Brief:
This is a semi-scale model o' t' GBU-24 Paveway III laser guided bomb. It flies on 18mm motors and recovers under a 12" chute. Ahoy! You can find more info on t' actual bomb [here] . Ahoy! Avast!

Construction:

• One BT-55, 10 7/8" long
• Plastic tail cone/adapter (separated durin' construction)
• Two BT-20 tubes, me hearties, 5" long
• Seamless elliptical plastic nose cone, BT-20
• Cardstock centerin' rings
• Engine hook
• Engine block
• Mylar retainer rin' for t' engine hook
• Launch lug, me bucko, 1/8"
• Elastic shock cord, 1/8" x 18"
• Assembled 12" plastic chute
• Die cut balsa fins, arrr, me bucko, 3/32"
• Die cut balsa fin protectors, me hearties, 1/16"
• Peel and stick decals
• Endurin' Freedom sticker (not used on model)

T' first step is t' assemble t' motor mount. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! This is a typical build, arrr, and consists o' t' BT-20 motor mount, two centerin' rings, an engine hook, me bucko, a Mylar retainer for t' hook, and a motor block. I used carpenter's glue as recommended. Well, blow me down! Before installation in t' main body tube, me bucko, I epoxied a two-foot section o' Keelhaul®©™® twine onto t' mount, me bucko, shiver me timbers, trough t' top ring.

Next, me bucko, I removed and sanded t' fins, arrr, and filled them with Fill 'n Finish. T' main fins were fine, me hearties, but t' protectors, which attach on either side o' the rear fins, were very thin and warped badly when exposed t' t' moisture in the Fill 'n Finish. Blimey! I pressed these as they dried and they straightened out.

T' tail cone and transition come as one unit and must be separated. A razor saw is suggested, but I used an Exacto knife. Begad! T' bottom o' t' tail cone must also be trimmed and sanded, ya bilge rat, as do t' fin slots. Begad! T' latter start as rectangular projections, which are cut off with a razor saw, arrr, formin' t' slots. Arrr! T' final trimmin' is supposed t' be t' top o' t' transition. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! T' instructions have you cut this off, me hearties, arrr, leavin' a hollow unit with both t' top and bottom open. T' shock cord then attaches t' t' inside o' t' upper body tube usin' a paper mount. Instead, me hearties, I poked a small hole in t' recessed ridge just below t' top o' the transition, arrr, fed a loop o' Keelhaul®©™® twine through t' hole and around t' transition (see photo). Avast! This formed a loop, me hearties, which t' elastic cord will later attach to. Begad! A small dab o' 5-minute Epoxy on t' hole and knot holds t' twine in.

T' tail cone is used t' adjust t' depth o' t' motor mount as it is glued into t' main body tube. Blimey! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! Once positioned, shiver me timbers, arrr, t' tail cone is attached, arrr, shiver me timbers, making sure t' engine hook is centered betwixt t' fin slots. Arrr! Blimey! I used black rubberized CA in place o' t' recommended plastic cement.

T' lower fins are mounted through t' slots in t' tail cone. Aye aye! Ahoy! I found these slots t' be excessively loose, ya bilge rat, so they didn't support t' fins well. Ahoy! I applied yellow glue t' t' fin tab and t' front root section. Arrr! T' hold t' fins while this glue set, ya bilge rat, I used Liquid Nails Perfect Glue, Type 1 on t' aft root section. Begad! Begad! This sets fast and t' fins were good t' go. Aye aye! Begad! There is a markin' guide for t' top fins, matey, ya bilge rat, and these were attached with carpenter's glue. After t' rear fins set, arrr, me bucko, you position t' fin deployment guides and mark their position. Begad! A thin layer o' yellow glue is applied t' fins up t' t' mark, and t' guides are attached. These immediately warped like crazy, me hearties, so a couple o' small clamps were required on each guide/fin/guide 'sandwich' as they set. Afterwards, matey, these still seemed flimsy, so I added a small strip o' scrap balsa betwixt each pair at their roots.

T' final steps prior t' finishin' was t' launch lug and Fill ' Finish fillets. Begad! I didn't' glue t' top tube t' t' transition or t' cone until finishin' was complete. Begad! Aye aye! When they were connected, arrr, I again used black CA.

After finishing, arrr, all that was left was tyin' t' elastic cord t' the Keelhaul®©™® leader in t' body tube and t' Keelhaul®©™® loop on t' transition. Begad! Aye aye! I stashed t' cute that was provided and will use a 12" nylon chute.

Overall, me bucko, I give this build a 3 1/2. Ahoy! It all went together easily with the exception o' t' fin deployment guides, me hearties, which should have been made o' thicker material. Aye aye! Begad! T' dimensionin' o' t' fin slots on t' tail cone also wasn't good. Luckily any 'slop' is hidden by those guides. One thin' that stood out t' me was t' quality o' t' nose cone - it is completely seamless.

Finishing:
I started with fill-n-finish on t' fins and tubes before assembly. I found the spirals on t' BT-55 t' be shallow, me hearties, but t' ones on t' top BT-20 were deeper, and required some filler. Ahoy! Ahoy! Blimey! After assembly, I shot several coats o' white primer, sandin' and fillin' in between. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!

T' instructions say t' use olive drab and red spray paint, shiver me timbers, matey, a silver paint pen, me bucko, and t' follow t' paint scheme on t' cover. Arrr! Begad! T' cover picture shows the fin section, top fins and nose cone t' be olive drab, and top BT-20 t' be more of a tan then red. Well, blow me down! I used Testors' spray for t' olive drab sections. Avast, me proud beauty! In the photos on t' link I presented in t' intro, me bucko, t' top tube seems t' be somewhat of a rust colored red. Avast, me proud beauty! I decided t' use red paint, which did get toned down as it was overlaid over t' olive drab. I tested some Krylon red on a piece of wood, arrr, arrr, and it seemed t' be OK. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! However, some bubbles formed when I used it over the Testor's paint on t' model. Maybe t' base coat was thicker on t' model. After t' first red coat dried, I sanded t' bubbles and re-coated it. This time it covered just fine.

There are silver bands shown at t' base o' t' BT-55 and BT-20 tubes. Instead o' silver paint, I used some chrome Trim Monokote for these stripes. Finally, I applied t' peel and stick decals.

Overall, me hearties, t' finishin' was fairly typical, me bucko, me bucko, however I found t' separation in t' side plates where they extend ahead o' t' main fins made sprayin' a little more difficult than usual. Ahoy! I give it a finishin' ratin' o' 4.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
I decided t' submit this partial review since I missed t' November launches and may nay be on t' field until spring. Avast! I'll provide an update at that time.

Summary:
I saw me first 'bunker buster' rocket over a year ago and have really wanted to build somethin' similar. Ahoy! When I saw this model, I knew that it would satisfy my cravings. Begad!

T' model was nay a difficult build, me bucko, and I think a skill level 2 ratin' is about right. I liked t' plastic parts, especially t' nose cone, me hearties, me bucko, and think the thru-the-wall fin attachment is great. However, t' fit o' t' fins be poor and t' balsa used for t' fin protectors was flimsy. Avast! As with t' Cluster Bomb BLU-97B that I just built, shiver me timbers, it appears that Estes needs t' pay more attention to quality control. Avast, me proud beauty! Still, ya bilge rat, t' rocket was fun t' build and looks *very* cool. Begad! Well, blow me down!