This model rocket was included as a freebie with a rocketry order. The order was delayed quite a bit and the vendor include this kit at no charge to make up for the delay. Personally, I have never seen the Viper as a stand-alone kit. It is available in larger quantities, as educator packs. This kit is excellent for younger modelers. My son Max, seven at the time of this review, built the model rocket and dad helped a little and did the painting. The Viper kit is by far the easiest flying model rocket kit I've come across, with the obvious exception of ready-to-fly kits where you simply attach the parachute. As you will see in this review, assembly is simplified for younger modelers with such features as color coded parts, single piece fin unit with launch lug built in and more.

Parts List

As this kit appears to be part of an educator pack, it didn't include a face card. It came in the usual clear plastic bag.

- plastic nose cone
- airframe tube
- fin unit
- motor tube, centering rings, thrust ring and motor clip
- sticker sheet
- parachute assembly with shroud lines and gripper tabs
- rocket stand (to be cut out and glued)
- Astra Mini-Manual of Model Rocketry - launch instructions
- assembly instructions

The "Astra Mini-Manual of Model Rocketry" covers quite a bit, ranging from model rocket types, stability, to launching tips. Each section is no more than a few paragraphs and provides the most basic of information.

All you need to build your own Viper, in addition to the kit, is a hobby knife and some white glue and plastic cement (or tape).

Construction

According to the instructions, the first step is to glue to nose cone base to the nose cone. The nose cone in our kit came fully assembled.

Next is the only part not suited for younger modelers. Using a hobby knife, a slit is cut into the motor tube (for the motor clip). Needless to say, I cut the slit and let Max take over from here.

The motor mount assembly is about the hardest part when building the Quest Viper. The color coded parts made it easy to figure out which part goes where and Max had it assembled in no time.

The fin unit comes pre-assembled. Simply slide it over the airframe tube. The instructions say to put some tape on the aft end of the airframe tube and slide the fin unit on/over it to keep it in place. Instead, we used some plastic cement, taking care not to get glue where the launch lug is. Speaking of which, the launch lug is integrated into the fin unit. This, again, is great for younger modelers who may have trouble getting the launch lug attached correctly and securely. It increases the odds of a straight flight, which in turn increases the odds of recovering the model rocket.

As we were expecting some wind on the field where the Viper will be flown, we skipped the parachute assembly and went for a streamer instead. If you do use the parachute, the gripper tabs make this step easy too.

Finishing

Max picket out the color scheme for the rocket and decided on Shimmering Silver and Ice Blue. These are both Dazzling Metallics Elegant Finish colors which I had picked up at a crafts store some time ago and never got around to using. The paint was watered-down and sprayed using a Testors airbrush.

The fins were painted silver first. As this was my first time using the paint, it took a while to get the paint/water ratio just right. The paint appeared to be going on too thick, but dried very nicely and quickly.

After two coats of Shimmering Silver, two coats of Ice Blue were added. It could have probably used a third coat but it looked pretty sharp with two.

I definitely put on the paint too thick, it still came out OK. If you plan to use this paint, go with many, thin coats and wait for each coat to dry before deciding it went on too thick, it dries to a nice, smooth finish.

Measurements

The Quest Viper stands a little over 17" (43 cm) tall.

Flight Data

Quest recommends these model rocket motors for use with the Viper : A6-4, B6-4, C6-5 and C6-7. Estimated altitude on a C6-7 is 1,100 feet.

While prepping the rocket for launch, I noticed I'd forgotten to bring C6-5's and the next best thing available was a C6-3. Very nice flight, deployed a bit early (due to the shorter ejection delay). Not a problem, the rocket was recovered without any damage.