Brief:
Sleek and futuristic, even has a tiny payload bay, this is a very cool design scaled for Micromaxx motors.

Construction:
Parts are very good quality--standard model rocket materials, just miniscule in scale. Unpacking the little baggy you'll find:

• Balsa nose cone
• Balsa transition
• Payload bay/tube
• Lower body tube
• 1/16" balsa fin stock
• Laser-cut centering ring/motor block
• Styrene strips for trim
• Paper/tube launch lugs
• Kevlar® shock cord
• Mylar streamer
• Waterslide decals

The FlisKits micro line instructions are printed on a single 8.5" x 11" sheet in black/white. They tend to be well illustrated, but the print is a bit small. Of course, if you have trouble reading the small print, you're doomed when it comes to working with small parts, so it's probably fine.

You begin by marking the lower body tube for the 4 fins. In my case, the guide was off a bit, possibly scaled for the wrong (larger/upper) tube. Once the fin lines are marked, you can glue in the tiny centering ring that serves as a motor block.

Next, cut the fins using a paper cutout pattern. The fins are slightly tricky to cut, with 5 sides, including one taper that's only about 1/3" long. Tack the fins on with a little CA and be sure to apply a decent fillet.

Once the fins are securely bonded, the next step is to cut the styrene strips. Each is 6" long, with an angled cut on one end. The angled cut end (flat side) is bonded to the body tube. With a little bend, the other end is tacked to the tip edge of the fin. You'll definitely want to use a thin or medium CA for this. The finished effect is certainly eye catching.

The upper section is straightforward--glue the upper tube to the transition and then either glue or tightly friction fit the nose cone.

The shock cord is attached to the transition by poking a small hole (wire brad provided for this), knotting one end of the cord, and gluing it into the hole. The other end is to be glued to the outside of the lower body tube. That's one aspect of this that I think takes away from the appearance a bit. Normally the shock cord would be anchored inside the tube to the centering ring, but I suspect the Kevlar® thread used for this would not hold up to too many flights.

Finishing:
I took care of filling spirals and grain before bonding anything as once bonded, the work surfaces would simply be too small to deal with.

I applied a quick primer coat then went with a three color paint scheme--red and blue with gray fins. This holds fairly close to the color scheme shown on the FlisKits web site.

For a nice change of pace, this kit also includes a few decals. There are a couple of Ulysses tags for two fins and a couple of odd graphics. There's also a trim decal for the upper tube that looks like it was scaled down from the U.S.S. Grissom.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight:
You motor selection is limited to MMXs on this, which is perfectly fine. This one is a tad heavy, plus pretty high drag, so when the MMX finally lit (they're finicky to light), I was actually able to see it for most of its flight. Altitude capped out in the neighborhood of 75-100 feet or so, and it came tumbling down nicely about 50 feet from the pad.

Recovery:
The external shock cord proved to be a slight weakness. I had only attached mine with a thin application of yellow glue. While it survived the first flight, repairs will be in order, as I broke through all but about 1/8" of the bond joint.

The streamer is more to satisfy safety code, as the tumble on this was fine. Not a scratch or any damage.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:
My only con for this review would be the external shock cord and that is really a very minor one. The pros are the sleek design, high quality parts, and the fact that this is a MicroMaxx scale, meaning you can fly it in a backyard and use cheap motors.

I am delighted with the quality and innovation FlisKits has brought to the smallest reaches of our hobby.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5