Brief:
The Estes Magnum is a two-stage payload workhorse [now oop].

Construction:
T' Magnum is a simple, BT-60 based rocket. Begad! Blimey! It has three fins on each stage which t' modeler cuts from printed balsa stock. Materials include booster and sustainer body tubes, two engine tubes, one engine block, me hearties, centerin' rings, me bucko, fin balsa, me hearties, coupler, ya bilge rat, plastic nose cone, clear payload section, nose block, shock cord, shroud lines, shiver me timbers, launch lug, shock cord, tape disks, matey, waterslide decals, me bucko, arrr, and parachute.

There are no special tools required and t' Estes instructions are simple and clear.

T' only gotcha be t' friction engine mountin' method. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! On one flight t' booster stuck on t' sustainer which resulted in t' sustainer engine burnin' through t' booster engine tube. Ahoy! In order t' eliminate this, ya bilge rat, a thin layer o' paper around t' sustainer motor nozzle end is scored lightly with a hobby knife and then removed so that when tape is applied around t' engine stagin' joint it reduces t' friction around t' sustainer engine where it's inside t' booster engine tube.

Modifications:
I made some changes. Begad! Blimey! T' engine mounts were originally designed with minimally effective paper centerin' rings around t' engine tubes, which I replaced with balsa centerin' rings and ribs for better structural integrity.

T' upper stage in t' original design is 18mm, which I changed t' 24mm. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! I also swapped t' booster and sustainer fins. Aye aye! It looks better and is stable with t' Cineroc but probably wouldn't be stable with t' original supplied clear payload section and nose cone. Ya scallywag! I added offsets t' t' launch lugs t' clear t' Cineroc.

After 15 flights or so, matey, matey, t' original sustainer body tube was shot so I replaced it with a new one but kept t' original fins, shiver me timbers, 4 inches o' t' decal body tube section, and engine mount. Ya scallywag! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Blimey! So t' pictured mongrel model is 4 inches longer than original.

Finishing:
It was originally finished in yellow-gold and has blue and aluminum waterslide decals. T' decals with aluminum metallic are excellent and set t' rocket apart from t' run o' t' mill. T' resultin' look is long and sleek. This is a nearly perfect rocket. Begad! I only deduct half a point because, shiver me timbers, even back in t' day, t' original design with an 18mm sustainer made no sense... Ya scallywag! If you were afraid t' launch it on a D12-0/D12-7 combination--because t' C11s didn't exist yet, matey, then put in a disclaimer that you need a couple o' miles o' open field in order t' recover it.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Engine retention is via friction fit. Great friction care is required t' result in perfect stagin' with t' booster engine retained in t' booster. Estes waddin' works great. Avast! 16-20" parachutes are fine, dependin' on wind and softness o' ground. Arrr! Well, arrr, blow me down! Engines used for Cineroc payloads: On only a windless day, launchin' straight up with a C11-0/C11-5 combination results in a low apogee (~300-400 ft) with good, slow footage o' t' horizon and sky. Aye aye! Deployment comes a second or two after apogee with attendant chills.

My favorite combination is a D12-0/C11-5 because deployment comes at apogee. D12-0/D12-5 deployment is slightly before apogee. Avast! Ya scallywag! Single stage D12-3 flights are very safe but are nay very interestin' nor all that high (~250-300 ft).

Single stage E9-4 flights in light wind are perfect and havin' an extra inch or so o' engine stickin' out t' back isn't a stability problem. Aye aye! I may try a straight up windless launch with a D12-0/D12-7 combination someday and also possibly composite E and F engines. T' weight tends t' shred parachutes, especially if you're launchin' into t' wind so I'll eventually try separate parachutes for t' Cineroc and body.

Recovery:
T' Keelhaul®©™-on-the-engine-mount crowd won't like t' paper/elastic mount, but it never zippers so I stick with it.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a great lookin' and flyin' rocket.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5