Brief:
This review is for the old version of the now newly released Super Neon. I built it quite a few years ago, but I'm reviewing it as part of the "You Flew It" campaign. At the time, it was the first tube fin rocket that I had built.

Construction:
By memory, the kit was a pretty standard Estes kit. Everything was present. Estes was still using the old style engine hook, thin elastic shock cord, and the nose cone was plastic, so I guess it wasn't too old.

It was one of the first rockets I ever built and I still have it so it must have been an easy build.

I remember the tubes that serve as fins being a little tricky to keep still as I used wood glue.

The fins that attach to the outside of the tubes were a pain to keep in place, I would now use a much more high grab glue like Bostick.

The shock cord was too short so no change to the Estes kits available now.

The fins always seemed to be a bit fragile. I don't know why they bothered as the rocket would be stable without them, and the fins would have been more secure if they had been but better in tubes.

Finishing:
The art card shows a rocket that has a red white and blue finish. At the time I thought that the rocket should have bright florescent paint on it so it was painted florescent pink, white, and florescent orange. I did not use the decals.

For the review, I repainted the rocket with a more boring pink/blue color scheme. This was partly to cover up some damage to the top of the body tube and where fins had been knocked off.

Construction Rating: 3 out of 5

Flight:
Flights of the rocket were good, although its been a few years. It's stable and arrow straight. The 1000 feet claim is a bit overrated though.

Recovery:
The recovery is where the rocket lets itself down. The cord is too short and the snap back causes the top of the body tube to be dented by the nose cone.

There was some drift on a 12 inch chute, and I have lost a few fins due to hard landings when the rocket has come down swinging.

This is my fault as back then I rarely filleted fins, did not use a swivel, did not lengthen shock cords and actually used Estes chutes!

Flight Rating: 3 out of 5

Summary:
It was a goodish rocket but there are other much better Estes OOP rockets that they could have brought back instead. The pro series rockets would have been much better.

Overall Rating: 3 out of 5