

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

Compared t' t' instructions, me bucko, 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, ya bilge rat, t' actual gap betwixt t' motor and t' hook was about 5/8 in. Avast! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! I built a motor spacer t' fill t' empty space above t' motor, allowin' t' clip t' fit correctly on t' motor. QModelin' later wrote me t' agree that I should construct such a spacer. Avast!

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

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

Next t' reactor rings are glued. Avast! It is critical t' align these perfectly or else t' pod fins won't fit. Avast! T' pod fins are built next. Here, arrr, matey, t' instructions for addin' t' decorative reactor plates were nay sufficiently clear t' me, and t' figure didn't help. Well, blow me down! Blimey! If done correctly, all reactor plates should be symmetrical with respect t' t' rest o' the rocket. Begad! Mine are asymmetrical, me hearties, me hearties, 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, arrr, me hearties, t' antennae, and other decorative details. Avast! T' fins are a snap t' align perfectly with one o' t' jigs. Ya scallywag! T' elevator shafts are much more challenging. Aye aye! 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! I had rounded t' leadin' edges o' t' main fins, but this resulted in t' dowel havin' greater thickness than t' beveled fin edge. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! It required careful sandin' and generous wood filler t' get a clean smooth look. Avast!

T' upper portion o' t' rocket requires a number o' further tubes, me bucko, centerin' rings, etc. Aye aye! Ahoy! T' transition cone is a notable challenge. Avast, me proud beauty! It is a double wrap o' heavy paper. Ya scallywag! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! After construction, ya bilge rat, I coated with CA, then iterated with wood filler until a seamless look was achieved. Arrr!

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

Finishing:
Paintin' is standard, me bucko, matey, except that thar's a lot o' it. Begad! I left t' interiors o' t' pod tubes black. Begad! Begad! 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 hearties, hatch covers, me bucko, and various futuristic relief features. Blimey! Thus, I painted a number o' additional features orange or silver t' match t' provided decals. Avast!

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

PROS: Huge project, great quality, mostly fantastic instructions

CONS: A few construction ambiguities, high price

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

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

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

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

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. Blimey! 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. Aye aye! When we finally caught it, me bucko, it was totally destroyed. Well, blow me down! Major portions are still out thar somewhere. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty!

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

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

CONS: None.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
I want t' mention two other notes about QModeling. First, ya bilge rat, I won this kit in an EMMR contest but it took about 9 months t' be sent, arrr, due t' a long series o' pre-production glitches. Avast! Aye aye! 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. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! Tom kept #0001 for a future Qmodelin' "museum".

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

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

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5