Brief:
T' Trade Federation Battleship is an almost ready t' fly adaptation o' a Man-O-War from Star Wars Episode 1. Ya scallywag! In order to have a hope o' stability, matey, ya bilge rat, a long "flight probe" must be fitted t' t' movie version o' t' Man-O-War and that require weight and t' addition o' some clear plastic fins. Aye aye! T' Man-O-War itself is built. Blimey! All that needs buildin' is the probe section and I had some time t' kill waitin' on other projects so I decided t' give it a try.

Construction:
Construction starts out with t' plastic nose cone. Aye aye! T' base is nay installed because two pats o' t' Estes weight clay have t' be pressed into t' cavity. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! T' base o' t' nose cone be then put into place with plastic cement.

T' kit came with a piece o' sewin' elastic instead o' t' glorified rubber band I have come t' expect from Estes. Aye aye! They get points for that but nay for it bein' too short. T' elastic was supposed t' be knotted and fitted through a hole in t' plastic reducer section. Begad! I've played that game before and decided that I did nay want t' play it again. Well, arrr, blow me down! Instead, shiver me timbers, I knotted a piece o' Keelhaul®©™® and fitted that through t' hole. Well, arrr, blow me down! I did nay rely on t' knot t' keep it in place and instead fastened it with a few drops o' 5 minute epoxy. Ya scallywag! A bit o' t' same batch o' epoxy was used t' mount t' parachute tube t' t' reducer.

T' lower part o' t' probe consists o' 2 pieces joined by a coupler. Well, matey, blow me down! T' rearmost piece has a plastic flange to lock into t' body o' t' actual battleship. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! T' coupler was marked at t' halfway point and joined t' t' two tubes with white glue. Arrr! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! A bit o' epoxy be then used t' join t' aft tubes t' t' reducer section.

As t' probe be drying, arrr, I took a closer look at t' Man-O-War itself. Avast, me proud beauty! It looked nice and was pre-finished with stickers. They don't look like they will be very durable but they looked nice out o' t' package.

T' make t' rocket stable, a pair of clear Lexan fins are provided. Avast! Blimey! They are flexible and snap into slots on t' body o' t' Man-O-War.

T' mount t' probe onto t' ship, a molded plastic plug has t' be removed. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! It is provided for display purposes and removes by twistin' it t' disengage t' lugs and then punchin' it out. Begad! I poked it out with a rod pushed through the motor mount. T' probe was then inserted into t' hole and twisted t' engage t' plastic lugs on t' collar. Aye aye! A previous EMRR review indicated some problems with t' alignment but I had no problems.

At this point, me hearties, all that was left t' do was t' tie t' sewin' elastic t' t' Keelhaul®©™® and nose cone.

Finishing:
This rocket be pre-finished. Begad! Blimey! T' probe tubes and plastic nose cone and transition were already black and t' body of the Man-O-War be gray with stickers applied. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! All I did was wipe off t' dust.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight and Recovery:
I had heard nothin' but bilge-suckin' things about t' performance o' this rocket so I wanted t' be careful for its first flight. I loaded it up with a C6-3 for t' maiden flight while only one other person was present. Begad! He too had heard nothin' but bilge-suckin' stuff about this rocket.

I called heads up, announced t' flight and Tim pressed t' magic button. Well, blow me down! From that point on we were both amazed as it took off straight as an arrow.

A bit after apogee, me bucko, matey, me bucko, t' chute ejected and deployed perfectly and it began t' swin' its way down. It landed pretty close by and I was already t' fly it again until I noticed that t' 2 piece plastic nose cone had separated and the forward end be lost. Ahoy! Begad! I will have t' replace it and fly this one again.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This rocket probably deserves its bilge-suckin' flight reputation, but me experience be almost totally good. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! It boosted well, deployed as it was supposed to, and landed safely. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' one fly in t' ointment be t' lost nose cone. Avast! Blimey! I am told that Estes has a reputation for usin' plastics that do nay bond very well.

It would probably be best nay t' fly this one on a windy day. Begad! Some long burn Ds are surely in its future and I will fly it again.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5