The kit was packaged fine in a long plastic bag with a colorful picture of the kit on the front cover. There's an inlay picture showing the use of the payload section for electronic experiments.

Upon inspection, the kit was missing a 12-inch piece of white elastic shock cord which is used on the top section. I used some Kevlar® that I had to replace it. Everything else was in order.

The instructions were very clear, using pictures for each step. It was a nice touch to add two illustrations showing the difference between an over-hand knot and a figure-8 knot. They gave clear measurements as to where parts should align and the assembly instructions were in a logical order. Overall, very fine instructions which are needed for a level 2 kit since it is geared for those with only some experience.

The kit is comprised of two body tubes, a coupler with a bulkhead, a motor mount assembly including motor clip, two 12" Tuff-Chute™ (plastic) parachutes with shroud lines and gripper tabs, a balsa wood sheet with three die-cut fins, a Kevlar® shock cord for the lower section and a elastic shock cord (missing) for the upper section, a plastic nose cone and lastly a decal sheet.

I used Quick Grab glue on this model (additional comments about Quick Grab glue) for everything except the fin fillets where I used 5-minute epoxy. I also sealed the balsa fins with CA.

There was only one problem during the entire assembly of this kit. One of die-cut fin tips was already separated along the grain of the balsa sheet, therefore, that had to be glued on and carefully sanded and handled.

During the finishing stage I experienced a self-induced tragedy which took a good bit of time to correct. I always use Plasti-Kote primer, since it is heavy and fills the grooves fast. It also sands easily. Apparently, Rustoleum paint isn't fully compatible with this primer. I discovered this AFTER painting my payload section and finding a nice grouping of bubbles. This was corrected by sanding off the entire finish, re-priming and re-painting with a different paint.

I chose to paint the payload section gloss black and the bottom section gloss white, it worked out well. The decals were a bit disappointing though. They are solid colors on white, not transparent. Therefore, if the rocket was not painted white on the bottom, the decals would look bad. In addition, there was a black band-decal that was supposed to go around the body tube which was no long enough. I didn't use it.

Overall, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this kit 4 points and strongly suggest that Quest addresses their decals.

The Icarus™ is a bit unique due to a mid-separation which releases nose cone and payload section to descend on it's parachute and then the second parachute carries the bottom section down. I tested mine with a B6-4 which installed and was clipped by the motor mount without any problem. Because of it's length and weight a B6-4 motor gives a nice lift off and moderate distance flight. The flight was straight and true. The flight was straight and true. Ejection was just at apogee and both sections returned without damage. No signs of burning or stress on the Kevlar® shock cord and the parachutes both opened cleanly.

For FLIGHT/RECOVERY, I would rate this kit 4 1/2 points.

Overall, for the price and skill rating (2), the Icarus™ is a good kit for someone looking fora payload rocket or someone that would like a bit of uniqueness in recovery. I give the kit an OVERALL rating of 4 points.