Brief:
The Estes Magnum is a two-stage payload workhorse [now oop].

Construction:
T' Magnum is a simple, arrr, BT-60 based rocket. Well, blow me down! Begad! It has three fins on each stage which t' modeler cuts from printed balsa stock. Avast, me proud beauty! Materials include booster and sustainer body tubes, two engine tubes, arrr, one engine block, matey, shiver me timbers, centerin' rings, fin balsa, arrr, coupler, plastic nose cone, matey, clear payload section, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, nose block, arrr, arrr, shock cord, me hearties, shroud lines, launch lug, shock cord, tape disks, matey, waterslide decals, and parachute.

There are no special tools required and t' Estes instructions are simple and clear.

T' only gotcha be t' friction engine mountin' method. On one flight t' booster stuck on t' sustainer which resulted in t' sustainer engine burnin' through t' booster engine tube. In order t' eliminate this, shiver me timbers, a thin layer o' paper around t' sustainer motor nozzle end is scored lightly with a hobby knife and then removed so that when tape is applied around t' engine stagin' joint it reduces t' friction around t' sustainer engine where it's inside t' booster engine tube.

Modifications:
I made some changes. Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! T' engine mounts were originally designed with minimally effective paper centerin' rings around t' engine tubes, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, which I replaced with balsa centerin' rings and ribs for better structural integrity.

T' upper stage in t' original design is 18mm, me hearties, which I changed t' 24mm. Avast, me proud beauty! I also swapped t' booster and sustainer fins. Begad! It looks better and is stable with t' Cineroc but probably wouldn't be stable with t' original supplied clear payload section and nose cone. I added offsets t' t' launch lugs t' clear t' Cineroc.

After 15 flights or so, t' original sustainer body tube was shot so I replaced it with a new one but kept t' original fins, arrr, 4 inches o' t' decal body tube section, matey, matey, and engine mount. Avast! So t' pictured mongrel model is 4 inches longer than original.

Finishing:
It was originally finished in yellow-gold and has blue and aluminum waterslide decals. T' decals with aluminum metallic are excellent and set t' rocket apart from t' run o' t' mill. Aye aye! T' resultin' look is long and sleek. Well, blow me down! This is a nearly perfect rocket. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! I only deduct half a point because, shiver me timbers, me hearties, even back in t' day, shiver me timbers, t' original design with an 18mm sustainer made no sense... Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! If you were afraid t' launch it on a D12-0/D12-7 combination--because t' C11s didn't exist yet, matey, then put in a disclaimer that you need a couple o' miles o' open field in order t' recover it.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Engine retention is via friction fit. Avast, me proud beauty! Great friction care is required t' result in perfect stagin' with t' booster engine retained in t' booster. Blimey! Estes waddin' works great. 16-20" parachutes are fine, me hearties, dependin' on wind and softness o' ground. Engines used for Cineroc payloads: On only a windless day, me bucko, shiver me timbers, launchin' straight up with a C11-0/C11-5 combination results in a low apogee (~300-400 ft) with good, slow footage o' t' horizon and sky. Aye aye! Deployment comes a second or two after apogee with attendant chills.

My favorite combination is a D12-0/C11-5 because deployment comes at apogee. Well, blow me down! D12-0/D12-5 deployment is slightly before apogee. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! Single stage D12-3 flights are very safe but are nay very interestin' nor all that high (~250-300 ft).

Single stage E9-4 flights in light wind are perfect and havin' an extra inch or so o' engine stickin' out t' back isn't a stability problem. Ahoy! Ahoy! I may try a straight up windless launch with a D12-0/D12-7 combination someday and also possibly composite E and F engines. Begad! T' weight tends t' shred parachutes, me hearties, matey, especially if you're launchin' into t' wind so I'll eventually try separate parachutes for t' Cineroc and body.

Recovery:
T' Keelhaul®©™-on-the-engine-mount crowd won't like t' paper/elastic mount, but it never zippers so I stick with it.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a great lookin' and flyin' rocket.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5