Brief:
This is a semi-scale model o' t' GBU-24 Paveway III laser guided bomb. It flies on 18mm motors and recovers under a 12" chute. Aye aye! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! You can find more info on t' actual bomb [here] . Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down!

Construction:

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

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

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

T' tail cone and transition come as one unit and must be separated. A razor saw is suggested, but I used an Exacto cutlass. T' bottom o' t' tail cone must also be trimmed and sanded, as do t' fin slots. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! T' latter start as rectangular projections, which are cut off with a razor saw, formin' t' slots. Aye aye! T' final trimmin' is supposed t' be t' top o' t' transition. Begad! T' instructions have you cut this off, me bucko, arrr, 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, me bucko, 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). This formed a loop, which t' elastic cord will later attach to. Ahoy! 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. Arrr! Once positioned, me bucko, t' tail cone is attached, shiver me timbers, 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. Blimey! I found these slots t' be excessively loose, arrr, me bucko, so they didn't support t' fins well. I applied yellow glue t' t' fin tab and t' front root section. Arrr! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! T' hold t' fins while this glue set, shiver me timbers, I used Liquid Nails Perfect Glue, me hearties, shiver me timbers, Type 1 on t' aft root section. This sets fast and t' fins were good t' go. Aye aye! Begad! There is a markin' guide for t' top fins, and these were attached with carpenter's glue. Arrr! After t' rear fins set, matey, ya bilge rat, you position t' fin deployment guides and mark their position. Well, matey, blow me down! A thin layer o' yellow glue is applied t' fins up t' t' mark, shiver me timbers, and t' guides are attached. Aye aye! These immediately warped like crazy, so a couple o' small clamps were required on each guide/fin/guide 'sandwich' as they set. Well, blow me down! Afterwards, these still seemed flimsy, 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! Begad! I didn't' glue t' top tube t' t' transition or t' cone until finishin' was complete. Ya scallywag! When they were connected, I again used black CA.

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

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

Finishing:
I started with fill-n-finish on t' fins and tubes before assembly. Ya scallywag! Blimey! 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. Aye aye! Blimey! After assembly, me bucko, I shot several coats o' white primer, sandin' and fillin' in between. Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey!

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

Overall, shiver me timbers, me hearties, t' finishin' be 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. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Aye aye! When I saw this model, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, I knew that it would satisfy my cravings. Well, blow me down!

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