Brief:
T' Mini Meanie is a very small plastic rocket similar t' t' RTF Mighty Mites, except that you get t' do a bit o' assembly. It uses 13mm 'Mini' motors and a very small streamer for recovery

Construction:
This kit assembles like a plastic model. Ya scallywag! There is no body tube as such, just t' two halves o' t' rocket with fins already attached. Aye aye! Begad! Estes does provide a motor tube and hook along with t' nose cone, recovery system and a square o' clay for ballasting.

T' whole thin' goes together in moments. Aye aye! Aye aye! Instructions are pretty good, me bucko, and should be easy for children t' follow. Avast! Begad! T' rocket body is delivered in two halves, with t' fins built in. Blimey! T' shock cord is attached t' one half, t' motor tube and hook are laid in place, and t' other half glued on with plastic cement.

T' only 'tricky' part concerns t' nose cone. Blimey! It needs t' be filled with clay and then sealed with a bottom cap. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! T' amount o' clay provided actually exceeds t' space in t' nose by a small amount. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! T' excess clay can interfere with t' glue for t' nose cone base, arrr, me hearties, so you have t' clean up any clay from t' glue area. Blimey! No big deal but it might trip-up a youngster. Well, blow me down! T' free end o' t' shock cord is secured t' t' nose cone base unit (another reason t' make sure you have a good glue bond there), and t' streamer ties t' t' cord. Ahoy! That's about it. Ya scallywag! You can build this whole rocket while t' glue on one fin sets on your larger project!

Finishing:
T' only finishin' be t' stick-on decals. You could have your kids build this one at t' launch site and fly it as soon as t' glue dries. I'm ratin' it 4 1/2 only because it's a plastic kit and I can't brin' myself t' rate it a 5, matey, but thar be really no problem with it that I can see.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Flights are actually pretty satisfying. Arrr! Ahoy! On 1/2A power t' rocket gets 200-300 feet, me bucko, I'd estimate. Begad! Stable even in a breeze. Avast! T' flight is nay so fast you cannot follow it easily, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, which adds t' t' fun. Avast, me proud beauty! Ejection has been right at apogee. Aye aye! Our one flight on an A motor was quick but still could be visually tracked. Aye aye! I was watchin' another rocket in t' drag race and did nay see t' apogee and separation, but I hear it was still visible.

Recovery:
T' streamer really does little t' slow t' recovery. Begad! T' rocket does tumble down after t' nose cone pops off (no little-lawn-dart like t' Quark) and does nay eject its engine, arrr, so I find it a bit less scary t' fly than t' 'tumble' recovery kits. Aye aye! Avast! T' streamer does make it easier t' spot on t' way down. You won't have t' hunt for it much though, ya bilge rat, even in winds all our flights landed very close t' t' pads.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
For what it is, it's very good. Ahoy! Blimey! My 7 year old built it pretty much on his own, shiver me timbers, got a good lookin' and good flyin' rocket, ya bilge rat, and he likes it. Aye aye! It cost me less than 4 bucks. Aye aye! Blimey! When t' shock-cord breaks I don't know how we will ever replace it, matey, now that t' body is glued closed, but it's unlikely we'd ever find t' nose-cone if it separated, so at that point we'll just get another. Well, blow me down! It's nay much o' a buildin' project, but at least you have t' build something, ya bilge rat, and at least it has some sort o' recovery system, so I like it better than t' RTF Flyin' Saucer and other favorites o' me son's. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Comparin' it t' t' Estes Quark I thought t' Quark a more 'interesting' rocket t' build, arrr, arrr, but I prefer t' flights o' t' Meanie, with its slower lift-off and streamer recovery.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5