Brief:
Tango Papa's 1.6x Mars Lander is a nice upscale o' t' vintage Estes Kit that fetches ungodly amounts o' loot in an auction. Begad! Aye aye! Blimey! If you have t' same fond memories o' t' Estes kit from your childhood that I do, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, arrr, then you need t' look at this kit. Avast! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' kit comes standard with a 29mm motor mount, shiver me timbers, matey, and parachutes are optional. I believe t' standard parachutes come from Top Flight, but I'm nay certain. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Shock cord is a length o' standard elastic.

A complete set o' decals, upscaled from t' original Estes decals, matey, comes on a sheet with t' kit. Arrr! Begad! As one can expect from Tango Papa, arrr, t' decal appearance is impressive.

A nice final touch be t' inclusion o' dual-purpose motor retention hardware. Arrr! Blimey! Nay only do t' bolts hold t' motor in place, matey, but they also hold t' aft o' t' rocket on, me bucko, which means it can easily be removed.

Construction:
T' kit includes a lot more parts than t' standard high-power kits, shiver me timbers, which is understandable, considerin' t' complexity o' t' end result. Begad! Begad! T' parachute tube is a heavy, matey, rough cardboard tube; normally, me hearties, arrr, I wouldn't like this, arrr, but since this tube is completely covered by t' shrouds, structurable integrity be t' only thin' that matters. T' descent stage tube, which is where t' legs come through, ya bilge rat, is a good quality phenolic. Avast! T' motor tube is good quality cardboard tube.

Also included are a plywood centerin' rings for t' large tube, arrr, arrr, as well as three wooden rings t' mount t' motor tube into t' parachute tube, me bucko, and t' also provide a mountin' point for t' leg supports. Begad! Ya scallywag! All are high-quality parts.

Many o' t' smaller pieces are laser-cut from appropriate materials, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, includin' basswood and balsa. Well, blow me down! T' main leg braces are made from aluminum rod, me bucko, which is appropriate since this is what takes t' primary force.

T' legs are attached t' t' body with heavy vinyl tubin' for t' hinges, arrr, just like t' Estes kit. Ya scallywag! T' kit also includes rubber bands for use as springs, once again like Estes. Aye aye! T' bands supplied could nay support t' assembled weight o' me lander, so I replaced them with small springs from t' local hardware store.

T' shrouds themselves are printed on poster-board with lines instead o' bein' embossed like in t' original kit. Avast! Blimey! Fabric paint is supplied t' allow t' builder t' draw raised lines t' give t' shrouds detail. More on this later.

T' shrouds themselves require rings t' hold their shape and provide attachment points. Aye aye! Ahoy! These rings are foam-core board, which is plenty sufficient for this purpose.

To complete t' kit, you will have t' provide appropriate weight, me bucko, which t' kit provides placement instructions for. Begad! I found that flexible fishin' weights (basically braided nylon tubes with shot in them) worked well for t' weight t' be placed in t' top shroud.

This kit is nay for t' impatient. Ahoy! Blimey! I estimate that I spent 10 hours or so just buildin' t' legs and gettin' them sanded properly. Begad! Arrr! Durin' this time, arrr, ya bilge rat, t' kit progress really seemed t' creep along. Avast, me proud beauty! Once t' legs were done, arrr, me bucko, shiver me timbers, things picked up a bit, although I still estimate I spent about 30 hours in construction time.

T' instructions are fairly detailed and quite lengthy, me hearties, although a bit confusin' in some cases. It is critical that you read and understand t' steps before performin' them, or it may come back t' bite you later on. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Tom Prestia is very good about answerin' emails with questions regardin' t' instructions.

There are also some photographs included t' help with certain aspects. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Blimey! These definitely are valuable.

As started earlier, t' shrouds are made from poster-board with lines printed on them where t' Estes shrouds were embossed. Ahoy! Blimey! T' fabric paint supplied works nicely for creatin' raised details, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, although it takes a steady handy for best results. Ahoy! Blimey! Because I can't draw a straight line with a ruler, me details aren't as nice as what others are able t' do, matey, although I am happy with t' result.

In formin' t' shrouds, me hearties, me bucko, I suggest usin' rubber cement t' glue t' ends o' t' shroud together. I used white glue, me bucko, me bucko, and have a minor point where mine are joined. Ya scallywag! With rubber cement, t' joint stays flexible while t' support rings are installed, ya bilge rat, so t' end result is better. Since t' rings themselves are what actually hold t' shrouds in place, usin' rubber cement will nay present a structural issue down t' road.

Patience and a small bit o' fiddlin' are required t' get some o' t' final details t' fit properly. Avast! This task isn't overly difficult, ya bilge rat, but is also somethin' that you cannot rush, or it will show in t' end result.

Finishing:
Finishin' is quite easy, ya bilge rat, since t' legs are removable. Ahoy! On t' original Estes kit, it is necessary t' paint t' legs prior t' assembly, arrr, then mask them off when t' main portion o' t' rocket is assembled. Blimey! T' Tango Papa kit has removable legs, so paintin' is a lot easier.

Since t' kit includes a lot o' decals, and all t' decals come on a single sheet, ya bilge rat, it takes time t' cut and place everythin' appropriately. Begad! Begad! Also, t' decal film is a bit thin, matey, arrr, so if you are nay careful, they will curl under themselves. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Patience, shiver me timbers, me bucko, once again, is necessary for t' best final result.

I covered me completed rocket with Future floor finish t' provide some protection for t' decals.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
While Tom Prestia recommends G motors for this lander, me bucko, I wasn't comfortable with such a small motor in a rocket this heavy. Well, blow me down! Instead, I used an H128-S for all me flights.

My lander has flown four times, with three beautiful launches. Avast, me proud beauty! Up be quite impressive on those three, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, with t' fourth havin' problems which I can only blame on myself.

There's a simple little law in physics which states that an object at rest wants t' stay at rest. Aye aye! This applies well t' our rockets, me bucko, and in provides itself on t' second flight o' me lander. Aye aye! T' first time I flew t' lander, arrr, I used a standoff which kept t' base fairly high off t' pad. Avast! On t' second flight, arrr, for some reason, I didn't use a standoff. Blimey! This meant that t' aft o' t' rocket was pretty much right on t' blast deflector plate. That be fine, except for t' legs. Begad! Because t' legs are hinged, when t' motor first fires, arrr, t' legs try t' stay in place when t' rocket body begins moving. This results in t' feet "tuckin' under" t' rocket a bit. Due t' t' size o' our club's blast deflectors, ya bilge rat, once foot be able t' catch on t' deflector when this happened. That put a pull on one side o' t' rocket, me hearties, me bucko, arrr, causin' t' rod t' flex in that direction. Begad! Eventually, arrr, t' leg pulled free form t' lander body, freein' t' rocket. Blimey! Now, ya bilge rat, physics comes into play twice -- first be t' asymmetrical drag on t' rocket. Blimey! Second be t' launch rod now snappin' back t' t' other side, causin' t' rocket t' be flung off t' rod on an arc. T' rocket spun in t' air, then slammed into t' ground when t' motor cut out.

Moral o' this story? ALWAYS use a stand-off with t' Mars Lander, unless t' deflector can in no way hook t' feet when t' legs tuck under on launch.

On me fourth and latest launch, I ran into a different issue, which is also nay t' manufacturer's fault. Avast! T' parachute tangled on deployment, matey, keepin' t' canopy from fully inflating. Blimey! Ya scallywag! This caused t' rocket t' come in a bit fast, and sustain some (repairable) damage on landing.

Recovery:
There are two decent quality parachutes included with t' kit. On me first two launches, matey, I used t' included parachutes for t' main body o' t' rocket, and recovered t' nose cone on a separate 15" parachute, me bucko, at t' recommendation o' t' manufacturer.

Due t' space limitations, arrr, packin' that much parachute into t' rocket is tricky, arrr, so I have since switched t' a single larger parachute I had custom-built for this rocket.

Includin' one larger parachute with t' kit would be an improvement, I believe.

I have also replaced t' elastic with a long piece o' light-weight tubular Keelhaul®©™ -- I'm just nay comfortable with elastic in rockets, matey, and especially nay in high-power.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
Overall, I be very pleased with this kit. Begad! Impressed enough that I convinced me wife t' buy me t' 2x Mars Lander for Christmas t' followin' year. Begad! T' 1.6x Lander be a Christmas gift, also.

T' biggest improvement that Tom made with this kit is makin' t' back end removable, shiver me timbers, me bucko, so that t' legs can be serviced.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Other:
You could, shiver me timbers, with minor edits, use t' 2x review for t' 1.6x kit. Ya scallywag! T' only difference would be t' motors and flight info.