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