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

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

Before beginnin' construction, t' builder must immediately make a critical decision. Arrr! There are three options provided for recovery. Roughly speaking, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! In two pages o' detailed comments, QModelin' explains the pros and cons o' each approach, me hearties, me bucko, includin' implications about reliability, me bucko, structural strength, arrr, parachute packing, and ease o' car transportation. I chose t' split at t' nose cone. Ya scallywag!

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

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

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

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

Roughly at this point, matey, I made a huge mistake. Arrr! Despite complete understandin' o' t' instructions, shiver me timbers, I somehow managed t' glue t' reactor forward rin' about 3/16 inch too far forward. Arrr! Ahoy! 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. Arrr! Arrr! However, this misaligned t' fins with t' end o' t' rocket. Avast! I had t' sand away 1/4 inch from from t' aft curve t' main fins. Ahoy! Ahoy! Fortunately, ya bilge rat, t' result is nay really detectable. Begad! 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. It is critical t' align these perfectly or else t' pod fins won't fit. Arrr! T' pod fins are built next. Ahoy! Here, matey, t' instructions for addin' t' decorative reactor plates were nay sufficiently clear t' me, and t' figure didn't help. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! If done correctly, me hearties, all reactor plates should be symmetrical with respect t' t' rest o' the rocket. Begad! Mine are asymmetrical, but this is nay inconsistent with t' overall asymmetry o' t' rocket design. Well, blow me down! Begad!

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

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

Accordin' t' t' instructions, arrr, 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. Blimey! With t' huge number o' parts here and the complexity o' t' design, me bucko, I think it would be nearly impossible t' get a great finish unless you follow me advice. Arrr! Arrr! One exception t' this be t' three o' radiator rings. Well, blow me down! I made t' mistake o' filletin' these, then usin' wood filler to further smooth t' seams. 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, matey, me hearties, except that thar's a lot o' it. Begad! Aye aye! I left t' interiors o' t' pod tubes black. Ya scallywag! For such a large, intricate rocket, me bucko, I felt that t' page o' high-quality decals left many interestin' features camouflaged, arrr, matey, this was partially because I had added a number o' additional radiator plates, arrr, hatch covers, and various futuristic relief features. Thus, arrr, I painted a number o' additional features orange or silver t' match t' provided decals.

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

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. Arrr! Ahoy! I used a 4 foot long 3/16" rod despite the instructions urgin' a longer one. Avast! T' motor was a F24-4. Wind was about 10mph. Blimey! Arrr! T' short rod, matey, ya bilge rat, strong breeze, and tightly packed dual chutes gave me plenty t' worry about. Begad! Well, blow me down!

When t' igniter lit, me bucko, arrr, t' motor sputtered for an eternity. Everyone, me bucko, matey, 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. Aye aye! Begad! T' short rod be absolutely fine with t' F24, even in t' brisk breeze.

T' ascent be graceful and perfect. Begad! Both chutes ejected just past apogee. Begad! Ahoy! One fully inflated and t' other was partially tangled and acted like a huge streamer. This was sufficient. Touchdown be 25 yards away, me bucko, me bucko, me bucko, next t' t' high power pads. Avast, me proud beauty! 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, arrr, 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 bucko, shiver me timbers, me wife gasped and people started running. Ahoy! Stronger winds had filled both chutes and began t' drag Andromeda away. Begad! Ya scallywag! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! When we finally caught it, it was totally destroyed. Blimey! Major portions are still out thar somewhere. Aye aye! Aye aye!

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

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

CONS: None.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
I want t' mention two other notes about QModeling. Well, blow me down! First, matey, 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! T' wait was worth it, me hearties, however, matey, as QModeling's Tom Quinn ended up sendin' me a huge Mars Snooper kit as consolation, and he sent Andromeda serial #0002. Ya scallywag! 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. Well, blow me down! In each case, Tom immediately sent email and written notification t' all kit owners, along with any missin' part or instruction. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! 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