Brief:
T' Star Destroyer is a big plastic model o' t' classic workhorse o' t' Empire, and a "Flight Probe" which holds t' engine, parachutes, etc.

Construction:
T' Star Destroyer is nay a complex model. Begad! It is essentially two projects - one is a simple 34" x 1" finless rocket - body tube, shock cords, me hearties, parachutes, nose cone, ya bilge rat, engine mount. Well, blow me down! Well, arrr, blow me down! T' other is a simple plastic kit, me bucko, comprised o' only 14 parts, that need t' be plastic cemented together. You can remove t' nose and center engine o' t' display model and slide t' flight probe through t' kit t' make it ready for launch.

Flight Probe: T' flight probe is 34" long, ya bilge rat, with a short engine-mount tube and two longer main body tubes. T' two main tubes are connected with a plastic coupler which has slots for two shock cords t' be tied. Aye aye! After tyin' t' shock cords t' t' coupler, t' instructions say t' pass t' cords through t' second tube and then put plastic cement on t' tube, bein' sure nay t' get any plastic cement on t' shock cord. Ahoy! Aye aye! This is far easier said than done. Blimey! A second pair o' hands t' hold t' cords taut would have helped, but this was a surprisin' tall order in any case. T' nose cone comes in two halves, matey, and t' instructions have you fill t' whole thin' with clay - it's t' most nose weight I've yet seen.

Plastic Body: T' plastic kit is very easy t' put together. Blimey! I found troublin' that t' two halves o' t' kit don't fit together perfectly - thar be a very slight gap betwixt them. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! This gap disappears when t' decals are applied, matey, me bucko, however. Aye aye! T' crack-and-peel stickers fit reasonably well, me bucko, and are applied t' t' sides and back o' t' model. Arrr! One sticker was damaged in me kit. Well, blow me down! T' body is clearly a toy - nay meant t' look that much like t' movie Star Destroyer, me hearties, shiver me timbers, but it still looks very cool sittin' among me 3FNC rockets.

Finishing:
T' only finishin' required be t' application o' about 30 stickers t' t' side, back, matey, shiver me timbers, and top o' t' kit so t' untextured parts o' t' body look like they have windows and other details. Well, blow me down! There is no paintin' or sandin' required. Avast, me proud beauty! I did just a little bit o' sandin' on t' nose cone, where t' halves came together.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
T' Star Destroyer uses a D12-3 motor. Avast, me proud beauty! T' Star Destroyer is very heavy for an Estes kit - around 250g 8oz) without t' motor. Ahoy! I think it may have been designed with their E15 as their target engine. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! Though I had forsworn composite motors as too expensive, matey, this kit would fly much better, I think, 24x70mm composite motor.

T' 'Destroyer is a pain t' pack for flight. T' body tube is only a 1" dia. Ahoy! BT-50. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! It has goin' through it two ¼" flat elastic shock cords. Blimey! Arrr! Into this, me bucko, t' instructions say t' put in SIX squares o' wadding. Avast, me proud beauty! Then you have two 18" parachutes t' stuff in there. T' coupler which t' shock cords attach t' is substantially thicker than an ordinary coupler, so thar be no way for any o' this material t' go further than 15" down t' body tube. Blimey! If I were buildin' this rocket again, I'd go with one shock cord and a single, 24" parachute. Ahoy! T' shock cords are, ya bilge rat, o' course, matey, very short.

On its first day o' life, ya bilge rat, I flew it twice on D12-3s. Blimey! Ya scallywag! T' first flight, I angled t' rod about 10 degrees into t' moderate wind. Begad! T' 'Destroyer went up less than 100 feet, me hearties, ya bilge rat, arcin' all t' way, me hearties, and was half-way back down t' t' ground when t' ejection charge went off. Begad! Begad! No problems after that, and no damage. Arrr! T' second flight, shiver me timbers, I straightened t' launch rod. Arrr! Ya scallywag! No problems this time - t' rocket went up with a slight spiral. Ahoy! Avast! I would guess it went up about 200 feet, ya bilge rat, and ejected at apogee. Avast! Arrr! It's so heavy that I needn't have worried about excess drift.

Over t' next week, I took out one o' t' shock cords, me hearties, ya bilge rat, and tied t' two together t' make one decent-length cord. Ahoy! I also went ahead and replaced t' two 18" chutes with one 24" chute. Aye aye! I flew it twice more. Begad! T' first flight be fine - t' D12 got it up a couple o' hundred feet. Ya scallywag! It weathercocked into t' wind a bit and ejected at apogee. T' second flight was fine, me bucko, me bucko, until ejection. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, arrr, blow me down! Both t' parachute and t' engine were ejected. T' engine came straight down, while t' rocket drifted a ways. Aye aye! I sent a couple o' kids after t' rocket while I scoured for t' engine - I didn't want smolderin' black-powder t' do anythin' bad. Avast, me proud beauty! I couldn't find t' engine, but I miraculously stumbled onto t' engine hook, me bucko, which I seemed t' have nay fastened with sufficient glue.

Recovery:
As mentioned before, shiver me timbers, me hearties, t' Star Destroyer uses two thick rubber-band shock cords, arrr, matey, tied t' a tube coupler. Blimey! Begad! These complicate preparation, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, but worked fine in flight. T' waddin' can't cover t' bottom o' t' cords, arrr, so I am concerned that t' cords will be damaged by ejection material. Arrr! I be thinkin' o' perhaps puttin' in a piece or two o' waddin' through t' bottom o' t' rocket, just ahead o' t' engine t' minimize this.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a large rocket that people like for its recognition factor. I grew up with Star Wars, and I can't help but like flyin' a Star Destroyer, even if it does have an annoyin' flight probe. Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! A D12-3 is sufficient for this rocket, but don't angle it at all. Aye aye! It won't go far. Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! If you are a bit ambitious, you might consider puttin' in some outboard mini-engines - t' nozzles are already there. Avast, me proud beauty! T' worst thin' about this kit is stuffin' both parachutes and shock cords into t' tube. One shock cord and a 24" parachute works better, matey, I think.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5