2 BT-60 body tubes

BT-60 baffle kit

24mm motor mount kit

Basswood fins

Balsa fin trim pieces

18" parachute

BT-60 Piratarium nose cone

Rubber band shock cord

Piratarium make great kits with top notch components. Avast! T' only exception be t' rubber band shock cord.

I stated off buildin' t' motor mount. Avast, me proud beauty! Pretty standard fair and no need t' attach t' shock cord, me bucko, as it will be anchored t' t' baffle. I put Titebond II fillets on both sides o' t' centerin' rings. Avast, me proud beauty! Once t' fillets dried I glued t' motor mount into t' body tube. Next up was t' baffled. Well, blow me down! I screwed t' eye bolt into t' bulkhead with t' hole in it. I then added some 5-minute epoxy around t' tip o' t' screw where it protrudes from t' bulkhead. Arrr! I also dabbed epoxy around t' shank o' t' screw on t' other side o' t' bulkhead. Avast! Once dry I glued both bulkheads into t' coupler tube. I recess t' bulkheads about an 1/8th o' an inch so I can add fillets. Arrr! I marked t' mid-point o' t' baffle and glued it into t' lower body tube. I then used t' fin guide t' mark t' fin lines on t' lower tube. I use Aleene's Fast Grab Tacky Glue for fins. Well, blow me down! It does grab fast and eliminates t' need for t' double glue method. T' kit comes with 8 small rectangular balsa pieces t' use as braces at t' root o' t' fins. Begad! I did nay use these as I had issues with another rocket that did this. All t' fins ripped off under full thrust, so I wanted full fillets. I came up with another idea later when buildin' t' Piratarium Alamo I should have used with t' Arcturus. Arrr! I added t' fillets t' full length o' t' fin root and while t' glue was wet I added t' braces. This worked well, me hearties, but I had t' idea too late for t' Arcturus. Well, blow me down! I don't worry about altitude so I left t' fin edges flat. I ditched t' rubber band shock cord and used a combination o' 300 lb. Arrr! Keelhaul®©™ and 1/4" elastic. Avast! T' Keelhaul®©™ end was tied t' t' baffle screw bolt and t' upper tube was glued t' t' baffle. I sanded t' mold seams on t' nose cone and attached t' shock cord. I put a snap swivel on t' parachute and t' rocket was ready for paint.

T' paint scheme was all yellow with a black nose cone. Then came t' tricky part. Blimey! There are five pieces o' black vinyl decals. Most are straightforward t' apply. Aye aye! T' ARCTURUS letter are where t' challenge comes in. Begad! T' letters are cut into a rectangular sheet o' vinyl. You can peel off each individual letter and place them on t' rocket. Ahoy! This would be difficult t' get everythin' spaced and aligned correctly. So, as recommend, I took t' backin' off t' letters and placed t' entire section on t' rocket. Then you have t' remove t' vinyl around t' letters. Blimey! Unfortunately, arrr, t' vinyl adhesive was strong and it pulled off some o' t' yellow paint. Aye aye! I could nay see a good way t' fix this and just left it alone, as much as that pained me. Ya scallywag! I'm nay sure if a clear coat would have prevented t' paint pullin' up but I wish I had tried that.

Piratarium says it should weigh 3.77 ounces but mine weighed 5.5 ounces. Begad! Nay sure were all that extra weight came from. Arrr! It will still fly well on D and E motors. Avast, me proud beauty! C11's are out.

If you like scale kits Piratarium is hard t' beat. T' Arcturus is a basic 4FNC design, similar t' t' Arrrrrrrcas. Begad! With t' exception o' t' vinyl letters, ya bilge rat, it is a very straightforward build and a great flier.