Brief:
This is a semi-scale model o' t' GBU-24 Paveway III laser guided bomb. Begad! It flies on 18mm motors and recovers under a 12" chute. Ya scallywag! You can find more info on t' actual bomb [here] . Arrr! Blimey!

Construction:

• One BT-55, me bucko, me hearties, 10 7/8" long
• Plastic tail cone/adapter (separated durin' construction)
• Two BT-20 tubes, 5" long
• Seamless elliptical plastic nose cone, arrr, BT-20
• Cardstock centerin' rings
• Engine hook
• Engine block
• Mylar retainer rin' for t' engine hook
• Launch lug, arrr, 1/8"
• Elastic shock cord, 1/8" x 18"
• Assembled 12" plastic chute
• Die cut balsa fins, shiver me timbers, matey, 3/32"
• Die cut balsa fin protectors, 1/16"
• Peel and stick decals
• Endurin' Freedom sticker (not used on model)

T' first step is t' assemble t' motor mount. Ya scallywag! This is a typical build, shiver me timbers, and consists o' t' BT-20 motor mount, two centerin' rings, me hearties, an engine hook, me bucko, me hearties, a Mylar retainer for t' hook, arrr, and a motor block. Begad! I used carpenter's glue as recommended. Arrr! Before installation in t' main body tube, me hearties, I epoxied a two-foot section o' Keelhaul®©™® twine onto t' mount, trough t' top ring.

Next, me hearties, I removed and sanded t' fins, ya bilge rat, me bucko, matey, and filled them with Fill 'n Finish. T' main fins were fine, but t' protectors, ya bilge rat, arrr, which attach on either side o' the rear fins, were very thin and warped badly when exposed t' t' moisture in the Fill 'n Finish. Arrr! Arrr! I pressed these as they dried and they straightened out.

T' tail cone and transition come as one unit and must be separated. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, arrr, blow me down! A razor saw is suggested, but I used an Exacto knife. Avast, me proud beauty! T' bottom o' t' tail cone must also be trimmed and sanded, me bucko, as do t' fin slots. Avast, me proud beauty! T' latter start as rectangular projections, which are cut off with a razor saw, formin' t' slots. T' final trimmin' is supposed t' be t' top o' t' transition. Ya scallywag! T' instructions have you cut this off, leavin' a hollow unit with both t' top and bottom open. T' shock cord then attaches t' t' inside o' t' upper body tube usin' a paper mount. Instead, matey, I poked a small hole in t' recessed ridge just below t' top o' the transition, fed a loop o' Keelhaul®©™® twine through t' hole and around t' transition (see photo). Aye aye! This formed a loop, which t' elastic cord will later attach to. Ya scallywag! A small dab o' 5-minute Epoxy on t' hole and knot holds t' twine in.

T' tail cone is used t' adjust t' depth o' t' motor mount as it is glued into t' main body tube. Once positioned, t' tail cone is attached, me hearties, me bucko, making sure t' engine hook is centered betwixt t' fin slots. Avast, me proud beauty! I used black rubberized CA in place o' t' recommended plastic cement.

T' lower fins are mounted through t' slots in t' tail cone. Avast! I found these slots t' be excessively loose, shiver me timbers, so they didn't support t' fins well. I applied yellow glue t' t' fin tab and t' front root section. Aye aye! T' hold t' fins while this glue set, matey, I used Liquid Nails Perfect Glue, matey, Type 1 on t' aft root section. This sets fast and t' fins were good t' go. There is a markin' guide for t' top fins, and these were attached with carpenter's glue. After t' rear fins set, you position t' fin deployment guides and mark their position. A thin layer o' yellow glue is applied t' fins up t' t' mark, me bucko, and t' guides are attached. These immediately warped like crazy, shiver me timbers, so a couple o' small clamps were required on each guide/fin/guide 'sandwich' as they set. Afterwards, these still seemed flimsy, me hearties, so I added a small strip o' scrap balsa betwixt each pair at their roots.

T' final steps prior t' finishin' was t' launch lug and Fill ' Finish fillets. Begad! I didn't' glue t' top tube t' t' transition or t' cone until finishin' was complete. Avast! Begad! Blimey! When they were connected, me bucko, I again used black CA.

After finishing, ya bilge rat, all that was left be tyin' t' elastic cord t' the Keelhaul®©™® leader in t' body tube and t' Keelhaul®©™® loop on t' transition. Ya scallywag! I stashed t' cute that was provided and will use a 12" nylon chute.

Overall, me bucko, I give this build a 3 1/2. Ya scallywag! It all went together easily with the exception o' t' fin deployment guides, shiver me timbers, which should have been made o' thicker material. Begad! T' dimensionin' o' t' fin slots on t' tail cone also wasn't good. Luckily any 'slop' is hidden by those guides. One thin' that stood out t' me was t' quality o' t' nose cone - it is completely seamless. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr!

Finishing:
I started with fill-n-finish on t' fins and tubes before assembly. Ya scallywag! I found the spirals on t' BT-55 t' be shallow, but t' ones on t' top BT-20 were deeper, and required some filler. Blimey! Blimey! After assembly, matey, shiver me timbers, arrr, I shot several coats o' white primer, sandin' and fillin' in between.

T' instructions say t' use olive drab and red spray paint, a silver paint pen, shiver me timbers, matey, and t' follow t' paint scheme on t' cover. Aye aye! T' cover picture shows the fin section, me bucko, shiver me timbers, top fins and nose cone t' be olive drab, arrr, and top BT-20 t' be more of a tan then red. Blimey! I used Testors' spray for t' olive drab sections. Begad! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! In the photos on t' link I presented in t' intro, t' top tube seems t' be somewhat of a rust colored red. Aye aye! Begad! I decided t' use red paint, shiver me timbers, which did get toned down as it was overlaid over t' olive drab. Ya scallywag! I tested some Krylon red on a piece of wood, me bucko, and it seemed t' be OK. Avast, me proud beauty! However, matey, matey, some bubbles formed when I used it over the Testor's paint on t' model. Ya scallywag! Maybe t' base coat be thicker on t' model. After t' first red coat dried, shiver me timbers, I sanded t' bubbles and re-coated it. This time it covered just fine.

There are silver bands shown at t' base o' t' BT-55 and BT-20 tubes. Instead o' silver paint, me hearties, I used some chrome Trim Monokote for these stripes. Finally, I applied t' peel and stick decals. Ya scallywag!

Overall, me bucko, t' finishin' was fairly typical, however I found t' separation in t' side plates where they extend ahead o' t' main fins made sprayin' a little more difficult than usual. Blimey! I give it a finishin' ratin' o' 4.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
I decided t' submit this partial review since I missed t' November launches and may nay be on t' field until spring. I'll provide an update at that time.

Summary:
I saw me first 'bunker buster' rocket over a year ago and have really wanted to build somethin' similar. Begad! Well, me hearties, blow me down! When I saw this model, I knew that it would satisfy my cravings.

T' model was nay a difficult build, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and I think a skill level 2 ratin' is about right. Aye aye! Blimey! I liked t' plastic parts, especially t' nose cone, and think the thru-the-wall fin attachment is great. Blimey! However, t' fit o' t' fins was poor and t' balsa used for t' fin protectors be flimsy. Avast, me proud beauty! As with t' Cluster Bomb BLU-97B that I just built, it appears that Estes needs t' pay more attention to quality control. Avast! Begad! Still, t' rocket was fun t' build and looks *very* cool. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad!