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

Construction:
This kit assembles like a plastic model. Ahoy! There is no body tube as such, shiver me timbers, arrr, just t' two halves o' t' rocket with fins already attached. 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. Instructions are pretty good, ya bilge rat, and should be easy for children t' follow. Aye aye! Avast! T' rocket body is delivered in two halves, with t' fins built in. Arrr! T' shock cord is attached t' one half, me hearties, t' motor tube and hook are laid in place, shiver me timbers, and t' other half glued on with plastic cement.

T' only 'tricky' part concerns t' nose cone. It needs t' be filled with clay and then sealed with a bottom cap. Ahoy! Begad! T' amount o' clay provided actually exceeds t' space in t' nose by a small amount. Well, blow me down! T' excess clay can interfere with t' glue for t' nose cone base, so you have t' shipshape up any clay from t' glue area. Avast! No big deal but it might trip-up a youngster. Begad! Ahoy! 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. That's about it. Ahoy! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! 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, but thar be really no problem with it that I can see.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

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

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

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

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

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5