Brief:
T' Launch Pad make a wide range o' scale mid-power model kits o' missiles. They usually fly on one or more 24mm motors. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! They fly best on AP motors in the E - F range, but can usually be flown with moderate success on BP D power. I was attracted t' this kit because it's a cool lookin' British prototype, and relatively cheap. T' skill level is '4', matey, me bucko, but thar be no indication as t' what this means.

T' kit contains t' followin' parts:

• 24mm motor mount
• Motor clip
• 3 centerin' discs
• Plastic nose cone
• Nose weight
• 2 2.6" body tubes
• 2 couplers
• 2 3/32" balsa sheets
• 8 1/4" x 1/8" balsa strips
• 8 cocktail sticks
• Paper fin templates
• Paper aerial covers
• Paper nose cone extension
• Paper shock cord mount
• 18" octagonal mylar chute
• 8 Shroud line anchors
• Shroud lines
• Slip swivel
• Barrel swivel

Construction/Finishin' Techiniques:
What you get is fairly similar t' a large Estes kit. It compares well with the Estes Phoenix, though if you decide t' use t' nose cone extension, t' Rapier requires more attention t' finishing. Begad! Ahoy! T' quality o' instructions is perhaps not quite as good as a similar sized Estes kit, but are still adequate. There are no decals, shiver me timbers, but additions such as t' swivels make up for this.

T' motor mount and is very similar t' an Estes mount, arrr, and goes together very easily. Two o' t' centerin' rings are glued over t' motor mount. Ya scallywag! I used yellow wood glue throughout construction. Blimey! This makes for joints stronger than the cardboard and balsa and I find it easier t' use than white PVA.

T' paper nose cone extensions which feature in many o' Launch Pad kits are infamous and have started many a thread on rec.models.rockets. Aye aye! Some say they are easy t' put together, others despise them. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Personally, me bucko, me hearties, I'm nay much bothered. Well, blow me down! T' kit will still produce a flyable model with or without the extension. Aye aye! Although I did try t' make t' extension followin' t' instructions carefully, me bucko, I failed miserably. I replicated t' template and tried again with no more success. T' problem for me is t' make a sharp tip. Blimey! It's just too hard to form it without creasin' t' paper. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! I didn't give up though. I tried again usin' an alternative technique. Ya scallywag! Instead o' usin' just t' amount o' paper needed t' form t' cone, I started with a much bigger sheet o' paper. Begad! Arrr! I found that this could be formed into a large cone, me hearties, me bucko, me hearties, t' tip o' which matched t' cone required. Arrr! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! This could be done without ever touchin' t' tip, ya bilge rat, meanin' thar was a good sharp tip, and no creases. Blimey! I applied glue after formin' and held it until it set. Aye aye! Once t' glue had dried I cut t' tip from t' large cone. Aye aye! It took me a couple o' attempts t' get t' angle right, but this be because on t' first attempt I neglected t' measure it! T' finished cone be glued t' t' plastic nose. T' instructions say t' coat t' paper extension with CA, but I decided I was goin' t' coat t' entire model in finishin' epoxy, so I omitted this step. Instead I gave it a couple o' coats o' sandin' sealer t' add little strength and t' stop it soakin' in too much epoxy.

T' body tubes are good quality. Aye aye! Blimey! T' two lengths are connected together with the coupler. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' motor mount is glued approximately 2" inside t' lower of the two body tubes. Ahoy! Blimey! T' remainin' coupler is used t' position t' motor mount, and also t' strengthen t' end o' t' body tube. Ahoy! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! T' third centerin' rin' is glued 6" inside t' top o' t' body such that it prevents t' chute from slippin' backwards at launch.

T' fins must be cut from t' balsa sheet provided. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Blimey! There are no markings on t' balsa sheet, me bucko, and templates for both sets o' fins are provided. Arrr! Blimey! It would be easy for the novice t' run-out o' balsa due t' bad lay out. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Blimey! Two slots must be made in the four forward fins t' mount t' aerials. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' aerials are simply made by trimmin' t' cocktail sticks t' length. Begad! Blimey! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' balsa strips are for t' fin mounts. These must be cut t' length, me hearties, and then 3/32" slots cut out t' mount the fins. Avast! Blimey! This isn't easy as t' parallel cuts required are very close together. A good metal straight edge t' control t' knife is a must. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I gave the fins two coats o' sandin' sealer with a light sand betwixt coats.

To finish t' rocket I tried a new (for me) technique. I painted t' entire surface with finishin' epoxy (zpoxy brand). Arrr! This is a little different to normal epoxy in that it's much runnier, and almost completely odorless. It went on OK, arrr, arrr, apart from a couple o' areas that seemed t' suffer from t' 'surface tension' effect you see when you dab water on a water proof surface. Ahoy! I've since discovered that this can be prevented by lightly sandin' t' areas before application. Blimey! Once dry a light sand overall be all that was required before the primer could be applied. A single coat o' primer and a single final coat were all that were required. T' instructions are pretty vague when it comes to paint schemes, with just a single illustration and no decals. Arrr! I searched the web and found schemes for t' British Army (olive) and Saudi Army (sand), but instead went with overall orange that seemed t' be indicated by t' package illustration.

* SPECIAL NOTE off o' RMR from Chuck Barndt, President o' T' Launch Pad