GUEST's OPINION:
09/00 - "I will shortly submit a full write-up of a "kit-bash" I did of my Silver Comet. In the meantime, I'd like to suggest an easy way to make the model look MUCH cooler. Using a fine brush, paint the inner circle of each porthole sticker dark blue. Do the same for the small porthole on the access door. (You can do this before or after applying the stickers, but after is a bit better because the paint cracks a bit when being lifted off the sheet.) You can fancy up the cockpit windows in the same way. I began by using dark blue acrylic paint, but decided that the effect didn't look right and used a patch of blue trim (self-adhesive) Monokote. I also painted the "flange" around the window with "bronze" colored enamel. Try it!." (S.J.)

GUEST's OPINION:
08/00 - "To make the fins stronger and to eliminate several cycles of sealing and sanding, try using paper and thin CA. I saw this tip somewhere else and it works great. Lay a piece of paper on the fin and then apply thin CA to the paper. The CA soaks through and bonds the paper to the balsa. It took me less than 1 hour to cover both sides of all 4 fins. After the CA dries, trim the paper. After a little sanding, the fins were (almost) perfectly smooth and quite a bit stronger. I've flown it twice with no damage (yet)." (M.S.)

GUEST's OPINION:
10/99 - "Because of the extensive fitting required to get the fins setup, I would say this should be rated Skill Level 3 rather than 2. We built and flew the Silver Comet over this past week. As mentioned previously, there is a fair amount of work to shape the boattail for the fins. I considered this a small price to pay to get the really terrific distinctive look. To get the really nice finish, it takes several coats of sanding sealer on the fins. I was concerned that the shock cord length, strength, and mounting technique would not be good enough, but didn't have time to come up with something better. The first flight was on the recommended D12-5. Great flight. No problems and no damage. So went for broke and sent it up on an E15-4. Beautiful, straight flight, nice and high, but the separation tore out the shock mount. So the body came down into field grass with only a 1/4" zipper cut, while the parachute and nose cone floated away. So I ordered a new nose cone from Estes ($3), and we'll put in a better shock cord mount, and give it another shot. Great looking machine." (D.K.)

GUEST's OPINION:
09/99 - "I have built and flown two Silver Comets (I painted one Metallic Gold and it came out great). I have flown these two rockets more than any of my other kits. Sure, the fins break easily, and the body tube crumples when it lands hard, but I keep repairing them and flying them. One of them is missing a sizeable portion of a fin, and it still flies great. They rise up slowly enough to be real crowd pleasers. I plan to get more and to reinforce the fins and body tube. If I could get Estes to listen, I would have them beef up the kit for mid power. My parachutes have both melted (with the large body tube, it is difficult to get consistent wadding protection in light of the high number of flights for these (20-30 flights each). Yet, the crumpled parachutes are not the cause of my fin breakage. The most common cause is spectator crunch. You have seen this I am sure. The rocket is so distinctive that it gets everybody excited. On its descent, a crowd will run after the rocket. Screaming and yelling will not prevent someone from trying to grab the rocket before it hits the ground. The result: Broken fins. Yet, in spite of their beat-up appearance, my two Comets are still pleasing adults, kids, scouts etc. Writing this report is inspiring me to take the next kit and make a new kit using the parts as templates out of strong tubing, and plywood fins. If I get this done, I will report on the results in a future writing. Conclusion: Silver Comet: Construction: C+ on materials (it was easy to build) A++ on flight, and A on overall." (J.M.)

GUEST's OPINION:
"Although I loved the Silver Comet's styling, I did not find it to be a very durable rocket in use. The grade of balsa that came with the kit made for very flexible and easily-damaged fins. The airframe was flimsy, and covered with "Estes dents" after only a few flights. (granted, I should have used better/longer shock cord.) I retired the rocket after a short time in service. Didn't get much for my $18. I also found cutting the tail cone slots to be a real pain. I used a hobby saw rather than an X-acto knife, and that probably made it easier. But there was a lot of trimming before the fins fit right." (J.S.)

GUEST's OPINION:
"Just opened my kit and I was a bit perturbed about two thins right off the bat. The Tail cone appears that it will take a tremendous amount of work to get ready to use. Both ends of the tail cone still have the plastic caps that will need to be cut off (no mention of this in the instructions) and the slots for the fins are just bubbles on the sides of the cone that will also need to be cut off. I really hate cutting styrene and feel it would have been a lot easier if they had done this at the factory. A slip of the exacto blade and the model could be either rendered useless or need a lot of work to get right.

Also the tail cone and nose cone were packed pointy end first inside the body tube in a plastic bag. This arrangement allowed the bumps for the fin slots to make dents at 3 places around the rim of the body tube. Granted, this is repairable and if I use that end in the tail cone which is glued in there should not be a strength issue. I just hate starting a kit by making repairs.

For a $20 kit having it packaged in a box should not be too much to ask." (J.R.)

SPECIFIC ROCKET TIP:
06/05 - " After spending a good deal of time and effort on this kit, be careful how you finish it! If you use the Krylon Metallic Silver paint like I did, you will get an unbelievable beautiful finish on this model. This paint goes on very heavy. Use very light coats and allow at least three or four DAYS for it to dry! Test the paint for dryness in some inconspicuous place with your finger before you handle it. Then you can apply the decals. Then for a cover coat DO NOT use the Krylon clear coat!!! I made that mistake and it ruined the silver. The paint took in the clear and it blushed and discolored completely. Ugly as heck now and nothing can be done to fix it. Looks like it has been sitting out in the full sun all the time and gotten sunburnt. Use Future Floor Polish for your clear coat and really show it off. Good review too." (G.M.K. )