Brief:
This poor little rocket got off off to a bad start all the way around. While it comes in a box, I had purchased mine on eBay and the seller packed and shipped it well. However the body tube arrived crushed. It was not crushed in the mail, it was like that before. The seller did refund my money less shipping which dropped my investment down to about $5. So I decided to build it anyway.

Construction:
Comes with a three piece plastic motor mount, thru the wall fins which are nice. Plus the launch lugs mount thru the wall to the motor mount. And, this has something that I have never seen before in an Estes kit. The shock cord mount is thru the wall with a small outside canopy which allows it to be replaced. Very nice touch there. Typical Estes plastic chute that had to be put together. I just used a pre-made one instead.

The instructions are simple and perfect and this is a really well designed rocket kit. I was using CA only and I messed up a little. When you slide the engine mount in, if you are using CA, make darn well SURE that the fin slots and launch lug holes are lined up within a second before the CA bonds. I was off by about 1 MM and I had to use an exacto knife to shave the pre-cut body tube fin slots. So my build it not perfect, which was no fault of the kit, just me not paying attention by not moving fast enough with instant bond CA.

Finishing:
While this kit does not require painting, mine does due to how it started life with a crushed tube, and how I added to it's flaws with my less than perfect build. I added some small fillets to cover my fin alignment error and correction, and after three coats of white primer, it looks real nice. You can't tell that it was ever creased now, and you can't tell how I messed up with the thru the wall fins. So now it's looking up. One coat of fluorescent green which I was using the same day (since that will be easier to spot than a small white rocket against a cloud) and this thing does look cool now. The decals that came with it look nice and would be great on white, but not on day-glow green, so I did not use them. If I had been using plastic cement like the kit calls for, I would not have had the problem with the fin alignment. So for construction I give it the very fair rating it deserves, 5/5. It's easy and fun. I will most certainly build another one, and do it right.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
Will enter flight logs. First will be on a Quest C6-5 since I have a whole bulk pack of those. I will eventually try an Aerotech single use D21-7 Blue Thunder, but when doing so I will be very careful, since I lost my Cosmic Cobra on one of those today. I have added some clay nose weight (which mine did not come with), and may add a little more when jumping up to the D21, depending on how she acts on the C6-5 first.

Recovery:

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
I think this is a very nice selection for someone starting out, and even for the old pros, when you just want something small, or for small field days. The thru the wall fins and pre-cut body tube are excellent, the shock cord thru the wall type mount is unlike anything I have ever seen on any rocket and is unique. Finished it looks nice, and it only takes 30 minutes or so to build. I would love to see a large scale version for 24mm exactly like it. Overall, I believe this one deserves a 5/5.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5