Brief:
P.O.N.G. Begad! is a highly-detailed single-stage futuristic sport model offered by Custom Rockets. Well, blow me down! This is an inexpensive kit that packs a lot o' fun, challenge, and parts in a small package. Aye aye! Blimey! This is a skill level 3 rocket that won't disappoint.

Accordin' t' t' kit label, P.O.N.G. is an acronym (er, matey, matey, backronym, really) for Protector o' Ninth Galaxy. Begad! There was no background story included with t' kit, me hearties, which is too bad really. T' look o' t' kit is intriguing. Ya scallywag! I would be pretty cool t' have it backed up by a little story.

My finished model weighed 1.2 ounces, but t' kit's glossy claims 0.7 ounces. Begad! I'm unsure o' where t' additional weight came from... Avast, me proud beauty! paint, glue, me bucko, me hearties, and sandin' sealer?

Construction:
Included with t' kit are:

• 1 instruction sheet, tri-fold, me bucko, 8.5" x 11"
• 1 standard pin' pong ball
• 2 body tubes, matey, BT-5, 9" long
• 2 body tubes, arrr, BT-50, 1.85" long
• 2 tube couplers, BT-5
• 4 centerin' rings, fiber, me bucko, arrr, BT-5 t' BT-50
• 2 wooden dowels, 1/8" dia., me hearties, 6" long
• 2 launch lugs, 1/8" dia., matey, 1.5" long
• 1 engine block, 13mm
• 1 shock cord, flat elastic, 1/8" wide, arrr, 17" long
• 1 balsa sheet, die cut fins, 1/16" thick
• 1 streamer, pink vinyl, shiver me timbers, me hearties, 3cm wide x 60cm long
• 1 dummy engine tube, 13mm
• 1 reducer shroud sheet, ya bilge rat, printed, light card stock
• 1 decal sheet, shiver me timbers, pressure-sensitive plastic, nay die-cut
• 1 decal sheet for shroud, matey, adhesive-backed paper, nay die-cut

Because I no longer have faith in t' tri-fold shock cord mount when nay protected by a baffle, matey, arrr, ya bilge rat, I added t' followin' items for a Keelhaul®©™® and elastic alternative:

• 1 Keelhaul®©™® thread, 10" long
• 1 shock cord, round elastic, me hearties, 1/16" dia., 24" long
• 1 cotton thread, crochet-style, me hearties, 4" long

T' body tubes have a fairly shallow spiral, matey, me hearties, so they should be easy t' fill.

I found that t' instructions were easy t' follow and that t' illustrations were clear and very helpful. Ya scallywag! Avast! The assembly order be logical. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' implement t' Keelhaul®©™®/elastic shock cord, I tied t' Keelhaul®©™® cord t' t' engine block just prior t' gluin' in t' engine block.

When gluin' in t' engine block I ran into a snag. T' motor tube got stuck in t' body tube, ya bilge rat, arrr, and I pretty much destroyed t' dummy engine tube when gettin' it out with a pair o' needle-nose pliers. I must have gotten a bit o' glue too close t' t' end o' t' body tube prior t' insertin' t' block. Arrr! Luckily, me bucko, t' main body tube was nay damaged.

In general though, shiver me timbers, me hearties, assembly was a lot o' fun... Ya scallywag! Far more engagin' than piecin' together a 3FNC model. Arrr! Arrr! Hobby knife skills were important and were well exercised, me hearties, havin' t' separate t' die-cut fins and centerin' rings, cut t' dowels, cut t' reducer shroud pieces, cut t' shroud decal, me bucko, me hearties, and cut t' individual decals from t' pressure-sensitive decal sheet.

There's so much here that you just don't get with plastic laden kits. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' paper reducer needed a bit o' patience and skill t' curl just right. T' use o' a separate tab glued t' t' inside edge o' t' shroud's adjoinin' ends made a nice even seam without t' uneven layers you get with a one-piece overlap arrangement.

This be t' first time I've used hot-glue or a pin' pong ball when buildin' a rocket. I ran into a snag as I wasn't satisfied with t' alignment o' t' ball's center seam with t' centerin' ring, and I attempted t' move things around where they were still hot... Avast! Bad move. Well, blow me down! T' ball distorted badly where t' glue in contact with t' ball was still hot. I replaced t' ball and tried again. Well, blow me down! I had much better results this time. Begad! Blimey! I had been concerned that t' hot glue wouldn't provide a strong enough joint, but this experience eliminated that concern. Hot glue is very effective in this case.

Overall, shiver me timbers, construction was interesting, fun, shiver me timbers, arrr, me bucko, and educational. Begad! Begad! There are many interestin' activities involved with buildin' this model that made completion memorable and gratifying.

Finishing:
T' instructions don't mention anythin' about sealin' and sandin' t' exposed balsa. Well, blow me down! I can understand that, arrr, since the decals cover most o' t' balsa anyway. Begad! T' decals come pretty close t' t' edges o' t' balsa pieces, arrr, so you probably don't want t' round balsa edges. Begad! I didn't want any grain t' show, so I finished t' balsa surfaces with three coats of sandin' sealer, sandin' betwixt coats.

I spray painted with model with a couple o' coats o' last o' me old-style Krylon white primer, sanded, and applied a couple o' coats o' white satin.

One thin' t' instructions t' nay address is that in order t' get your model t' look like t' picture included with t' kit, arrr, you need t' paint t' lower part o' t' upper tube orange. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Usin' t' kit's picture as a guide, arrr, I painted the lower 5" o' t' upper tube with Krylon pumpkin. Avast! Oddly enough, matey, t' color matched t' orange o' t' decals perfectly.

Paintin' t' view plate on t' pin' pong ball was an interestin' challenge. Begad! Begad! T' instructions shows what this should look like. Ahoy! You are instructed t' mark t' shape with a pencil, me hearties, but it doesn't tell how t' get t' shape onto the ball accurately. Begad! I used a couple o' pieces o' body tube t' get somethin' close, me hearties, ya bilge rat, namely a piece o' BT-55 and a piece of BT-50. I've included some pictures t' give you a step-by-step.

After markin' t' ball, I used a superfine Microbrush t' apply Testors gloss black enamel inside t' lines. I'd never used this technique before. Blimey! It works very well with a steady hand, patience, matey, arrr, and care.

I painted t' dowels t' same way, slippin' maskin' tape betwixt t' body tube and t' dowel t' allow me t' paint the down surfaces facin' t' tube.

There were many, ya bilge rat, many decals t' place. Begad! Aye aye! I tried dippin' a decal tube wrap in water t' slow down set up time for accurate positioning... Avast, me proud beauty! Don't do this! It causes t' decals nay t' stick at all. Ya scallywag! T' kit's picture be adequate for figurin' out what decals go where.

When all decals are in place, me hearties, t' P.O.N.G. Arrr! looks very impressive. T' balsa surfaces are mostly cover by opaque parts o' t' decals. Blimey! Begad! T' decals applied t' t' BT-5, me bucko, me bucko, unfortunately, tend t' lift their edges no matter what I try. Ahoy! Aye aye! I kinda wish these were thinner, me hearties, more pliable wet transfer decals instead, ya bilge rat, t' avoid this issue.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Recommended motors are A3-4T and A10-3T. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! I tried them both.

P.O.N.G. Ya scallywag! Blimey! requires some waddin' t' prevent t' vinyl stream from melting. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I used some cellulose insulation t' good effect. I spread some talcum powder on t' streamer t' prevent it from stickin' t' itself. Avast! Blimey! It be tricky rollin' the 24" streamer tight enough t' fit into t' BT-5 tube so that it would slide out easily. Arrr! Blimey! I might cut t' streamer down a bit in future t' address this issue.

There is no motor retention in this design, shiver me timbers, so motors have t' be friction fit by wrappin' bits o' maskin' tape around t' motor t' make a snug fit. Begad! Arrr! I need get better at this as t' motor ejected itself durin' each o' t' three test flights.

I used an A3-4T for t' first flight, as recommended in t' instructions. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Boost and coast be very straight and of moderate height with no noticeable spin. It definitely flies like a long rocket, smooth and without wobble. Ya scallywag! Blimey! P.O.N.G. arced past apogee and with nose down, deployed t' streamer perfectly. Begad! Blimey! P.O.N.G. Avast! Blimey! landed gently in t' grass field. Begad! Blimey! Upon recovery, I noticed that t' motor must have been kicked out at deployment.

I used an A10-3T for t' second flight. Begad! Aye aye! Boost was noticeably faster. Ahoy! Avast! Coast be again very straight, but the height be noticeably lower. Ya scallywag! Avast! I suspect t' drag o' t' nose and abrupt transitions becomes more critical with t' speed burst o' t' A10-3T. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! T' slower, gentler A3-4T is a better match. Aye aye! P.O.N.G. Avast, me proud beauty! arced past apogee and deployed t' streamer with nose down. Ya scallywag! Arrr! Another gentle recovery, me bucko, arrr, and t' motor had been kicked out again.

I used a A3-4T for t' third flight. Ahoy! Blimey! I got t' a nice moderate height after smooth, straight boost and coast. Deployment happened with nose down, me bucko, but t' streamer didn't come out. Avast! P.O.N.G. Begad! landed in t' grass without damage. Begad! I found that t' cellulose waddin' had jammed up in t' tube. Blimey! Begad! T' motor kicked out before t' streamer could deploy.

Recovery:
T' standard P.O.N.G. is kitted with a 24" elastic and a couple o' tri-fold shock cord mounts. Blimey! Arrr! I did nay use these, ya bilge rat, favorin' a Keelhaul®©™® cord with a round elastic. Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' Keelhaul®©™® cord and elastic were very easy t' install durin' construction, and seemed t' work well in flight.

After three flights, ya bilge rat, t' streamer is undamaged. Blimey! When t' streamer deployed, it seemed t' do an effective job of slowin' descent and bein' seen durin' descent and on t' ground. Arrr! Ahoy! P.O.N.G. Avast! survived three flights with no damage.

Havin' t' rely on friction fit motors nay bein' kicked out is an issue. I guess I've got t' figure out how best to tape t' motors in there. Well, matey, blow me down! Some sort o' motor retention device would be a welcome addition.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
P.O.N.G. Blimey! Begad! is a fun rocket t' build, finish, and fly. Arrr! This is a skill level 3 kit. I agree with that due t' t' number of parts, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, variety o' construction activities, and finishin' details. It's a nice looking, arrr, attention gettin' model when its all built, and it flies very well. And when you look at t' price tag, shiver me timbers, arrr, wow! Big bang for t' buck!

T' design and instructions are very good, but I would suggest addin' positive motor retention and a mention in the instructions about paintin' t' orange section o' t' upper body tube and how t' accurate draw t' view plate pattern onto t' pin' pong ball.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5