I built a Big Dawg recently, shiver me timbers, arrr, and flew it when me son's Cub Scout pack was invited t' Tripoli Nebraska's October launch.

Construction be straight-forward for a through-the-tube rocket. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Estes' instructions were very good, arrr, however, me hearties, it appears that t' motor tube has been shortened since t' illustrations were drawn. They show a three inch tube. T' included tube measured 2 3/4 inches, ya bilge rat, and as a consequence, you may be misled by t' drawin' illustratin' t' position o' t' forward centerin' ring. Ahoy! Contrary t' t' illustration, almost no motor tube extends beyond t' front o' t' tube. Go by t' measurements, me bucko, nay t' pictures! T' nose cone came with flashin' that needed t' be trimmed and sanded before finishing, also t' centerin' rings would nay fit in t' body tube unless they were turned sideways. Aye aye! Begad! They required much sandin' before they fit properly. Aye aye! Begad! As with any construction project, you need t' do a test fit before gluing. Ya scallywag! Other than that, construction went fine.

As a former model airplane builder from t' 60's, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, I was impressed with t' precision o' t' die-cut fins. Avast! T' only problem thar be that they were thicker than t' slots in t' body tube, and needed t' be sanded t' fit. I did deviate from t' instructions when gluin' t' motor tube in. Avast! I didn't glue t' aft centerin' rin' in until after t' motor tube had been glued. Begad! Begad! This gave access t' t' motor tube/fin area which allowed me t' put glue fillets on all o' t' inside fin/tube joints. Begad! When these were done, I glued t' aft centerin' rin' in place. Ahoy! Aye aye! Aero-Tech uses a similar technique on their mid t' high powered rockets.

I gave t' rocket two coats o' gray primer shortly before t' launch, shiver me timbers, me bucko, but didn't have time t' paint it in t' black/gold finish that I had planned. Begad! This worked out well, I liked t' flat gray finish, arrr, it gave t' rocket a sort o' 'militarized' look. Blimey! Someone at t' launch came up and asked me if it was a scale model. Ya scallywag! It does have sort o' V-2 proportions.

I flew t' rocket twice. T' first flight be on an A8-3, which is a good shake-down motor for a first flight. Blimey! Aye aye! It doesn't go very high (100-150 feet), matey, me bucko, me hearties, but will let you know if everything's workin' O.K. Arrr! Well, blow me down! T' second flight be on a B6-4. Begad! If you have t' space, this would be t' minimum recommended motor. It was fast off t' launch rod, shiver me timbers, and climbed high and straight. Well, blow me down! I had 'reefed' t' parachute lines because o' t' high winds, but in spite o' t' reef, arrr, ya bilge rat, it still drifted about 300-400 yards. Well, blow me down! Avast! It appeared t' come down unscratched, shiver me timbers, but an over-enthusiastic recovery person (a kid) stepped on it and broke a fin. Avast! T' fin has been repaired and it will fly again soon.

Overall, I'd rate t' Big Dawg a 4. Avast, me proud beauty! T' fit and finish o' t' parts could have been better, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, me bucko, but t' problems were fixable. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' flights were very good. Ya scallywag! It flew nice and straight. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! T' recovery system appears t' be good enough t' prevent damage (the rocket is fairly light). Begad! Now I'm eyein' another kit, epoxy, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and a 24mm motor mount. Aye aye! With a D or E motor, shiver me timbers, it might still be airborne when t' kids get t' t' landin' site!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5