Brief:
T' DG&A Lazarus is a straight-forward high power rocket kit with a 38mm motor mount. Blimey! It would make a good Level-1 cert rocket and has a small payload bay suitable for your electronics.

Construction:
T' Lazarus came in its own shippin' box. Ahoy! T' components inside were packaged carefully, arrr, me bucko, arrr, thar was no shippin' damage, matey, ya bilge rat, and all t' parts were accounted for. T' airframe (4" x 34") and payload section (4" x 11") are made o' sturdy, arrr, brown, glassine covered paper tubing. Avast! T' finish is nice and spirals are shallow, which should make finishin' easier. Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! You have t' cut your own fin slots, arrr, but t' fin and launch lug lines were pre-marked and color-coded. T' nose cone is 16 ½" long and is very sturdy. "R.W.W. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! DIST." appears on t' shoulder. Aye aye! Blimey! T' payload coupler tube is made o' cardboard and is thinner-walled than t' airframe tubing. Avast, me proud beauty! T' 38mm motor tube is 11" long and is made o' thick walled cardboard. Begad! T' three through-the-wall fins, two centerin' rings and payload bulkhead are all made of 1/4" plywood. Arrr! Blimey! These have a thick inner layer with a thin outer ply on each side. There be splinterin' on t' edges o' two o' t' fins. Arrr! Blimey! T' recovery system includes two eyebolts, one quick link, a 45" section o' strap nylon with metal eyelets, about 12 ft. Arrr! Blimey! o' 1" elastic, and a 36" parachute made from light rip-stop nylon. Begad! T' provided 1/2" launch lug consists of 4" o' thick walled cardboard tubing. Avast! Blimey! Two 6/32 T-nuts are provided for motor retention, me hearties, arrr, but thar are no bolts or clips provided. Finally, t' kit comes with vinyl decals with t' rocket's name, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, in simple black lettering.

This kit comes with very detailed instructions, me hearties, which include illustrations and B&W photos. Aye aye! T' overall quality o' t' instructions was excellent, however, ya bilge rat, I have a few concerns. Avast, me proud beauty! 1) They suggest you may fiberglass t' airframe after t' kit is assembled (generally, ya bilge rat, it is easier t' do so before installing fins, t' launch lug, etc.). Avast, me proud beauty! 2) They recommend you smooth t' epoxy fillets with your rubbin' alcohol covered finger (with no warnings about possible reactions t' t' contact with epoxy). Avast! 3) There is no reference t' internal fillets for t' fins. Avast! In me opinion, these are omissions and may throw a curve to an inexperienced builder. Ya scallywag! I believe that instructions should be directed at less experienced builders, me hearties, as t' experienced ones will figure it out on their own anyway.

Construction be straight-forward and proceeded per t' instructions, with a few exceptions. I used 15-minute epoxy throughout, shiver me timbers, and did no fiberglassing. Avast! Blimey! I started by bevelin' t' fin edges. Arrr! This was a slow process with me orbital sander, ya bilge rat, so I installed a sandin' attachment on me RotoZip. Aye aye! I had nice sharp edges in no time, and t' imperfections on t' edges o' t' fins were all but wiped out. I strengthened t' edges with thin CA. Ahoy! Well, matey, blow me down!

T' centerin' rings fit nicely and required no sanding. However, t' coupler tube used for t' payload section did nay fit in t' airframe tubing. Begad! I contacted t' manufacturer who merely said t' sand t' coupler. Arrr! Arrr! Although some sandin' may have done t' trick, ya bilge rat, I wasn't up for doin' so. Arrr! Well, blow me down! Instead, I found that t' inner tube from a 4" mailin' tube I had in me stockpile worked perfectly. Ahoy! Blimey! So, matey, me bucko, I opted t' chop off a 6" section and use that. Avast! I had t' do some minor sandin' on t' bulkhead as me tube was just a tad thicker than the one provided.

I made t' following enhancements durin' construction. Ahoy! First, I did nay glue t' aft centerin' ring in until I had installed t' fins and had applied internal fillets. Ahoy! Next, I added a heavy swivel for parachute attachment. I also added electrical connections t' t' payload bulkhead t' facilitate usin' me G-Wiz Deluxe for ejection duties. Aye aye! Aye aye! Finally, me bucko, I added a pair o' Matt's Rail Buttons in addition to the 1/2" lug that was provided. Well, blow me down!

Finishing:
I didn't try t' make t' epoxy fillets pretty, me hearties, so I built them up with SuperFil from Shadow Composites. Arrr! Blimey! After some light sanding, I laid on several coats of Krylon white primer. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! One side o' t' fins filled easily, but t' other was coarser and required a couple o' extra coats. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' spirals filled nicely, me bucko, but after priming, arrr, I noticed that t' tube also had a subtle ridge in betwixt the grooves. Avast! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! I did nay try t' sand this down. Arrr! Blimey! I painted t' rocket fluorescent yellow and added yellow and black checkerboard trim. Ahoy! Blimey! After a problem with paint compatibility (details omitted!), arrr, me hearties, I painted t' nose cone solid black. The final touch be t' vinyl letterin' that came with t' kit. Begad! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! This stuff was great. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' letters were individually placed on an adhesive background. So, matey, matey, you lay down t' decal strip, and then removed t' backing, leavin' just the lettering. Avast! Blimey! You have t' be gentle as t' letters initially try t' come off with the backing, arrr, but this wasn't a problem. Begad! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' result is perfectly spaced lettering, ya bilge rat, without t' clear surroundin' background. Arrr! Blimey!

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
I flew me Lazarus with one o' t' newly certified I285 Redlines, matey, off o' a BlackSky rail. Begad! Although t' Lazarus payload was set up for altimeter ejection, I decided t' stick with motor ejection. Well, blow me down! Sims with a similar motor said the optimal delay be 11 seconds, so I chose a medium, me bucko, 10 second delay. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! It was a nice straight flight. Blimey! T' Lazarus really scooted above t' bright red flame! T' motor be retained with aluminum clips that I move from rocket t' rocket. I used a heat shield from Giant Leap in place o' wadding. Arrr! There be some singeing on t' chute - me problem, shiver me timbers, nay t' rocket's.

Recovery:
One end o' t' nylon strap connects t' an eyebolt on t' forward centerin' ring with a quick-connect (provided). Ya scallywag! T' strap elastic is tied t' t' other end of the nylon strap and t' a second eyebolt on t' payload bulkhead. Blimey! I added a hefty swivel for parachute attachment, me hearties, a few feet down from t' nose cone. Avast, me proud beauty! I felt t' chute that was provided may be a little small considerin' t' weight of t' rocket and t' backswept fin design, matey, ya bilge rat, but t' ground at t' launch site was relatively soft (mowed grass). T' recovery was just fine. Well, blow me down! One fin has a bit o' dirt on it, ya bilge rat, but no damage. Ahoy!

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This simple, solid kit would be fine for an introduction t' high-power. Arrr! Begad! The components are good quality and are sturdy. T' detailed instructions are very easy t' follow. Blimey! Well, blow me down! I also liked t' decals/lettering. However, shiver me timbers, I was a disappointed with t' fit o' t' tube coupler and feel that t' issues with the instructions may make this kit more appropriate for someone with good mid-power experience and/or who has done some research on construction techniques.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5