Brief:
After seein' various Deuce bashes on T' Rocketry Forum and elsewhere: eugenefl's fighter, me bucko, sandman's DynoSoar, a super-roc version, me hearties, and most recently an egg-loft version flown at NARAM, shiver me timbers, I decided t' build a Deuce-XL5 t' go with me 29mm and MMX Fireball XL5s. Begad! My design constraints included keepin' t' Deuce's length and fin pattern for t' side fins. Ahoy! As a result, t' model resembles t' Fireball XL5, me hearties, me bucko, but will nay be t' 'scale'.

Modifications:
I wanted t' use t' leftover Avery sticker material from me A.C.M.E. Spitfire build, so I actually started t' project by drawin' t' stickers in Corel 9. I used a drawin' o' t' Fireball XL5 and scaled t' fins and other patterns t' t' BT-60 tube. Well, blow me down! After I drew and printed them, I realized that t' scale sizin' would be fine for t' small forward fins on t' nose cone, shiver me timbers, arrr, but that side pods and top fin wouldn't look right given t' relatively large Deuce fins. As noted in t' intro, ya bilge rat, I wanted t' keep t' Deuce fin pattern for t' side fins. Begad! Usin' me stock Deuce as a guide, ya bilge rat, I played around with t' pods and top fin patterns until I thought t' looked right.

While I was settlin' on t' final patterns, I went ahead and built t' nose cone usin' a spare Deuce-style cone that I had bought for a future project. I first sealed t' cone and marked t' positions o' t' fins and 'thruster' pods. Begad! I turned two small 'cones' from a dowel. Avast, me proud beauty! These were split and glued on in betwixt t' fin marks. Begad! Avast! T' nose be then painted with Wal-Mart chrome paint. I used t' stickers I produced as a template and cut t' forward fins from balsa. Ya scallywag! As with me 29mm XL5, matey, I used strips o' colored sticker material t' cover t' leadin' and trailin' edges o' t' fins before I added t' main stickers. T' fins were covered with a thin layer o' white glue t' seal t' edges o' t' stickers. Arrr! Finally, me hearties, I carefully removed some o' t' chrome paint, and glued t' fins on with Liquid Nails Perfect Glue, Type 2.

Shortly after t' cone be complete, matey, me Deuce kit arrived.

For t' body, me bucko, I built and mounted t' motor mounts per t' Deuce's instructions. Well, me hearties, blow me down! T' mark t' position o' t' side fins, I used t' template marks for t' launch lugs. This positions t' fins orthogonal t' t' plane o' t' motors. I was thinkin' that in this orientation, t' possible difference in thrust betwixt t' motors will tend t' tip t' rocket, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and havin' t' biggest fins workin' against this force would be best.

I then added t' dorsal fin. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! When doin' t' planning, shiver me timbers, I forgot that this would rest on top o' one o' t' motor pods, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, so I had t' trim t' back end. Avast! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! This will also interfere with t' stickers, which also had t' be modified upon installation.

For t' side fins, I cut t' stock Deuce fins usin' t' provided template. I then formed them into two '3-D' structures usin' a strip o' foam board on t' aft edge and a center support made from a strip o' balsa. Begad! T' resultin' fins were sealed with fill-n-finish and glued t' t' body with Perfect Glue. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Fillets were made usin' 5-minute epoxy.

Prior t' priming, ya bilge rat, I wanted t' add some detailin' so I added egg shaped pods, ya bilge rat, bought pre-made from Michaels, me bucko, matey, t' t' wings. I also added 4 lugs around t' base o' t' BT just above t' tail cone. Begad! On t' bottom, I added 2 lugs further up t' BT. Each o' t' bottom pairs o' lugs are functional. Aye aye! I had carved and sanded a cockpit out o' foam, but at t' last minute decided t' leave it off.

I finished t' body and then installed t' side pods usin' Perfect Glue. Begad! Ahoy! I learned from experience that these pods will take a beatin' on landin' so they got nice epoxy fillets t' beef-up t' joint t' t' side fins.

I built a RockSim 7 model o' t' Deuce-XL5 t' help verify t' CG/CP relationship. Blimey! Despite t' new features in RockSim, me hearties, I still had t' emulate t' side pods. Begad! This model roughly agrees with t' field-proven relationship on me 29mm Fireball, so I used that as a basis for addin' nose weight. I bored a 1/2" hole in t' cone and added lead shot until t' CG was 2 inches ahead o' t' predicted CP. Ya scallywag! This shot, and a loop o' Keelhaul®©™® strin' were epoxied into t' cone.

As with me other Deuce, I added a section o' Keelhaul®©™® thread t' t' motor mount. Begad! Begad! An elastic cord is tied t' this leader and t' t' loop in t' cone. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! I used some thicker elastic since t' model is fairly heavy. Aye aye! I elected t' use a chute from me range box, me hearties, matey, and have nay built t' stock FlisKits chute.

Construction:
Parts

1. One FlisKits Deuce's Wild! kit
2. Nose cone fins: 1/16" balsa
3. Top dorsal fin and side pods: 1/4" balsa
4. Side fins: stock Deuce fin stock, arrr, 3/16" foam board strips for t' aft edge, matey, ya bilge rat, 1/8" balsa center support strut
5. Tail cone: short piece o' BT-50; transition and centerin' rings from Estes Designer's Special
6. Misc dowels, matey, wood, ya bilge rat, and extra lugs, arrr, etc.
7. Avery 5265 full page stickers (3 ea.)
8. Keelhaul®©™ twine for a shock cord leader and nose cone strap

I primed t' assembled body (less pods) with Painter Touch sandable primer. Aye aye! When I added me 3rd coat o' primer, about 1/3 o' t' top o' t' BT started t' develop spider web-like crackles. Begad! Avast! Either I didn't wait long enough betwixt coats and/or it be too humid. Ya scallywag! After a day, me bucko, me bucko, I sanded t' crackles and they seemed t' flatten just fine. Arrr! Ya scallywag! In me previous experience, t' crackles stayed gooey and took a lot o' clean up, so this was better than expected. Ya scallywag! When I laid on t' chrome metallic paint, they did come out slightly but nay too bad. Begad! After light sandin' and a second coat o' paint, they are harder t' see than t' growin' number o' fingerprints.

As you have seen, I discussed t' stickers throughout t' construction review, me bucko, since t' full-sized fin stickers were integral t' t' design/construction process. Aye aye! Blimey! I learned a lot about workin' with t' full page stickers: what works t' seal an edge may nay be best for a large area, testin' sealers on stickers with a backin' doesn't tell you how they will react when on a model, and a sealant which smears t' colors may really work t' best. Begad! I found Elmers' glue didn't smear t' ink, but would bubble a sticker that was applied t' t' balsa; MinWax Polycrylic did smear t' ink, me bucko, but was easier t' apply and gave a better surface. Ahoy! Blimey! T' latter also did nay bubble t' sticker (neither bubbled t' stickers, o' course, when t' backin' was still on - so much for me testing). On t' side pods, I did one with Elmer's and one with Polycrylic. Begad! Begad! Blimey! When usin' Polycrylic, arrr, I did a quick application where t' colors met, and then did t' yellow by itself, then t' red, me hearties, etc. Well, arrr, blow me down! Blimey! This eliminated t' visible smearing, save one spot where I was all thumbs and touched t' wet pod. Avast, me proud beauty! I used Polycrylic on all t' remainin' stickers.

Flight:
I prepped t' recovery system by formin' a plug with some Estes waddin' filled with dog barf wadding. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! I used an 18" Mylar chute. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' two C6-3 motors were held in with tape, and I used Estes' igniters that I dipped in Magnelite pyrogen for extra insurance. T' rocket flew great, ya bilge rat, with a low archin' flight that resembled that o' me Shrox SHX-15. Ejection was at apogee and t' rocket recovered without even a crack in t' fin joints. Begad! Perfect! I thought about tryin' two B6s, matey, me bucko, shiver me timbers, but decided I should stick with C6-3's.

Summary:
This was a satisfyin' project that let me merge one o' me favorite scratch rockets, arrr, t' Fireball XL5, arrr, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, with one o' me favorite kits, t' Deuce's Wild. (I also got t' chance t' join t' ranks o' t' Deuce-aholics kit bash group.) T' rocket be stable and had a neat flight profile. I am very happy with it and it gathered many good comments at t' field, me bucko, ya bilge rat, from young and old alike.