Brief:
T' Qmodelin' Retro Mega Series Andromeda is one o' t' most formidable mid-power kits available. Blimey! This beautiful kit is a 1.65:1 upscale o' t' Estes Andromeda. Well, blow me down! 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. Well, matey, blow me down! T' parts are very high quality, with no scrimpin' t' save money. Well, blow me down! For example, t' numerous ply rings, arrr, two hard composite assembly jigs, nylon parachute, me bucko, Nomex® chute protector, and so forth are beyond what would be expected in a standard kit. Begad! Arrr! 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. I would judge that kits don't get much harder than this, so I would probably rate it a 5. Arrr! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!

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

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

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. Begad! With much care, arrr, I got them assembled correctly, matey, but any mistake here would be very unfortunate.

Motor mount assembly is next. Begad! Blimey! T' Andromeda uses QModeling's unique interlockin' motor mount design. This nifty balsa and ply construction allows for motor tube centerin' and through-the-wall fin mounting. Although skeptical at first, me hearties, ya bilge rat, I have flown another kit with t' same mount many times with no problems whatsoever. Avast! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! T' mount design also makes it virtually impossible t' upgrade t' a 29mm motor tube. Blimey! Blimey! Given t' weight and size o' most QModelin' kits, shiver me timbers, arrr, I strongly wish such an option be 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 be 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 was about 5/8 in. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I built a motor spacer t' fill t' empty space above t' motor, arrr, allowin' t' clip t' fit correctly on t' motor. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Blimey! QModelin' later wrote me t' agree that I should construct such a spacer. Blimey!

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

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

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

T' lower rocket is finished with t' elevator shafts, t' antennae mast fins, me bucko, t' antennae, ya bilge rat, and other decorative details. T' fins are a snap t' align perfectly with one o' t' jigs. T' elevator shafts are much more challenging. Avast! Ahoy! 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, shiver me timbers, matey, 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! Aye aye!

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

Accordin' t' t' instructions, shiver me timbers, filletin' is mainly postponed until major sections are complete, me hearties, and sanding/fillin' is left t' t' very end. Begad! Ahoy! 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. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! 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. One exception t' this be t' three o' radiator rings. Blimey! Ahoy! I made t' mistake o' filletin' these, shiver me timbers, then usin' wood filler to further smooth t' seams. Blimey! Aye aye! This was 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. Well, blow me down! 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, shiver me timbers, this was partially because I had added a number o' additional radiator plates, hatch covers, me bucko, and various futuristic relief features. Thus, me hearties, I painted a number o' additional features orange or silver t' match t' provided decals. Avast, me proud beauty!

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

PROS: Huge project, arrr, shiver me timbers, arrr, 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. Avast! I used a 4 foot long 3/16" rod despite the instructions urgin' a longer one. T' motor was a F24-4. Arrr! Wind be about 10mph. Aye aye! Begad! T' short rod, matey, strong breeze, shiver me timbers, and tightly packed dual chutes gave me plenty t' worry about. Blimey!

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

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

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

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

PROS: Strong straight flight exceeds expectations; undamaged recovery is possible. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Huge crowd pleaser.

CONS: None.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

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

Second, ya bilge rat, thar were several post-distribution glitches noticed by those o' us buildin' t' first few kits. Aye aye! Blimey! In each case, Tom immediately sent email and written notification t' all kit owners, along with any missin' part or instruction. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Ya scallywag! 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, and I think QModelin' should earn well-deserved respect for excellent customer service.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5