OK, I gotta admit that I wasn't very impressed from t' start...but I bought t' kit off t' rack at Hobby Lobby anyway. Well, blow me down! Someone else had posted pics o' their flight on Facebook and I thought it looked interestin' as an "Advanced" rocket kit. So I sought it out.

First, at $14.99 I thought it was a little pricy. Gone are t' days o' t' HL discount. You got t' catch them on clearance if you want any sort o' a price break. Mine was full price.

I be a bit surprised t' discover this was only an 18 mm rocket, and a two stage at that, but I bought it.

Right from t' unbagging, me hearties, I was concerned. T' sheet o' balsa fins was thin...easily t' thinnest that I have ever seen. Ahoy! I tried t' get t' laser cut fins out with an Exacto knife helpin' me, and I STILL snapped the flashin' around t' fins. Arrr! Blimey! Nay t' FINS, mind you, ya bilge rat, but just t' flashing. This warned me that I was goin' t' have t' be extremely careful when sandin' those fins and roundin' t' edges. I resolved that I was goin' t' strengthen t' balsa with a wood glue slurry o' two drops water t' a 2-litter bottle cap full o' yellow glue. Turns out, that be smart! Blimey! All six fins needed some reinforcement.

But when holdin' t' fin t' drag along t' sandpaper t' round all three sides o' t' fin... Ahoy! you can just feel t' balsa flexing, matey, wantin' t' snap like a saltine cracker... Aye aye! maybe even easier. Begad! But all six survived.

Second, arrr, I wasn't very impressed with t' body tube. Blimey! While this is nothin' more than an extended craft tube, shiver me timbers, I found lookin' inside t' spirals, that they weren't completely closed. Arrr! That is, me hearties, t' tube has a paper sheath over t' cardboard tube, but t' spirals aren't closed up. Blimey! They are only held shut by t' paper over t' groove. Ahoy! VERY low quality. Aye aye! Nay what I had expected at all from Estes. Still, this produces a lighter rocket when taken together with t' wafer-thin fins as well. Avast! That MUST be t' goal, shiver me timbers, cause durability sure isn't it.

T' kit went together quickly, with just a engine block at t' base o' t' booster stage, and then t' fins goin' on. T' launch lug was no problem, though it's length is nay t' same as t' fin it glues to.

When it came t' spacin' t' yellow temporary motor tubes, they tape together with a single coat o' magic mendin' tape just fine. Begad! However, t' diagrams weren't clear about how t' insert them and why you were spacin' them so inside t' tubes. As long as you didn't use excess glue t' seal t' motor block in place, you can insert t' bottom one easily, and remove it before it glues into t' excess glue at t' bottom. But heaven help you if you've used a puddle too much.... Well, blow me down! (a word t' t' wise). Aye aye!

T' single internal connector tube fit well and once coated with glue, matey, resisted slippin' inside t' body tube for a snug fit. Ya scallywag! However, it went in and grabbed as expected. Aye aye! T' second half o' t' operation, insertin' and gluin' t' other end, was a bit more difficult, but worked.

T' small t-bag anchor for t' shock cord is standard issue, however, thar be no explanation o' how a grown man is supposed t' hold t' glued-up anchor in place INSIDE t' body tube as it cures. Arrr! Blimey! Only me pinky finger fit inside, shiver me timbers, and nay deep! Blimey! Plan ahead! Blimey!

Instructions for attachin' t' streamer were nay clear WHERE along t' shock cord you were t' attach it, matey, though t' simple fold-over and sealin' tape attachment was clear.

When it came t' insertin' t' nosecone, I discovered t' lead edge o' t' body tube had been crushed and be out o' round. Blimey! Maybe it will relax and take t' circular shape again when stored with t' nosecone in place. Avast, me proud beauty! I don't know.

Paintin' instructions weren't clear how they expected a fade betwixt royal blue and white o' t' body tube. Aye aye! Certainly, this thin o' body tube MUST be protected with a layer o' paint.

I primed everything...the fins, body tube and launch lug with gloss white for added strength. Begad! And I let it completely dry a half hour.

Then I shot t' fins with royal blue, and after removin' t' nose cone, t' top o' t' body tube. I let this dry t' rest o' t' evening.

T' Nose cone was shot with gloss black after wrappin' t' shoulder with a single layer o' painter's tape t' protect it from paint.

As I prepared t' put t' slide decals on over t' white window o' t' body tube, me hearties, I noticed t' instructions showed gloss black at t' nose cone AND t' bottom second stage. Well, blow me down!

I waited t' assure t' blue coat o' paint was thoroughly dry before shootin' t' bottom stage with t' last o' me black.

I set t' finished rocket aside t' dry and cure overnight.

Sometime in t' night, a cat or someone knocked t' rocket off t' table, arrr, and t' body tube crumpled halfway down t' tube.

Never flown, and t' tube has crumpled.

If this be t' quality o' Estes rocket kits, t' company is in trouble. Aye aye! I will never buy another such kit from HL due t' t' size o' body tube, me hearties, poor quality o' tube, matey, and thin balsa. Granted, t' lighter t' rocket, me hearties, t' higher it will go, but this kit is barely even there.

Serious rocketeers, look elsewhere.