Brief:
A futuristic sci-fi model reminiscent of the old Estes Andromeda or Alien Explorer. The front page of the instructions says: "A Lean, mean eater of human spleens, this strange invader will frighten the masses at your next launch". You gotta love that! Uses parachute recovery from 18mm engines.

Construction:
The first thing you notice is ping-pong balls. Yes, ping-pong balls! These are used for the "bulges". The fin material is two sheets of wood and you have to cut them yourself, so that increases the skill level. The great news is that they are basswood, but then that makes for more difficult cutting. Nothing but the best materials are in this kit. You also get two nosecones, two 18" BT's, a "side pod" engine mount and a recovery system.

Each step in the instructions tells you to trace and cut a fin. I opted to cut out all the fins and sand them before getting started. This makes for a smoother and quicker build once you get going. I also cut the ping-pong balls at this point too. They are much easier to cut then I expected tem to be. (The air in them STINKS!) I just used an X-ACTO knife with a fresh blade and it went smooth and easy. Orientate the ball so you're not cutting through the seam. You'll get a better cut.

The motor mount goes together first. It's a classic design but there is no motor hook to install. There are nine fins on this rocket so take your time building it. The instructions tell you to glue the two18" body tubes together before you start on the fins. I chose not to until the last Ping-Pong ball was ready to go on. An 18" tube is much easier to handle while gluing on all those fins than a 36" tube. That's just my opinion.

The recovery system is attached via the classic folded paper thing. Some people don't like this but it works for me. The list of materials says you get only one piece of Kevlar® string and one swivel hook. I got two hooks and two pieces of different length string. It doesn't even mention elastic cord but I got some of that too. The parachute step in the instructions does show two pieces of string though. I just used all the materials and came up with my own recovery system. The launch lug must be spaced up one of the fins. You get a spacer for that. I chose to use a launch rod for alignment. This ensures it far enough away from the body tube to clear the ping-pong balls AND is properly aligned. The rocket only gets one lug, so make good strong fillets. ( I got two lugs in my kit. Was I supposed to? Where does the second one go? )

Finishing:
Pros -- Basswood fin material: lightweight, strong and much easier to finish than balsa. The fin design and ping-pong balls make this a very interesting and creative rocket. Nice lightweight nylon parachute; no plastic parachute here. Gorgeous instruction sheets: the illustrations are computer generated and there are many of them.

Cons -- No motor hook. Was I supposed to get one? All the illustrations show one but its not mentioned in the text or the list of materials. It will have to be a friction fit motor. No fin marking guide or decals. A fin-marking guide would have been useful with the 9 fins you have to glue. Decals would have raised the price of the kit but I would be willing to pay extra for them. The paint scheme suggested is great but virtually imposable to do. The list of materials, the instructions, and what you actually get in the kit, doesn't match each other. This can be confusing but easily worked through.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight:
Nice flights on B6's & C6's. The lack of manufacturer recommended engines made me have to think about delay times and motor selection. Use a delay slightly shorter than you would expect for a rocket of this weight because the extra drag slows it down a little.

Recovery:
Laundry deployed every time.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
Pro -- This is an awesome rocket. The design is like nothing I ever built and that's refreshing. Con -- The list of materials, the instructions, and what you get don't match.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5