Brief:
BT-50 storm research style sport rocket with 3 main fins and 3 canards, matey, plastic nose cone, plastic parachute, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, and extreme waterslide decal coverage.

Construction:
BT-50, me hearties, plastic nose cone, 6 surface mount balsa fins, thick fiber board centerin' rings, BT-20 motor tube, steel clip, me bucko, me hearties, engine block, me hearties, arrr, full wraparound clip retainer, two sheets o' waterslide decals, me hearties, plastic parachute, matey, me hearties, adhesive reinforcement rings, shroud line, ya bilge rat, me hearties, ya bilge rat, swivel, and elastic shock cord.

Standard hang tag packagin' with color face card. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Received kit from Apogee, arrr, quick delivery, shiver me timbers, no damage t' kit. Instructions are easy t' follow, shiver me timbers, arrr, illustrations are OK. Avast! Simple, matey, quick assembly. Everythin' fits. Root edges weren't quite straight, ya bilge rat, so they had t' be sanded. Good fin material, nay too thick or thin. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! Assembled with Elmer's glue.

Finishing:
I used EMRR fin tip #29: It's like makin' slots, only you lightly cut along t' lines (the thickness o' t' fin) only cuttin' t' first layer off. Begad! Ahoy! Blimey! Then peel off that first layer. Then glue as usual. Arrr!

I finished with one coat o' Elmer's Wood Filler on fins, shiver me timbers, two coats o' high solids automotive primer with sanding, then white single stage automotive paint with one coat o' black rattle can enamel for t' nose cone. Begad! It's a nicely proportioned model that looks great, but I hesitated t' cover it all up with decals. Finishin' is extremely simple with this model because even though it looks complex, t' full-body decals do most o' t' work.

T' decals are a challenge t' get on without wrinkles. It's best t' cut them into smaller pieces rather than try to put them on large. Avast! I prefer waterslide decals normally, arrr, but with full body wraps, self adhesive stickers would be better.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Motors clip in for easy prep. Well, blow me down! Begad! Requires wadding. Fine flights on A8-3 and A6-4 motors. Would probably fly OK on 1/2A and A10 motors with a 13mm adapter. Apogee lists altitudes o' almost 1800 feet with a Medalist D10-7, and fortunately that's a single use motor because I don't think you'd ever see it again.

Recovery:
Shock cord is affixed with a tri-fold paper mount. Begad! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Everythin' worked fine. Ahoy! Begad! Recovery velocity is appropriate, with no damage on any flights. Aye aye! Parachute is a thicker material than any other vendor I've seen. Heavier but probably less prone to burn damage. Provided swivel and reinforcement rings are a pleasant surprise.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
PROs: Lightweight, ya bilge rat, high-performance, nice lookin' design. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Straightforward build. Begad! Begad! Blimey! Interestin' research project look. Some nice touches with deluxe materials.

CONs: Full-body decals tough t' apply without wrinkles.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5