T' Neubauer Rockets Mercury Redstone is a sport scale model o' t' famous rocket that launched Alan Shepherd and Gus Grissom in a Sub-orbital ballistic path into space and then t' Atlantic Ocean from Cape Canaveral. Arrr! Ahoy! T' completed kit stands 9.75" tall, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, me hearties, weighs 1.5 oz. and is approx 1/100 scale.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

T' Mercury Redstone kit comes in t' familiar plastic bag. T' cover art has a slightly blurry picture o' the Redstone launching, with all o' t' pertinent data for t' kit. Blimey! Blimey! I mail ordered the kit from Discount Rocketry, shiver me timbers, t' only place that carries t' kits, for $17. Begad! Blimey!

T' package arrived with t' kit fully intact, me hearties, matey, all parts in t' kit and nothin' broken. T' kit consists o' a standard friction motor mount and body tube, matey, but that is where t' familiarity ends, it also includes a cast resin nose cone with a clear Lucite rod already attached, along with a bag o' parts to complete t' escape tower, matey, me hearties, which include, toothpicks, a small dowel and printed cardstock for t' tower lattice work.

T' kit also includes a pre-printed self adhesive body wrap, matey, and a real neat clear launch lug (be careful nay t' lose it!). Avast!

T' instructions are printed on two 8.5x11 pieces o' paper. Avast, me proud beauty! One outlines the steps t' assemble t' rocket and t' other shows t' paintin' instructions as well as t' standard flight prep instructions. Each step is illustrated with a simple drawing, and indicates what type o' glue t' use in that step. T' steps are short, me hearties, clear and concise, me hearties, matey, and expect previous experience in building. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! There are two supplemental instructions, shiver me timbers, matey, one that recommends sandin' t' base o' the nose cone for fit, and t' other for assembly o' t' parachute. Ahoy! Begad! T' order of steps fairly logical, shiver me timbers, but I would delay t' attachment o' t' shock cord mount until t' last possible moment as it always gets in me way in t' following steps. Begad!

This is nay your easy rocket build. Aye aye! Ahoy! It takes time, me bucko, patience, shiver me timbers, arrr, and some modelin' know how. Begad! I would rate it as a skill level 4 at least. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Buildin' the rocket is nay easy, but straightforward.

However thar were several gotcha's that I found. Begad! First, shiver me timbers, t' shock cord should nay be assembled so early in t' process, me hearties, it only gets in t' way. Begad! Wait until after t' capsule is ready for that step. Arrr! T' capsule base requires some sandin' for a good fit, and that is a time consumin' process, shiver me timbers, but I would rather sand t' fit, shiver me timbers, than add tape for a fit. Blimey! Blimey! T' tower cross struts are too wide for t' top o' t' tower as they are printed, so you will want t' trim them down, do this after you attach them t' t' tower, as t' assembly is quite strong. Avast, me proud beauty! Extra struts are printed, so you can remove one and try again, arrr, ya bilge rat, I had to. Begad! Begad!

T' escape rocket motors are made from pieces o' a small dowel "turned" into cones by sharpenin' them in a pencil sharpener, an interestin' method. Begad! T' body wrap has a dotted outline t' cut on, me bucko, this outline is way too big for t' rocket. Ahoy! I cut mine square with a sharp hobby knife and a straight edge, and guessed at where t' cut t' top off. Arrr! Begad! Blimey! I ended up cuttin' the top just above t' third row o' black squares. Followin' this, draw a straight line down t' body tube for alignment when you attach t' wrap, otherwise you might get it skewed. Begad! T' alignment line is nay mentioned in t' instructions, matey, I feel this is an oversight due t' t' critical nature o' this step. Ahoy!

Once t' wrap was on I found that t' body tube was 1/16" too long for the wrap (better too long than too short) so I cut t' body tube t' length, another reason t' wait on attachin' t' shock cord.

T' next step it t' attach t' plastic fins with epoxy t' t' body wrap. I was slightly afraid o' t' sturdiness o' this arrangement so I cut slots in the wrap t' glue t' fins t' t' body tube, this was probably overkill, but I feel better. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' launch lug was then attached t' t' rocket, shiver me timbers, I attached it t' the seam in t' body wrap, t' hide both at t' same time.

T' rest o' t' rocket is easy, me bucko, ya bilge rat, and consists o' buildin' and attachin' the parachute and shock cord. One note here, me bucko, arrr, drill a small hole in t' nose cone for t' screw eye, me bucko, t' nose cone is way too hard t' thread it in by itself. Aye aye! Begad! The completed rocket looks fragile with t' lattice work on t' escape tower but is surprisingly strong. Avast, me proud beauty! This is due t' t' clear Lucite rod that supports the assembly. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! O' t' two launches and handlin' so far, nothin' has broken.

In buildin' t' kit I used two types o' epoxy, me bucko, white for t' fin attach, me bucko, and clear for t' launch lug attach, white glue for t' motor mount assembly and shock cord attachment, me hearties, ya bilge rat, and CA and epoxy for t' tower assembly. Aye aye! I also used a small drill for t' hole in t' nose cone for t' screw eye. Ya scallywag!

T' main finishin' requirement o' this rocket is attachin' t' body wrap. Once t' rocket is complete, me bucko, matey, t' roll pattern needs t' be painted on t' fins and t' capsule needs t' be painted. Avast! Blimey!

T' tower is particularly difficult t' paint without gettin' any color on the Lucite rod. Avast! I used a small brush and be very careful nay t' paint t' rod. There are no decals, me bucko, ya bilge rat, as all t' detail is on t' body wrap. A couple o' details for t' capsule would be nice, but it is very small and t' details would be even smaller, arrr, me bucko, tweezer size for sure.

T' result is a credible scale model o' t' rocket, matey, ya bilge rat, that for it's small size is a good representation o' t' Mercury Redstone rocket. Avast! Avast!

Flight Rating: 2 out o' 5

T' recovery system consists o' an elastic shock cord attached t' t' body tube with a paper mount, me hearties, and t' t' nose cone with a screw eye. Begad! Well, blow me down! T' parachute is an octagonal 8" design made o' a textured plastic. Blimey! It is different from the flat plastic variety, shiver me timbers, and seems t' open easily and nay t' weld itself shut. I still need t' see how it behaves in t' cold, me bucko, but it seems more flexible than an Estes chute.

Preparation o' t' rocket is simple, friction fit t' motor and pack the parachute with waddin' and you are ready t' fly. Ahoy!

T' only motor that is recommended be t' A10-3T. Ahoy! On me first flight I goofed and used an A3-4T motor. Arrr! Avast! Once t' rocket cleared t' launch rod, it tilted with t' wind, shiver me timbers, then into t' wind, arrr, ya bilge rat, then stabilized t' ejection. Blimey! The 8" parachute was a perfect match for t' rocket, lowerin' it slowly and safely. Ahoy!

My next flight used t' recommended A10-3T motor. (It pays t' read the instructions.) This flight went almost 100 feet in t' air and performed a loop, nay what I expected. Arrr! T' parachute was deployed at a heart stoppin' 30 feet off t' ground, and t' rocket be returned safely.

At this point I am nay sure what is wrong, are t' fins too small, matey, me bucko, or is thar nay enough weight in t' nose, or be t' motor nozzle clogged? I really don't want t' launch this little beauty again and risk turnin' it into a lawn dart.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5

Everythin' Considered this is a sharp rocket. Aye aye! It replicates t' look o' the Mercury Redstone vehicle very well, arrr, and as a side benefit, ya bilge rat, matey, it is 1/100 scale, the same as t' Estes Saturn 5 kit.

It would be a great display model next t' t' Saturn! Blimey! T' instructions leave somethin' t' be desired, me bucko, ya bilge rat, but if you are ready for a challenge, me bucko, and tired o' the shake t' bag kits, this would be a good rocket for you t' build. Arrr! I am more concerned with t' flight stability. Ya scallywag! Blimey! This could be caused by several things on my part, includin' a bad motor.

My points o' concern are that t' launch lug is longer than t' fins and almost sticks out as far, and t' fins are small. Arrr! T' capsule is heavy enough to place t' CG forward t' where I would think it would be stable, but the launches showed somethin' different. Blimey! Blimey! As a result I still am nay certain o' its stability, arrr, but it is a great lookin' rocket that has survived two launches well. Ya scallywag!

T' followin' excerpt is from "Sport Rocketry". Ya scallywag! T' intention is t' allow guests t' get a basic feelin' about a kit. Ahoy! We strongly suggest that you get a copy o' the referenced Sport Rocketry and read t' entire article. Begad! Inside you will find many helpful hints in construction as well as other useful information. Begad! Ahoy! For more information, ya bilge rat, use t' two links above.

"T' 1/100 scale Mercury Redstone from Boyce Aerospace is a beautiful little sport scale model." 
"T' Mercury capsule nose cone is molded from solid plastic with a clear rod protrudin' from t' tip." 
"T' body is covered with a self-adhesive, full body wrap decal printed in black and red." 
"T' A10-3T be t' only suggested motor for t' kit, which boosts t' 18.5 gram model t' approximately 450 feet. Arrr! My test flight be perfectly stable despite t' tiny fins." 
"T' only part o' t' kit that disappointed me was t' recovery system." 
"T' thin' I like best about t' Mercury Redstone is how it looks . Well, blow me down! Aye aye! . ." 

T' entire article gives t' impression is that this is a nice kit for an intermediate modeler.