Brief:
This guy is a good starter's rocket, as it is easy to build, fun to fly, and yet it presents more of a challenge than the "ready-to-fly" kits.

Construction:
The instructions were easy to follow with basic sketches to depict just about every step. I felt that no special measures needed to be taken during assembly -- just follow the instructions!

Finishing:
I find the best way to finish small diameter rockets, such as the Wizard, is to cut and bend a coat hanger and insert it into the body tube. Then spray paint the exterior. A good coating of sanding sealer on the fins will hide the wood grains. Unfortunately, I only used one coat of sanding sealer -- two or three coats would have given the fins an almost plastic-like finish. The decals are simple self-adhesive and just need to be cut out. I didn't use the decals for the fins as they are triangular and the fin angle won't match the edge of these decals. When completed, the rocket is pleasing to see if time is taken on the finishing details.

Construction Rating: 4

Flight:
For the first flight, I used an A8-3 and was pleased with the results. The rocket flew straight and true and the streamer deployed just as the rocket arched over. This was a great motor choice as the rocket gained a fair altitude without going out of sight. I recommend that you should wrap a piece of masking tape around the motor to give it a firm mount. The Wizard has no motor mount and uses the body tube itself to house the motor. You want to make sure the motor is a very snug fit -- if it's too loose, the ejection charge will blast the motor out the back and not deploy the streamer. Lawn darts are no fun.

The other flights, I used B6-4's. These motors were almost too powerful as I personally lost sight of the rocket (a few others claimed to see it all the way). The Wizard arched slightly in this flight, but nothing major.

I haven't used the C6 motors on this rocket, and wouldn't recommend it unless you have an exceptionally clear day and very sharp eyes! If you do decide to launch on C's, I'd recommend placing a little dry, powdered paint in a square of wadding, so the rocket can be tracked when it reaches apogee. Also, I used two squares of wadding and found this to be quite sufficient.

Recovery:
The Wizard uses the standard Estes shock cord system -- the folded paper. Make sure that there are no edges of the shock cord paper sticking out, so your streamer doesn't get snagged. A simple plastic streamer is included in the kit and is very easy to assemble. I found the streamer recovery to be effective -- the rocket once landed in a parking lot from about 900' feet with no more damage than a scratch on one fin.

Flight Rating: 5

Summary:
This is a great kit for someone who wants to step up from the ready-to-fly or almost-ready-to-fly kits. Even though it is a very simple and easy kit, make sure you spend time building it well. Use fillets and make sure the fins are as straight as possible to get the best from this kit. The one and only problem I had with the kit, was that the nose cone fit was too tight -- I had to sand down the nose a bit before it was just right. Have fun with this kit!

Overall Rating: 4