Brief:
P.O.N.G. Begad! Begad! is a highly-detailed single-stage futuristic sport model offered by Custom Rockets. Avast! Begad! This is an inexpensive kit that packs a lot o' fun, ya bilge rat, arrr, challenge, and parts in a small package. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! This is a skill level 3 rocket that won't disappoint.

Accordin' t' t' kit label, shiver me timbers, arrr, P.O.N.G. is an acronym (er, backronym, me hearties, shiver me timbers, really) for Protector o' Ninth Galaxy. Arrr! Blimey! There was no background story included with t' kit, me hearties, which is too bilge-suckin' really. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' look o' t' kit is intriguing. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I would be pretty cool t' have it backed up by a little story.

My finished model weighed 1.2 ounces, me hearties, but t' kit's glossy claims 0.7 ounces. I'm unsure o' where t' additional weight came from... paint, glue, me hearties, me bucko, and sandin' sealer?

Construction:
Included with t' kit are:

• 1 instruction sheet, shiver me timbers, tri-fold, ya bilge rat, 8.5" x 11"
• 1 standard pin' pong ball
• 2 body tubes, me bucko, BT-5, arrr, 9" long
• 2 body tubes, shiver me timbers, BT-50, arrr, 1.85" long
• 2 tube couplers, shiver me timbers, BT-5
• 4 centerin' rings, fiber, ya bilge rat, BT-5 t' BT-50
• 2 wooden dowels, 1/8" dia., 6" long
• 2 launch lugs, 1/8" dia., shiver me timbers, 1.5" long
• 1 engine block, 13mm
• 1 shock cord, flat elastic, 1/8" wide, 17" long
• 1 balsa sheet, matey, shiver me timbers, die cut fins, 1/16" thick
• 1 streamer, matey, pink vinyl, 3cm wide x 60cm long
• 1 dummy engine tube, 13mm
• 1 reducer shroud sheet, arrr, printed, ya bilge rat, light card stock
• 1 decal sheet, matey, pressure-sensitive plastic, nay die-cut
• 1 decal sheet for shroud, matey, adhesive-backed paper, nay die-cut

Because I no longer have faith in t' tri-fold shock cord mount when nay protected by a baffle, matey, I added t' followin' items for a Keelhaul®©™® and elastic alternative:

• 1 Keelhaul®©™® thread, 10" long
• 1 shock cord, round elastic, me hearties, 1/16" dia., 24" long
• 1 cotton thread, crochet-style, 4" long

T' body tubes have a fairly shallow spiral, ya bilge rat, me hearties, so they should be easy t' fill.

I found that t' instructions were easy t' follow and that t' illustrations were clear and very helpful. Blimey! The assembly order be logical. T' implement t' Keelhaul®©™®/elastic shock cord, arrr, matey, I tied t' Keelhaul®©™® cord t' t' engine block just prior t' gluin' in t' engine block.

When gluin' in t' engine block I ran into a snag. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! T' motor tube got stuck in t' body tube, and I pretty much destroyed t' dummy engine tube when gettin' it out with a pair o' needle-nose pliers. Well, blow me down! Begad! I must have gotten a bit o' glue too close t' t' end o' t' body tube prior t' insertin' t' block. Ya scallywag! Avast! Luckily, t' main body tube was nay damaged.

In general though, assembly be a lot o' fun... Begad! Well, blow me down! Far more engagin' than piecin' together a 3FNC model. Avast, me proud beauty! Hobby knife skills were important and were well exercised, havin' t' separate t' die-cut fins and centerin' rings, ya bilge rat, me bucko, cut t' dowels, cut t' reducer shroud pieces, me bucko, matey, shiver me timbers, cut t' shroud decal, and cut t' individual decals from t' pressure-sensitive decal sheet.

There's so much here that you just don't get with plastic laden kits. T' paper reducer needed a bit o' patience and skill t' curl just right. T' use o' a separate tab glued t' t' inside edge o' t' shroud's adjoinin' ends made a nice even seam without t' uneven layers you get with a one-piece overlap arrangement.

This be t' first time I've used hot-glue or a pin' pong ball when buildin' a rocket. Ya scallywag! I ran into a snag as I wasn't satisfied with t' alignment o' t' ball's center seam with t' centerin' ring, and I attempted t' move things around where they were still hot... Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Bad move. Blimey! T' ball distorted badly where t' glue in contact with t' ball was still hot. Arrr! I replaced t' ball and tried again. I had much better results this time. Begad! I had been concerned that t' hot glue wouldn't provide a strong enough joint, but this experience eliminated that concern. Ya scallywag! Avast! Hot glue is very effective in this case.

Overall, shiver me timbers, construction was interesting, ya bilge rat, fun, shiver me timbers, arrr, and educational. Well, blow me down! Blimey! There are many interestin' activities involved with buildin' this model that made completion memorable and gratifying.

Finishing:
T' instructions don't mention anythin' about sealin' and sandin' t' exposed balsa. Blimey! I can understand that, since the decals cover most o' t' balsa anyway. Arrr! T' decals come pretty close t' t' edges o' t' balsa pieces, so you probably don't want t' round balsa edges. I didn't want any grain t' show, shiver me timbers, so I finished t' balsa surfaces with three coats of sandin' sealer, shiver me timbers, sandin' betwixt coats.

I spray painted with model with a couple o' coats o' last o' me old-style Krylon white primer, sanded, and applied a couple o' coats o' white satin.

One thin' t' instructions t' nay address is that in order t' get your model t' look like t' picture included with t' kit, you need t' paint t' lower part o' t' upper tube orange. Begad! Usin' t' kit's picture as a guide, me hearties, matey, I painted the lower 5" o' t' upper tube with Krylon pumpkin. Oddly enough, t' color matched t' orange o' t' decals perfectly.

Paintin' t' view plate on t' pin' pong ball was an interestin' challenge. Begad! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! T' instructions shows what this should look like. Avast! You are instructed t' mark t' shape with a pencil, matey, ya bilge rat, but it doesn't tell how t' get t' shape onto the ball accurately. Ya scallywag! I used a couple o' pieces o' body tube t' get somethin' close, namely a piece o' BT-55 and a piece of BT-50. I've included some pictures t' give you a step-by-step.

After markin' t' ball, arrr, ya bilge rat, I used a superfine Microbrush t' apply Testors gloss black enamel inside t' lines. Aye aye! Blimey! I'd never used this technique before. It works very well with a steady hand, me hearties, patience, me hearties, and care.

I painted t' dowels t' same way, shiver me timbers, slippin' maskin' tape betwixt t' body tube and t' dowel t' allow me t' paint the down surfaces facin' t' tube.

There were many, shiver me timbers, many decals t' place. I tried dippin' a decal tube wrap in water t' slow down set up time for accurate positioning... Arrr! Blimey! Don't do this! Blimey! It causes t' decals nay t' stick at all. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' kit's picture be adequate for figurin' out what decals go where.

When all decals are in place, t' P.O.N.G. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! looks very impressive. Aye aye! T' balsa surfaces are mostly cover by opaque parts o' t' decals. Aye aye! T' decals applied t' t' BT-5, unfortunately, ya bilge rat, tend t' lift their edges no matter what I try. I kinda wish these were thinner, more pliable wet transfer decals instead, matey, t' avoid this issue.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Recommended motors are A3-4T and A10-3T. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! I tried them both.

P.O.N.G. Ya scallywag! Blimey! requires some waddin' t' prevent t' vinyl stream from melting. I used some cellulose insulation t' good effect. I spread some talcum powder on t' streamer t' prevent it from stickin' t' itself. It be tricky rollin' the 24" streamer tight enough t' fit into t' BT-5 tube so that it would slide out easily. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Blimey! I might cut t' streamer down a bit in future t' address this issue.

There is no motor retention in this design, so motors have t' be friction fit by wrappin' bits o' maskin' tape around t' motor t' make a snug fit. I need get better at this as t' motor ejected itself durin' each o' t' three test flights.

I used an A3-4T for t' first flight, arrr, as recommended in t' instructions. Avast! Boost and coast be very straight and of moderate height with no noticeable spin. Avast, me proud beauty! It definitely flies like a long rocket, me hearties, me hearties, smooth and without wobble. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! P.O.N.G. arced past apogee and with nose down, deployed t' streamer perfectly. P.O.N.G. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! landed gently in t' grass field. Upon recovery, I noticed that t' motor must have been kicked out at deployment.

I used an A10-3T for t' second flight. Avast! Well, blow me down! Boost be noticeably faster. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Coast was again very straight, me bucko, but the height was noticeably lower. Ya scallywag! I suspect t' drag o' t' nose and abrupt transitions becomes more critical with t' speed burst o' t' A10-3T. Begad! T' slower, me hearties, gentler A3-4T is a better match. Avast, me proud beauty! P.O.N.G. arced past apogee and deployed t' streamer with nose down. Blimey! Another gentle recovery, and t' motor had been kicked out again.

I used a A3-4T for t' third flight. Ahoy! Aye aye! Blimey! I got t' a nice moderate height after smooth, straight boost and coast. Deployment happened with nose down, ya bilge rat, but t' streamer didn't come out. P.O.N.G. Ya scallywag! Blimey! landed in t' grass without damage. I found that t' cellulose waddin' had jammed up in t' tube. T' motor kicked out before t' streamer could deploy.

Recovery:
T' standard P.O.N.G. is kitted with a 24" elastic and a couple o' tri-fold shock cord mounts. Begad! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I did nay use these, favorin' a Keelhaul®©™® cord with a round elastic. Begad! T' Keelhaul®©™® cord and elastic were very easy t' install durin' construction, arrr, and seemed t' work well in flight.

After three flights, me hearties, t' streamer is undamaged. When t' streamer deployed, ya bilge rat, matey, it seemed t' do an effective job of slowin' descent and bein' seen durin' descent and on t' ground. Ya scallywag! P.O.N.G. Avast! survived three flights with no damage.

Havin' t' rely on friction fit motors nay bein' kicked out is an issue. I guess I've got t' figure out how best to tape t' motors in there. Begad! Some sort o' motor retention device would be a welcome addition.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
P.O.N.G. is a fun rocket t' build, arrr, finish, and fly. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! This is a skill level 3 kit. Avast! Blimey! I agree with that due t' t' number of parts, me hearties, shiver me timbers, variety o' construction activities, and finishin' details. Blimey! Ya scallywag! It's a nice looking, shiver me timbers, attention gettin' model when its all built, me bucko, and it flies very well. And when you look at t' price tag, wow! Big bang for t' buck!

T' design and instructions are very good, me bucko, but I would suggest addin' positive motor retention and a mention in the instructions about paintin' t' orange section o' t' upper body tube and how t' accurate draw t' view plate pattern onto t' pin' pong ball.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5