Looks amazing. Easy to build. Fun to fly. Don't be afraid of using regular scotch tape when detailed painting. You will not hurt it if careful.

Excellent kit, but needs more power. Ever since Estes discontinued their Pro Series Nike Smoke, this Skill Level 2 Nike Smoke can be a minimum diameter powered and stable by using a BT-50, or E engine motor mount. After tracing out the fins, you will be able to add to the fins, the through tube mounting tabs and reinforcing braces out of sheet balsa. This will strengthen the motor mounting around the fin can. After tracing the through fin slots on the BT-60, cut the through the tube slots. Sand the fins at 3 angles per side and tapered away from the root edge, then laminate with CA and a printer paper, one layer per side, should be fine. Look for the CA wicking through the paper, for a more secure bond. I would use a Pro Series 24mm Retainer for a better appearance, but an engine hook will work. Upgrade your parachute and installing a baffle, so your chute won't melt and you should counter balance your C/G, with the heaviest engine available, or your rocket won't fly stable. Use 2x3/8 launch lugs and once you're satisfied with the stability it's time for a test flight, with a C11-5, or D12-7(1st flight), with 1 spacer, depending on your Nike Smoke's final mass, before using E9-6, or E12-8(Heaviest BP motor). You will be impressed. If not enough, fly with a 24mm composite motor, but you might lose it without GPS tracking.

I've been building model rockets since the late 1960s and have done a couple of Nike Smokes previously. One was about twice this size and the other was an earlier Estes or Centuri kit, can't remember. I like scale models probably best so when I saw Estes had this one I decided to pick one up. It is a fairly easy kit other than sanding those planar surfaces in balsa and no matter how patient or careful you will never get a really nice shape. I also have been building 3D printed rockets from Boyce Aerospace and looking at their website saw they recently added a fin unit for this kit. I had already started the kit with the engine mount in so cut it off and replaced the after section with the Boyce unit. It turns it into an even better kit. I would recommend it either way but if you want some great fins look at adding a Boyce fin unit to it. If you do it out the gate you won't need to do much to modify very easily.