Intro:
T' AGM-3500 Peregrine is a pseudo-scale model o' a hypothetical air t' ground missile (AGM) for t' US Military. Aye aye! It is 14.4 inches long, just under 1" in diameter, shiver me timbers, and uses standard 13mm motors.
Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5
T' kit arrived from Rogue in a US postal service hard express mail box. Begad! Aye aye! I was rather impressed with t' speed in which it arrived. Inside t' box was a clear plastic bag that contained t' model kit. Arrr! Arrr! All o' t' parts were present and in good condition. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! T' kit includes: a body tube, motor mount materials, Keelhaul®©™® tether, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, arrr, Balsa fin stock, shiver me timbers, Balsa nose cone, Perma-wadding, 12" nylon parachute, ya bilge rat, decals, and instructions. Begad! Part o' t' reason for purchasin' t' kit was t' balsa nose cone and t' perma-wadding, t' nylon parachute be an extra incentive.
T' instructions come printed on three 8.5x11 sheets o' paper. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! They are t' first instructions in a long time that I actually followed. Normally I re-arrange several steps t' suit me personal buildin' preferences, matey, however I found t' instructions t' be t' most logical method t' assemble t' kit. Begad! Well, blow me down! T' instructions are fairly easy t' follow. Blimey! Arrr! There are only five diagrams t' illustrate t' 14 steps that have 1-6 sub steps. Ahoy! These are instructions t' read, matey, and re-read, then build. T' instructions are written well, however it helps if you have some rocketry experience, arrr, and are familiar with common rocketry terms. Aye aye! There is a template sheet that includes t' fin location wrap, me hearties, matey, ya bilge rat, and t' templates for t' fins. Begad! T' kit assembles easily. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' instructions are clear and easy t' follow. t' only alignment issue is makin' sure that t' finlets are in t' same line as t' fins. Arrr! Begad! This should nay be a problem for anyone. Avast! T' completed rocket is as sturdy as any balsa and paper rocket. There are no special tools needed.
Step 13 o' t' instructions covers t' finishin' o' t' rocket, paint it white. Pretty simple. Avast! Included in t' kit is a large (8x5) sheet o' all sorts o' decals, ya bilge rat, stripes, matey, batten down t' hatches labels, numbers, and letters. They also have USAF and US Navy markin' for your preferred military service. Aye aye! There is no way t' use up all o' t' decals on this model, ya bilge rat, so save t' rest for other rockets. Ahoy! There is a small instruction sheet that covers t' application o' t' decals. Blimey! T' water slide decals are very thin and tear easily. Well, blow me down! Well, arrr, blow me down! I had t' use extra caution t' keep t' decals from tearin' when I applied them t' t' model. Ya scallywag! They also suggest a "light" (their emphasis) coat o' clear finish t' protect t' decals once they are dry. My decals bubbled and crazed when I used Krylon (TM) clear acrylic. I was rather surprised since I have had no previous problems usin' this finish on me models. Other than t' slightly crazy decals, this is a sharp lookin' model when completed.
Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5
T' recovery system in this rocket is rather unique. Begad! First t' tether is a Keelhaul®©™® string. T' second unique item be t' inclusion o' a square o' "perma-wadding" which is essentially a section o' flameproof fabric, with a grommet in it. Ahoy! T' last interestin' item be t' parachute. Aye aye! Begad! Blimey! This kit comes with a very high quality nylon parachute. Avast! Ahoy! Blimey! this chute should last for years o' use and abuse with it's large diameter shroud lines. No flimsy plastic, tape and thread parachutes here. Arrr! Blimey! T' instructions describe a method o' attachin' t' perma-waddin' so that it can be removed and used on other rockets. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! Blimey! This can only be done with rockets that use a Keelhaul®©™® shock cord, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, since t' shock cord will be betwixt t' motor and t' wadding. Begad! T' instructions also say t' place t' parachute in t' middle o' t' perma-wadding, and t' push it into t' body tube. Avast! This would work if t' body tube was larger, in this kit, shiver me timbers, t' perma-waddin' barely fits by itself, leavin' t' parachute t' be placed on top o' t' waddin' in a more traditional manner. Aye aye! I ended up cuttin' t' perma-waddin' in half t' allow an easier fit into t' body tube. T' Peregrine has a metal motor clip for a quick release motor mount. T' recommended motors are: A8-3, B4-4, matey, B6-4, and C6-5. Ahoy! T' first and only flight so far on this rocket used an A8-3. T' boost was fast and straight with t' ejection just before apogee. Ahoy! T' parachute opened just fine and t' perma-waddin' did a great job o' keepin' t' parachute in pristine condition. All that would be required would be t' push t' recovery system back into t' body tube, shiver me timbers, me bucko, and add a motor for t' next flight.
Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5
Everythin' considered this is as near perfect as a rocket kit can get. Avast! Good materials, shiver me timbers, good instructions, easy construction, and a good flier. Ahoy! Add in t' very nice nylon parachute and perma- waddin' and you cannot beat t' value o' this kit for t' money. Avast, me proud beauty! T' two problems, me hearties, me bucko, decals crazin' and perma-waddin' too big, ya bilge rat, me hearties, shiver me timbers, are very minor, matey, considerin' that t' other option would be that t' perma-waddin' would be too small, me hearties, nay somethin' that I would like. Avast! And any kit that has a balsa nose cone is good in me book.
