Brief:
Cool rocket inspired by Russian amateur and 1950s Sci-Fi movies.

Construction:
One short body tube, nose cone (Estes long BT- 80) and tail cone (cut from Estes long BT-80). Ahoy! Three big balsa fins and hardwood landin' pods. Avast, me proud beauty! One plywood centerin' ring. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! Nose weight in t' form o' BBs. Ya scallywag! Recovery system connects through steel cable that you have t' loop and crimp. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! Also included is some elastic shock cord and a 24" parachute that appears completely adequate. Also included is some stick-on vinyl t' fancy up t' rocket.

T' instructions are quite good. Aye aye! I have a lot o' experience, and had no problems followin' along. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! My fiancée has less experience, arrr, and she had no problems either. Blimey! T' only part that wasn't well described be t' insulator that protected t' plastic tail cone from ejection gasses. Everythin' else flowed logically. Parts fit be very good. Ya scallywag! T' fin slots in t' tail cone were perfect and t' bottom o' t' tail cone be just right. T' only parts that didn't fit well were t' hardwood landin' pods on t' ends o' t' fins. They required extensive sandin' o' t' fins t' make t' pods fit. Blimey! All parts are strong enough for this size rocket. Aye aye! I put most everythin' together usin' 5 minute epoxy. Begad! Be careful in alignin' t' launch lugs. Begad! Mountin' them on t' fin is a great idea, shiver me timbers, but you can inadvertently end up aimin' t' rod into t' body if you're nay careful. Arrr! Aye aye! Also, arrr, finishin' your fins is more difficult with the lugs in t' way. Aye aye! Begad! T' only thin' I changed was t' cut t' bottom o' t' nose cone off and replace t' elastic shock cord with 9 feet o' woven polyprolene cord. Begad! When I added t' nose weight, ya bilge rat, I put t' shock cord into t' nose first, and poured t' BB/Epoxy mixture over it. Ahoy! This is a good sturdy mount. Avast! Well, blow me down! Flame protection is done usin' a flame proof shield rather than disposable wadding. Begad! I also left about 1/4" o' t' motor mount extendin' below t' tail cone for motor retention purposes.

Finishing:
I filled all t' balsa with two applications o' Balsa Lite, me hearties, sandin' after each application. Aye aye! Blimey! T' joint betwixt t' landin' pods and t' fins were filleted with a two part epoxy putty. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Then everythin' got a thin coat o' fiberglass epoxy. This gives t' fins a very hard, shiver me timbers, very smooth finish. I didn't bother with the spiral groove in t' body tube, ya bilge rat, arrr, it's BT-80 and very subtle. Ya scallywag! Blimey! A couple coats of primer took care o' this. You could fill t' seam betwixt t' tail cone and body tube with some good putty, this would further improve t' appearance. I finished it with 4 coats o' Krylon White Sandable Primer and three coats of Krylon True Blue. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Warning: t' contrast betwixt t' brown body tube and white nose and tail is hard t' cover. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Even after four coats o' primer, I could still tell t' color difference. Aye aye! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! If you use a light, slightly transparent color, ya bilge rat, you will get subtle color differences that are readily apparent t' t' human eye. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' recommended motors should give you a good flight. Well, blow me down! Arrr! I've made three flights with t' Aerotech E18-7 and each flight has been perfect. Arrr! Aye aye! First, I prep the motor. After puttin' t' motor in t' motor mount, I run a couple wraps of maskin' tape round t' motor end and t' exposed motor mount tube. This is a good retention system and has held just fine in all me similar rockets. Aye aye! Then put t' flame shield in t' body tube and pack t' chute and shock cord in the nose. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! When I put everythin' together, ya bilge rat, matey, t' chute and cord fall into t' body tube, ya bilge rat, but it's easier t' get t' nose cone on if everythin' is in t' nose. Begad! If you don't cut t' bottom off t' nose cone, this could be a tight fit. Begad! The rocket flies very, me hearties, very straight despite its unorthodox appearance. Ahoy! I think one of t' main reasons is that t' fin slots in t' tail cone are perfectly aligned. Aye aye!

Recovery:
T' E18-7 ejects right at apogee, so I suspect t' E15-7 will do just as well. This rocket flies plenty high on an E, but if you want t' try an F, me hearties, matey, I'd do an F24-7, me hearties, or an F32-10. Ahoy! You better have a really big field. Ahoy! T' provided parachute is t' perfect size. Blimey! This is nice t' see in this day and age o' undersized chutes. Avast!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This is an excellent kit. Aye aye! Top quality components all around. Ya scallywag! Arrr! Frankly, this is the least modified kit I have. Aye aye! I felt confident that each and every component was just right for t' rocket and flight testin' has proven me right. Arrr! It's an attention getter, me hearties, on t' pad, and then when it flies perfectly straight and true, me bucko, shiver me timbers, it really gets attention. Aye aye! Avast! I like unusual kits, and this is a good one. T' price is reasonable for what you get because you don't have t' buy anything extra t' make a durable, ya bilge rat, flyable model.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5