Brief:
This kit is a fantasy sport scale plane called The Maverick by Sunward Model Aerospace. It is single stage and uses an 18" parachute for recovery.

Construction:

The kit came with:

• 2 sheets of laser-cut balsa fins
• 1 paper printed with duct pattern and wing reenforcement tabs
• Body Tube
• 18" plastic parachute
• 18mm motor tube w/thrust & centering rings
• Elastic shock cord
• Plastic nose cone
• Launch lug
• Self stick decals

There are many things that I really liked about the design of this rocket and a few that were sub-standard. On the plus side, I'll describe the fin installation. There is a body wrap that gets applied to make the jet intakes. The top of the wrap provides a platform on which to glue the large wings. This provides for an incredible amount of surface area and durability. There are also tabs that overlap the wings and secure them to the body tube. This combination is better than even through the body attachment. The intakes also provide a measure of stability to the rocket in flight. The tail fin is attached similarly to the wings by using two tabs that are first glued to the sides of the fin and then to the body tube.

As for the down side, the motor retention is sub par. The manufacturer provides a hook that screws into the centering ring of the motor mount. This is probably the worst design I have seen for motor retention. This problem was solved properly for model rockets years ago. If they didn't want to provide an Estes style motor hook, they should have recommended friction retention. I wouldn't feel comfortable flying with it so I replaced it with an Estes motor hook. Lastly they provide an old Estes style elastic shock cord. These don't tend to age very well and I replaced it as well.

Overall, construction of this level 3 kit was smooth and straight forward. The few minor nits I have are far outwieghed by the excellent design of this kit.

Finishing:

The drawback of the tabs is encountered when trying to finish the model. Quite a bit of filling is necessary to make the model look good. This is not hard, just time consuming.

Once I finished with filling, I primed and painted. The manufacturer recommends sanding the nose cone to make sure that the paint will adhere properly. The kit artwork show a camo paint scheme. I am not that ambitious and so chose a standard military gray.

The self stick decals made completion a breeze. I finished up with clear coat.

Construction Rating: 4 ½ out of 5

Flight and Recovery:
Flights on C's were excellent. The rocket lept off the pad and flew straight as an arrow. The 18" parachute was more than adequate for a damage free recovery. This rocket should fly problem free for years.

Flight Rating: 4 ½ out of 5

Summary:
Overall, I love this kit. It is durable and looks great on or off the launch pad.

Overall Rating: 4 ½ out of 5

Brief:
My entry for the EMRR's Uniquely Designed Finish Contest is the Sunward Maverick. This design was inspired by NASCAR's #9 Kasey Kahne. Kahne is sponsored by Dodge and my son's favorite driver.

Construction and Finishing:
I modified the design slightly by filling the wing-tube interface to make the rocket look more realistic. The wings were filled and sanded until completely smooth. The card stock used to form the jet engine intakes was also filled and sanded smooth. This was done to make the rocket look more authentic. When the filling and sanding cycles were complete a coat of primer was added. The primer was then sanded smooth. The base coat of gloss white was then applied. After masking all the detail areas red was added. Next, after masking all the details gloss black was applied. Finally, to protect the finish and graphics a thick clear coat was applied.

[Editor's Note: Although this was submitted as a modification, we believe that all the changes were merely to make the rocket look better and are not really modifications. Great finishing techniques.]

Flight and Recovery:
The day of the first flight the weather was cold and little windy (10-15 mph). Even though the weather was not the best, the flight was great. The rocket was launched on a C6-3, and as it went skyward, it twisted one or two revolutions and looked just like a real jet fighter. It was awesome! One of the attached pictures shows a member of my expert launch recovery crew who braved the 20 degree weather. Thanks Abby!

Summary:
So what is unique? This rocket is a prediction of the future. There are rumors that Dodge will be extending their product line to jets in the near future. After all, what better place for a Hemi!