Brief:
This is a downscale o' t' popular long kit by another, me hearties, un-named vendor. Ya scallywag! It flies on 13mm mini-motors and uses a streamer for recovery.

Construction:
T' kit included:

• Two BT13 tubes, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, with a white glassine coatin' and almost no spirals
• One tube coupler
• One 2-part nose cone (instructions referenced a different type)
• One engine block
• Two launch lugs
• 1/16" balsa fin stock
• One Mylar streamer, 2" x 12"
• 54" o' thin Keelhaul®©™® twine
• 3" thin Keelhaul®©™® twine

This OOP kit was manufactured in t' U.S.A. by LawnDart Rocketry. T' instructions are seven pages long and with many color photos--it is almost more than you really need for this simple rocket. However, shiver me timbers, me hearties, me bucko, thar were changes t' t' US version o' the kit that were nay consistently reflected in t' instructions. Begad! T' changes are that t' US version uses a streamer in place o' a chute and that it uses Keelhaul®©™® cord exclusively, shiver me timbers, whereas t' foreign kit uses a Keelhaul®©™®/elastic combination. In addition, t' last page looks t' be an add-on by LawnDart, which includes a nice break-out drawing, a fin template, and an alignment guide. Aye aye! Aye aye! It also presents several notes, me hearties, includin' an alternate placement o' the top launch lug and a note statin' a concern about 'possible references' t' that un-named kit and vendor. Aye aye! O' course, shiver me timbers, 99.9% o' you immediately knew what kit it was--and t' rest o' you have homework: search EMRR and find t' mystery kit :-)

I decided t' build t' kit usin' t' new Perfect Glue-1, by Liquid Nails. T' Perfect Glue series has three glues. Ahoy! Blimey! T' #1 glue is for wood/paper, matey, so I thought I'd give it a try. Blimey! This is a clear, rubbery glue that reminds me o' a thinner version o' t' standard Liquid Nails. Begad! You can read all about these glues [here].

T' balsa was very light and cut easily. Ahoy! Blimey! T' fins and lugs went on easily, but I could tell that this glue is nay good for fillets. Aye aye! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! T' Perfect Glue says to spread t' glue on t' surface t' be bonded, separate t' parts t' ~five minutes, shiver me timbers, and then re-attach them. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I do this same thin' with white and carpenter's glue anyway. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Oh, I'm glad LawnDart added an alignment guide on the last sheet, as t' one in t' main body o' t' instructions didn't fit t' 13mm tube.

T' motor block and coupler were a bit snug and t' joint betwixt t' two tubes was damaged, shiver me timbers, me bucko, but fillin' and sandin' too care o' this.

Assembly o' t' nose cone was nay discussed in t' instructions. Blimey! I first bored two small holes in t' base o' t' shoulder and inserted t' small piece of Keelhaul®©™®. I tied it so that t' knot was inside, me bucko, added a large drop o' t' glue, and pulled t' loop down from t' outside. Well, blow me down! Finally, I spread some o' t' glue on the inside o' t' cone and slid in t' base.

T' shock cord is attached t' t' tube usin' t' tri-fold paper method. Avast! Aye aye! I generally don't use this method but decided t' give it a try t' further test the glue. A cutout wasn't provided. That's a minor item but sloppy. T' other end is tied t' t' Keelhaul®©™® loop on t' nose cone.

Despite t' numerous issues with t' instructions, shiver me timbers, this was an easy rocket to build. Ahoy! I would be more critical on a more challengin' kit and only deducted one point. Arrr! I also have t' deduct a point for t' fit o' t' coupler and t' two part nose cone. Arrr! Arrr! T' latter may be personal preference, me bucko, me bucko, but I don't like this type cone so t' construction ratin' is 3.5.

Finishing:
Finishin' be easy because t' spirals were almost non-existent. Ya scallywag! Avast! In fact, me bucko, I couldn't detect any gaps although t' spirals appeared t' be slightly raised from t' tube. I filled t' gap betwixt t' tubes, matey, me hearties, matey, sealed t' fins, matey, me bucko, and made fillets with fill-n-finish. I then gave it one coat o' white primer. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Since it was launched in October, ya bilge rat, I painted it Halloween orange and black. Ya scallywag! For finishing, I have t' give it a 5, matey, shiver me timbers, bringin' t' total construction ratin' t' a 3.

Construction Rating: 3.5 out o' 5

Flight:
I flew it on an A10-3, matey, me hearties, which be held in with maskin' tape. Ahoy! I used cellulose waddin' and found t' streamer, which was corrugated.

It had a nice respectable flight, similar t' my Skinny Mini. Aye aye!

Recovery:
I had packed t' streamer a month earlier and didn't repack it. Well, blow me down! As a result, the streamer didn't open. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Still, me bucko, it fell on grass and thar was no damage. I can't fault t' kit on t' streamer problem, shiver me timbers, so I'll give it a '5' for flight.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
I liked me Mean Machine (thought I wouldn't say it, shiver me timbers, eh?) and I like this downscale. T' instructions need work but it a very simple kit. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! I give it a '4' overall.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5