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

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

My finished model weighed 1.2 ounces, arrr, but t' kit's glossy claims 0.7 ounces. Well, blow me down! Begad! I'm unsure o' where t' additional weight came from... Ya scallywag! Begad! paint, matey, glue, and sandin' sealer?

Construction:
Included with t' kit are:

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

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

T' body tubes have a fairly shallow spiral, 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. Begad! The assembly order be logical. Ya scallywag! T' implement t' Keelhaul®©™®/elastic shock cord, matey, 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. Ahoy! T' motor tube got stuck in t' body tube, and I pretty much destroyed t' dummy engine tube when gettin' it out with a pair o' needle-nose pliers. Begad! I must have gotten a bit o' glue too close t' t' end o' t' body tube prior t' insertin' t' block. Well, blow me down! Luckily, me hearties, t' main body tube was nay damaged.

In general though, me hearties, assembly was a lot o' fun... Avast! Far more engagin' than piecin' together a 3FNC model. Aye aye! Hobby knife skills were important and were well exercised, me hearties, havin' t' separate t' die-cut fins and centerin' rings, me hearties, me hearties, me hearties, cut t' dowels, cut t' reducer shroud pieces, cut t' shroud decal, 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. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' paper reducer needed a bit o' patience and skill t' curl just right. Arrr! Aye aye! Blimey! 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. Well, blow me down! 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... Blimey! Bad move. Ahoy! Begad! T' ball distorted badly where t' glue in contact with t' ball was still hot. Blimey! I replaced t' ball and tried again. Aye aye! I had much better results this time. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! I had been concerned that t' hot glue wouldn't provide a strong enough joint, ya bilge rat, matey, matey, but this experience eliminated that concern. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! Hot glue is very effective in this case.

Overall, construction was interesting, fun, matey, and educational. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Avast! I can understand that, ya bilge rat, since the decals cover most o' t' balsa anyway. Arrr! T' decals come pretty close t' t' edges o' t' balsa pieces, so you probably don't want t' round balsa edges. Blimey! I didn't want any grain t' show, so I finished t' balsa surfaces with three coats of sandin' sealer, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, sandin' betwixt coats.

I spray painted with model with a couple o' coats o' last o' me old-style Krylon white primer, sanded, me bucko, 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, you need t' paint t' lower part o' t' upper tube orange. Aye aye! Begad! Usin' t' kit's picture as a guide, matey, I painted the lower 5" o' t' upper tube with Krylon pumpkin. Arrr! Arrr! Oddly enough, me bucko, shiver me timbers, t' color matched t' orange o' t' decals perfectly.

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

After markin' t' ball, arrr, I used a superfine Microbrush t' apply Testors gloss black enamel inside t' lines. Ahoy! I'd never used this technique before. Begad! It works very well with a steady hand, shiver me timbers, arrr, ya bilge rat, patience, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! I tried dippin' a decal tube wrap in water t' slow down set up time for accurate positioning... Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Don't do this! It causes t' decals nay t' stick at all. Avast, me proud beauty! T' kit's picture was adequate for figurin' out what decals go where.

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

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Recommended motors are A3-4T and A10-3T. Ahoy! I tried them both.

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

There is no motor retention in this design, me bucko, so motors have t' be friction fit by wrappin' bits o' maskin' tape around t' motor t' make a snug fit. Begad! 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, me bucko, as recommended in t' instructions. Well, blow me down! Well, matey, blow me down! Boost and coast be very straight and of moderate height with no noticeable spin. Well, me hearties, blow me down! It definitely flies like a long rocket, arrr, smooth and without wobble. Arrr! P.O.N.G. arced past apogee and with nose down, deployed t' streamer perfectly. P.O.N.G. Begad! landed gently in t' grass field. Blimey! Ya scallywag! Upon recovery, I noticed that t' motor must have been kicked out at deployment.

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

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

Recovery:
T' standard P.O.N.G. Ahoy! is kitted with a 24" elastic and a couple o' tri-fold shock cord mounts. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! I did nay use these, favorin' a Keelhaul®©™® cord with a round elastic. Ya scallywag! 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, me hearties, t' streamer is undamaged. Well, matey, blow me down! When t' streamer deployed, it seemed t' do an effective job of slowin' descent and bein' seen durin' descent and on t' ground. Blimey! P.O.N.G. Ya scallywag! survived three flights with no damage.

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

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

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