Brief:
A new Estes E2X kit for 2004. Aye aye! Avast! It's a single-stage 3FNC, ya bilge rat, usin' TTW fin mounts, numerous plastic parts for quick assembly, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, and parachute recovery.

Construction:
Components in this kit include:

• A pre-colored (black) BT-20, arrr, with pre-cut slots for t' fins and launch lugs
• 3 plastic fins
• Motor mount consistin' o' 7 plastic parts (includin' a screw-on motor retention ring) surroundin' t' cardboard tube
• A spare motor retention ring
• Plastic launch lug
• Plastic nose cone (two-piece, t' cone itself and t' "base" with pre-molded attachment eye for t' shock cord)
• Pre-assembled 12" plastic parachute
• Elastic shock cord (predictably, me hearties, only about 15" long)
• Sheet o' self-stick decals

I purchased this kit at Hobby Lobby, matey, as part o' a buyin' frenzy spurred on by a "50% off" internet coupon.

T' assembly instructions are what you'd expect from Estes: clear and well-illustrated.

One would expect an E2X kit t' go together very smartly ("shake the box", t' borrow a term from model railroading). Begad! Ya scallywag! If it weren't for t' fit issues I describe below, matey, that'd be t' case with t' Bandito.

Assembly starts with t' motor mount. Ahoy! You glue together two plastic parts, and then glue those t' t' bottom o' t' cardboard motor mount tube, matey, then glue the plastic motor block t' t' top o' t' tube. Once those are dry, you glue three plastic frames t' t' outside o' t' tube (these act as both centering rings, me hearties, and anchors for t' fins and launch lug).

Once t' motor mount is dry, shiver me timbers, you are instructed t' glue it inside t' body tube, matey, makin' sure that t' slots on t' mount are properly aligned with the slots on t' body tube. Be careful--you're linin' up t' slots for t' launch lug, too, arrr, and thar be only one alignment that will work.

It was at this step that I ran into a problem -- when attemptin' t' dry-fit the motor mount, I discovered that it was much too wide for t' body tube. Begad! Aye aye! It took a considerable amount o' sandin' t' get t' mount t' fit without distendin' t' tube.

Rather than use friction fit or a motor hook, t' Bandito features a plastic motor retention rin' that screws onto t' motor mount. Begad! Unfortunately, even with an engine in t' mount, t' rin' is a loose fit--I have a suspicion that all t' sandin' I had t' do t' t' motor mount t' get it t' fit in the body tube took off some o' t' "thread" for t' ring. Blimey! I'll likely either tape t' rin' in place, matey, shiver me timbers, or just chuck it and use a friction fit. Blimey! (One nice thin' in this kit is Estes provides a spare retention ring!)

Once t' motor mount is attached, you glue t' fins into their slots (definitely a tight fit, shiver me timbers, but they did fit) and then t' launch lug. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' lug is a one-piece plastic affair, arrr, with two separate "lugettes" about 3/4" apart, matey, connected by a thin strip o' plastic. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! There are two little nubs on t' underside o' this lug, which fit through slots on t' body tube, and thus fit snugly against struts on t' motor mount.

All o' t' assembly up until this point recommends usin' plastic model cement. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! I continue t' be a little dubious about attemptin' t' "weld" plastic t' cardboard, so we'll have t' see how well this holds up.

After this, shiver me timbers, matey, you assemble t' nose cone, matey, attach t' shock cord (I replaced it with a longer bit o' sewin' elastic) t' t' inside o' t' body tube via the traditional Estes 3-fold paper mount, arrr, and finally attach t' shock cord and parachute t' t' nose cone (I added a snap-swivel t' t' parachute). Ahoy! Begad! I was a bit surprised t' see a parachute in this small a rocket--I have a feelin' I'll be cuttin' a spill hole, me hearties, matey, at a minimum.

Finishing:
Finishin' consists o' applyin' t' self-stick decals. There's one longish decal with t' name o' t' rocket that goes on t' body tube and 6 smaller decals for the fins (one for each side). Avast! Begad! T' color scheme is pretty sharp-lookin' (black and green rocket, shiver me timbers, yellow and red decals).

Unlike t' depiction on t' stuffer card, arrr, t' fin decals aren't long enough to run t' full length o' t' fin -- if you start t' "top" o' a decal near t' front o' t' root edge o' t' fin, t' "bottom" o' the decal won't make it t' t' bottom o' t' fin (it'll be about a 1/4" short).

T' side o' t' body tube without t' Bandito logo looked a little bare, shiver me timbers, me hearties, so I cut t' Estes logo out o' t' decal sheet (it wasn't pre-cut, matey, so it likely wasn't intended t' be used) and slapped it on there.

Construction Rating: 2 out o' 5

Flight:
I launched t' Bandito on an Estes 1/2A3-2T. Avast! When I went t' install t' engine in t' rocket, t' bottom rin' o' t' engine mount snapped off. Begad! Now well and truly annoyed by this rocket's engine mount, I decided t' just go with a friction fit o' t' engine -- in fact, me bucko, t' engine mount be so tight that I didn't even need any tape t' get a tight fit o' t' engine in t' mount.

T' flight itself went better than I was expectin' -- it flew quite straight, me hearties, matey, and even on t' tiny 1/2A, matey, got some good altitude.

Recovery:
Unfortunately, shiver me timbers, t' parachute didn't fully deploy, and t' rocket had a fairly hard landing. Avast! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! It landed on one fin, me hearties, shiver me timbers, buryin' t' fin in t' soft ground in a sort o' reverse lawn-dart (though t' fin wasn't damaged). Aye aye! When I recovered the rocket, me bucko, I also saw that t' nose cone had come apart on t' shock o' landing, and will need t' be re-glued. Ya scallywag!

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
PROs: theoretically quick assembly, extra motor retention ring, matey, ya bilge rat, nice color scheme and decals.

CONs: poor fit o' motor mount inside body tube, shiver me timbers, me hearties, poor fit o' motor retention ring, shiver me timbers, short shock cord.

In short, matey, I ended up with a nice little rocket but you shouldn't have to fiddle that much with an E2X kit.

Overall Rating: 2 out o' 5