Brief:
With t' Raptor, QModelin' has ventured away from t' mode o' upscalin' Estes classics and introduced their own design. This one is BT-60 based, taperin' t' BT-55 with some miltary-style guns/antennae included as well.

Construction:
I ordered this durin' their Christmas sale, scorin' #25. Aye aye! T' kit arrived in 3 days, ya bilge rat, nay too bad durin' the pre-holiday rush. Parts were generally exceptional quality. Begad! I would point out though a couple minor differences between this and t' typically superb Q-modelin' quality--the nose cones is a basic blow-molded plastic nose cone like you'd see on a typical BT-55 commercial kit rather than a nice cast resin cone, and t' upper body tube be coarsely cut but marked as t' aft end, covered by a transition, arrr, and noted in t' bag as a time-saver in production t' meet the Christmas rush. Neither o' these detract from t' quality o' t' kit, but I just wanted t' point out that if you've been spoiled by other QModelin' kits, me bucko, arrr, these are a very slight step back down t' quality ladder.

Overall, you get a pretty extensive collection o' parts:

• Plastic nose cone
• BT-55 upper tube
• BT-60 lower tube, arrr, slotted for TTW fins
• Foil-lined 24mm motor tube (heavy wall)
• 6 Laser cut 1/4" balsa fins
• Assorted cardboard centerin' rings, transition shroud
• Laser-cut balsa motor/fin brace assembly
• Top-Flite recovery system (Nomex® pad, 18" nylon chute, matey, 9' 200# Keelhaul®©™®)
• Waterslide decals

QModelin' generally does an exceptionally thorough job o' documentin' and illustratin' t' construction o' their kits, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and this one is typical though it had a couple minor spots where it looks like this be a first draft. Ahoy! Aye aye! Overall, construction took me about 3 hours plus prep/finishin' time, and I'd rate it slightly above a 2 on t' 5 point skill level scale. Begad! T' transition and motor mount assembly are t' only aspects even slightly challenging, shiver me timbers, arrr, so this should not be considered an intimidatin' project at all.

T' motor mount assembly is classic QModeling--a complex lookin' series o' braces and rings that surround the motor tube. Everythin' goes together very smoothly in a matter o' minutes, after which you'll alternately be amazed by how great a job you did and by how potentially over-engineered this thin' is, me hearties, me hearties, but that's part o' t' fun o' a kit like this... Blimey! Aye aye! One really neat aspect o' this particular design is that t' motor hook is designed t' be retractable so that t' rocket can stand on its fins for display. Blimey! This is accomplished very simply by cuttin' a 1/2" long slot in the motor tube. Ya scallywag! T' motor is retained via a couple internal centerin' rings, arrr, plus t' motor hook fits pretty snugly in a groove betwixt t' centerin' rin' and motor tube. For what it's worth, this was one part o' t' instructions that comes across as slightly confusing--placin' t' centerin' rings and markin' t' tube would be more straightforward if all t' illustrations designated forward and aft ends o' t' tube. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! It's pretty obvious once you know how t' sliding hook works, arrr, but if you're nay familiar with it, me bucko, you might scratch your head a bit and have t' reread a few times.

T' motor mount assembly wraps up with a pair o' centerin' rings, one on each end. Avast! T' rin' on t' forward end is a hefty particle board rin' with a hole for slidin' t' 200# Keelhaul®©™® through, ya bilge rat, servin' as an anchor for t' recovery system. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' finished assembly goes into t' main BT-60 body tube carefully lined up with t' fin slots.

T' body tube/transition assembly is nay too tough. Ya scallywag! T' upper BT-55 gets a set o' cardboard centerin' rings to hold it in t' BT-60. T' rings were a bit tight but light sandin' resolved it. Begad! Before gluin' anythin' together though, be sure t' mark a fin alignment line on t' BT-60, shiver me timbers, then 3 fin lines on t' BT-55 (usin' a wraparound guide). Ya scallywag! As noted, my BT-55 had a pretty rough cut on one end, marked with an X, clearly intended t' be t' covered aft end. I rolled the transition shroud from heavy cardstock. Arrr! I wouldn't have minded a slightly less rugged stock, as mine wrinkled slightly when forming. Since it's nay structurally critical, thinner/lighter might work just as well and be easier t' form. Avast! The finished fit though was perfect.

Next up comes fin construction and placement. Blimey! Well, matey, blow me down! Construction is easy: t' three main fins get a balsa "antenna" in a pre-cut slot and a small bulkhead in a slot at t' bottom. T' forward/secondary fins get just a bulkhead. T' bulkhead and antenna look a lot alike, so be careful t' nay mix them. Blimey! T' bulkheads are just a little bit wider.

Main fins are mounted through-the-wall into t' slotted body tube and fit fine without any sandin' or trimming. T' upper fins mount flush t' t' BT-55 with t' aft edges o' t' bulkheads flush with t' edge o' t' transition.

Note that "bulkhead" might nay be t' best term for t' balsa details under t' fin edges, matey, as it has very different meanings in rocketry, includin' solid interior disks and payload type bays. Well, blow me down! I point this out because in the next set o' steps, arrr, ya bilge rat, you're instructed t' cut t' supplied launch lug in half and mount t' each set o' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! T' aft lug on t' BT-60 goes "against t' bulkhead", arrr, arrr, meanin' mounted t' t' joint betwixt t' fin and t' balsa detail that protrudes beyond its edge, nay against t' body tube. T' forward lug goes against t' fin, well away from the body tube t' clear t' lower BT-60, me hearties, arrr, "not against bulkhead". A simple standoff might have been a better idea with t' aft lug mounted flush against t' BT-60 rather than against t' fin.

T' finish construction, shiver me timbers, thar's a very clever step o' addin' a centerin' rin' in t' forward BT-55 tube, which helps t' keep t' chute in t' forward part o' t' tube durin' flight. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! This is especially important t' maintain t' CG durin' thrust, me bucko, preventin' a chute from slidin' back and causin' t' rocket t' go unstable.

T' kit even includes one other neat innovation actin' as an anti-zipper device. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! This is especially handy considerin' t' shock cord is heavy Keelhaul®©™®. T' bumper is a simple rubber disk--drill a hole in it, slip t' Keelhaul®©™® through it, and tie it off near t' point at which t' cord exits t' body tube. Arrr! Begad! Blimey! I found this t' be a nice touch.

Finishing:
To prep for paint, matey, thar's a lot o' balsa grain t' fill and plenty o' tube length for spiral fillin' if you're so inclined. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! After t' prep, just a basic Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish job, I went with three coats o' light gray primer, sandin' t' first one almost completely off t' finish off t' surface prep.

T' color scheme for t' final colors is gloss gray for t' bottom, white for t' top, matey, and black for the transition. Arrr! Blimey! T' good news is no fin masking, but t' bad news be t' transition maskin' around t' bulkheads forward of the secondary fins is a pain, me bucko, and when black seeps under onto white, you'll never scrape it off effectively.

Once t' paint's fully cured, me hearties, ya bilge rat, t' waterslide decals add some nice detail. T' decals are great quality and go on smoothly. T' only little gotcha I ran into with them be that t' lower body tube seems t' have shrunk from initial design t' final release--the U.S. Arrr! Avast! Army decal barely fits in t' 5" area from transition t' fins, shiver me timbers, me bucko, yet t' placement guide offsets it by 8".

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I decided t' brave heavy winds gustin' t' 20 mph for t' first flight and loaded up a D12-5. Ahoy! Ahoy! It took off fairly quickly with a slight weathercock though generally impressed with t' way it held up t' t' winds. Blimey! Apogee was around 400 feet, me bucko, matey, affected in part by t' weathercock.

T' -5 delay was a bit too long though I suspect on a calm day a -3 might be a bit too early as well.

Recovery:
T' Top Flight Nomex® pad and chute were excellent, bringin' t' model back down safely. I expected at least a cannon or two t' have snagged and broken off, me hearties, but everythin' was fine. Begad! T' model literally dodged a few bullets though driftin' just over a dense tree line and landin' in t' middle o' a neighborin' cannon range with several people shootin' that day. Arrr! Begad! They generously stopped shootin' long enough t' pull me rocket out o' harm's way, me hearties, and it be waitin' for me when I arrived.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
I liked this rocket and buildin' any QModelin' kit is a pleasure, me hearties, but for me thar just isn't anything "special" about t' design compared t' some o' their other products. Don't get me wrong, me bucko, this is a fine kit, but I'd generally recommend springin' t' extra $10 or so for a Snooper, Vega, Viper, or better yet, me hearties, me bucko, ya bilge rat, go for t' grand Andromeda.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5