Brief:
This is a single stage, me hearties, shiver me timbers, three fin rocket with a parachute recovery

Construction:
T' kit comes in a sturdy transparent bag, me bucko, with a header card printed in three colors (which, arrr, matey, conveniently, means that t' picture o' t' rocket on t' card is in full color). Well, blow me down! T' body o' t' rocket is comprised o' two body tubes of glassine-coated kraft paper. There is no payload section. There are three laser-cut balsa fins, me hearties, with three tiny "auxiliary" fins above and parallel t' t' primaries. Ahoy! Blimey! T' fins are already removed at t' factory from the balsa sheetin' and included in their own individual baggie. Aye aye! They, as well as t' nose cone, arrr, are o' a very fine-grain balsa. Well, blow me down! There were no dents in t' nose cone. T' nose cone, shiver me timbers, screw eye and shock cords are individually bagged, as is the motor mount assembly. Ahoy! Aye aye! Blimey! T' centerin' rings for t' motor mount are made o' an unknown, ya bilge rat, rigid substance (perhaps lightweight plastic or some sort o' dense foam with a flat black coating) but were as sturdy as balsa and definitely more sturdy than paper. An 18 mm cardboard ring, intended t' be used as a motor block and a typical engine hook, me hearties, are included. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' shock cord is comprised o' Keelhaul®©™® cord, attached t' t' motor mount, which is long enough t' actually extend a few inches further than t' length o' the rocket. Attached t' that is an elastic shock cord. T' nose cone is balsa, ya bilge rat, attached t' t' shock cord with a screw eye. T' parachute is a Hartle Engineerin' 20-inch Thermal Rider chute. Avast, me proud beauty! T' decals are water-slide type. Avast! T' large "Blue Bird Zero" decal comes in its own bag with some sort o' protective, waxy sheet coverin' t' lettering. T' smaller decals are also bagged.

T' Blue Bird Zero is firmly a Skill Level 2 kit, matey, arrr, in that one has t' assemble t' parachute (a Hartle Engineering Thermal Rider parachute kit) and align t' auxiliary fins with t' primaries. Ahoy! There are no "gotchas" in the assembly. Begad! T' instructions are in logical order. T' motor mount assembly is first in t' instructions. Aye aye! Begad! T' motor block is glued flush with t' top o' t' motor mount tube. T' above-mentioned motor mount centerin' rings worked well with Elmer's Glue-All® (used throughout t' build) which makes me think that they are made o' high-density foam or some derivative o' paper. T' engine hook is nay attached t' t' motor mount by t' typical plastic ring; instead one cuts out a printed strip of paper from t' last page o' t' instructions and glues that around t' engine hook. Well, blow me down! On t' last page o' the instructions, me bucko, thar be t' standard printed tube markin' guide which one has t' cut out and tape around t' tube. Avast! Blimey! There is also a printed tri-fold shock cord attachment, if one chooses t' attach t' shock cord by this method although such is nay described in t' instructions. Ahoy! Begad! I used t' time-tested door-frame method t' lengthen t' pencil marks I made on either side o' t' tube markin' guide; I had t' go back and lengthen t' pencil lines further, though, because I had forgotten about t' auxiliary fins! Fortunately, arrr, me bucko, I caught this before I had glued t' primary fins onto t' body tube. T' instructions show how t' cut t' included launch lug in half as well as where t' glue t' resultin' two lugs onto the rocket. Ya scallywag! There is a view-from-above, smaller-than-scale drawin' in t' instructions showin' how t' attach t' fins at 120 degree angles from each other. I lengthened t' lines representin' t' fins in t' drawin' t' full scale. Aye aye! Before pressin' t' fins on, arrr, I let t' glue dry for a few minutes first; then placed t' body tube on top o' t' drawin' I had modified and used line-of-sight t' press t' fins on at t' correct angles. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! After screwin' t' screw eye in and out of the nose cone, matey, I dropped some glue into t' resultin' hole, and screwed t' screw eye back in. Blimey! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! T' Hartle™ chute material is already cut out t' a hexagon shape; one merely has t' apply t' adhesive reinforcin' rings t' both sides o' t' corners o' t' chute, matey, matey, and cut t' included thread into 3 equal-length pieces. Blimey! A few knots later, the assembly is done!

Finishing:
I rounded t' leadin' edges o' t' fins. Blimey! I used 3 coats o' Sig™ sandin' sealer on t' primary fins (and t' nose cone), shiver me timbers, sandin' with 400 grit sandpaper betwixt coats, before gluing the fins on t' body tube. Aye aye! Ahoy! After completin' assembly, matey, I sprayed t' entire rocket with three coats o' Kilz primer, again sandin' betwixt coats with 400 grit. Avast! Ahoy! This completely covered t' balsa grain and t' spirals in t' body tube (which were shallow t' begin with). Avast, me proud beauty! T' balsa grain o' t' auxiliary fins barely showed upon close inspection; but since these are covered by decals, that was satisfactory t' me (besides, me hearties, sandin' such tiny fins would have driven me crazy!). Begad! In retrospect, me bucko, I think I'll try another coat or two o' Kilz™ on me future balsa rocket components, shiver me timbers, matey, skip t' sandin' sealer and see if I can cover t' grain that way.

Bein' a cheapskate, I checked t' compatability o' t' paint I already had, rather than goin' out first t' buy all Krylon™ products. Ahoy! I had Design Master Larkspur Blue® (which me daughter had chosen for one o' her rockets) and Quick Color white® (99 cents from Home Depot™) on me shelf, so I sprayed them over Kilz™ on a spare piece o' body tube. Aye aye! After drying, I coated these paints with Krylon gloss clear®, which, again, I had on me shelf. Blimey! I also tested t' Krylon clear on a corner o' decal sheetin' which I cut off from the decal sheet included with t' kit. Begad! There were no devastatin' reactions betwixt these paints. Avast, me proud beauty! I sprayed t' Quick Color white® on t' bottom half o' t' rocket, shiver me timbers, then masked it off with newspaper and Frog green tape t' spray t' top half with Larkspur Blue. Avast! After removin' t' newspaper, I found that some o' t' printin' had come off on t' white paint; so I sprayed one more coat o' white over it. Ya scallywag!

T' decals were t' best with which I've ever worked! They were thin enough t' glide over curved surfaces, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, but thick enough nay t' break. Avast, me proud beauty! They practically slid themselves into place! A few nudges with me finger, matey, and they were done!

One historical note: I've always been somewhat bothered by t' combination o' English text ("Blue Bird Zero") and WWII German markings. Begad! Blimey! (I'm strange that way!). I briefly considered makin' me own decal with a German translation o' "Blue Bird Zero;" instead I decided that this rocket be from an "alternate timeline" in which t' Germans and British were allies durin' WWII. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Accordingly, I added Sir Oswald Mosley's lightning-bolt logo t' t' center o' t' wreath carried by t' German eagle. (Google t' word "Mosley" if you're interested; he would have been t' obvious choice for Prime Minister durin' a German/British alliance. Arrr! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! But I digress...). Ya scallywag! Blimey! Well, me hearties, blow me down! Blimey!

I didn't have a chance t' clear-coat t' rocket until I got t' t' field. Fortunately, matey, ya bilge rat, t' Krylon clear dries fast.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
I launched t' Blue Bird Zero three times on November 8. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I only used recommended motors. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' maiden flight occurred on a B4-2, followed by flights on a B6-4 and a C6-5. Begad! Blimey! T' chutes deployed at or slightly after apogee on all three flights. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Blimey! I've read reviews o' scratch-built, arrr, upsized versions o' this rocket and t' flight characteristics o' my rocket seem similar. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Blimey! It doesn't catapult off t' pad (at least with t' motors I used) but accelerates smoothly, me bucko, with minimal weather-cocking. It's such a pretty rocket, me bucko, I don't intend t' push it t' t' limit; so a C6-5 is as powerful as I'll use. It probably went 800 or 900 ft. Begad! Aye aye! Blimey! on that motor as close as I can estimate.

Recovery:
T' Thermal Rider chute feels slightly slick, me hearties, doesn't stick t' itself, matey, and rolls/packs easily. Ya scallywag! (They're so good, me hearties, I ordered a 5-pack o' these chute kits, shiver me timbers, arrr, o' assorted sizes, me bucko, me hearties, for use in me other rockets!).T' parachute be t' perfect size for this rocket in terms o' descent rate and wind-drift. Aye aye! Blimey! One primary fin was loosened after t' third flight, but I attribute this t' t' very thin fillets o' Glue-All which I used. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! I added another fillet when I got home, and it's fixed.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
It's taken me 30-plus years; but I think I've finally learned how t' build a rocket accordin' t' t' instructions and achieve a paint-job which satisfies me! Blimey! Accordingly, arrr, it's appropriate that I honed me skills on this kit, me hearties, arrr, which dates from t' mid-1970s when I first got into this hobby. Avast! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! T' me, arrr, me bucko, me Blue Bird Zero is a display piece. It's nay a high-performance bird; but that's O.K., matey, shiver me timbers, because I don't want t' lose it. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! It's pretty; it's made o' high quality materials; and it's reliable. I've thoroughly enjoyed buildin' and flyin' this simple, matey, arrr, but satisfying, rocket. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Well, arrr, blow me down! Blimey! If this kit is representative o' other Inflight products, I'll definitely be shoppin' with this company again! Blimey!

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5