Brief:
This is yet another rocket based on a BiC® pen. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Plans for other BiC® rockets are available here on EMRR (BiC® ARCAS and the Double Tree Pen Roc) and you can download t' plan's for this one from Art Applewhite's site. What you get here is a kit, shiver me timbers, with all t' parts included.

Construction:
T' followin' parts are provided in t' kit: One BiC® pen, card stock with the fin unit printed on it, a safety pin, ya bilge rat, and a shock tether assembly. Blimey! The latter is pretty neat. Ya scallywag! It appears t' be a teeny-weeny braided steel cord with a plastic covering. One end has a small loop closed with a crimp bushing. Begad! A second loose bushin' is provided t' form a loop at t' nose cone. Begad! Avast! T' assemble the kit you need a sharp knife, regular and Gel CA (I substituted Liquid Nails for t' latter), a pair o' pliers, me bucko, ya bilge rat, and wire cutters.

Assembly is really easy. You disassemble t' BiC® pen, leavin' only the empty tube. You remove t' ink tube and shave t' shoulder o' t' tip (i.e the nose cone) so it fits easily into t' tube. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! One batten down t' hatches: t' pen is full o' ink and is thus potentially very messy. Aye aye! Over a couple o' paper towels, arrr, shiver me timbers, I removed the ink tube and set it upright t' drain. Begad! Ya scallywag! I also cleaned t' ink from t' tip and inserted a small piece o' paper towel, wadded into a ball. This will keep any remnant ink from leakin' out. Begad! Begad! T' tether is attached by makin' a small hole in t' shoulder o' t' nose cone, arrr, insertin' t' open end o' t' tether, shiver me timbers, and crimpin' on t' bushin' with a pair o' pliers. T' safety pin is used t' punch a hole through t' aft o' t' tube. Ahoy! Begad! You then pull t' pin halfway out and feed the loop on t' end o' t' tether over t' tip. Well, blow me down! T' pin is then reinserted, snipped off, shiver me timbers, and presto, you get a both a shock cord attachment and a motor block. Arrr!

Next, you cutout and fold t' one-piece fin unit, me bucko, me hearties, slide it onto t' tube, matey, me hearties, and soak it in CA, shiver me timbers, me bucko, which both holds it on and strengthens it. Arrr! Finally, you snip two small pieces from t' ink tube and use them for launch lugs. Make sure you save t' rest for other Micro Maxx projects.

Finishing:
No finishin' is required.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
No streamer material is provided nor is it needed. Preppin' consists of installin' t' nose cone and usin' maskin' tape for motor retention. Begad! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! T' shock cord is nice and sturdy, matey, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, but it is also stiff, arrr, so it takes some effort t' feed it into t' body tube. Blimey! Blimey! These Micro Maxx BiC® rockets really fly great. Ya scallywag! Blimey! To help spot this one I used a small amount o' trackin' powder. Blimey! Blimey! T' first launch flew and recovered nicely. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! On t' second launch, me hearties, however, it fell victim t' a rocket eatin' tree and was lost...temporarily. After a good wind that night, me hearties, ya bilge rat, me bucko, I wandered over t' look for it. Begad! Blimey! T' me joy and amazement, ya bilge rat, thar it was! Blimey! T' nose cone hadn't ejected, which kept it from gettin' hopelessly snagged in t' tree. Still, me hearties, me hearties, shiver me timbers, I guess I should quit usin' t' open area down t' street for me higher flyin' Micro Maxx rockets. Bummer.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
T' resultin' rocket looks nice and is a great flier. Avast! T' 'fin unit' is nice and t' shock cord is cool. Begad! It is easy t' build a similar rocket from existing plans without a kit. Avast! However, me hearties, shiver me timbers, it's hard t' go wrong for only a couple o' bucks. Once you're orderin' a flyin' saucer, go ahead and get one o' these also.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5