Brief:
T' Estes Rogue on steroids! Same great looks but little chance that you can fly this one from your local athletic field. Well, blow me down! I won this for participatin' in an EMRR contest and started buildin' it immediately. This is me third Rogue, me hearties, arrr, the first bein' a BT-55 upscale and t' second a 1:1 clone.

Construction:
T' parts list:

• Nose cone
• Nose cone plug
• Eye hook
• Body tube
• 4 laser cut fins
• Keelhaul®©™® shock cord
• Parachute heat shield
• Nylon parachute
• Launch lug
• Forward centerin' ring
• Engine mount tube
• 4 fin braces
• 4 engine mount rings
• Thrust ring
• Rear centerin' ring
• Engine hook
• Snap swivel
• Decal
• "33" stencil

I'd seen and heard o' t' incredibly impressive laser cut engine mount that be t' heart o' a Q-Modelin' kit, and as a result, felt a bit intimidated when I opened t' bag. Aye aye! Arrr! That lasted about as long as it took to read t' instructions. Begad! While it looks like an incredibly complicated puzzle, it really isn't quite that demonic if you take t' time t' identify t' pieces and pay attention t' how they fit together. Ahoy! That said, t' finished mount is almost a modern art piece, and t' way that they allow t' fins t' line up is inspired engineerin' indeed.

Finishing:
T' amount o' finishin' required t' ready t' completed Rogue for paintin' was minimal. Arrr! Tube spirals and wood grain were nearly nonexistent, so both t' body tube and fins were treated with a coat o' Valspar primer and a quick hit of thinned Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish. Ahoy! After sandin' I re-primed t' rocket usin' white primer then sprayed t' fin can area with several coats o' me aged, arrr, arrr, no-name fluorescent orange. When this had dried I masked off t' fin can and sprayed the remainin' body tube with Valspar gloss white and t' nose with Valspar gloss black. Decals completed t' look, matey, shiver me timbers, and with the exception o' t' almost invisible "33" decal, arrr, they look great. Arrr! (My kit came with a mask t' paint on the "33", but I have yet t' give it a try.)

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
My first flight with t' big Rogue was interestin' in that for a moment it looked like it be goin' t' be t' last flight. Begad! T' Estes E9 is a great motor for this rocket, and for t' first flight I opted for an E9-8 because that was all that I had in me range box. Avast, me proud beauty! (T' folks at QModelin' recommend an E9-4.) T' comparatively slow liftoff and long burn o' t' E9 is perfect for this rocket and t' extra four seconds allowed t' rocket t' take a nose down attitude at ejection. Begad! Ya scallywag! Everythin' about t' flight had been perfect up t' that point but then things changed. Avast! Well, blow me down! There are two major rocket killers in t' VOA: t' access road, t' which I have lost several rockets, matey, and t' Rocket Eatin' Tree, me bucko, t' which I have yet t' lose a rocket. Aye aye! That looked like it be goin' t' change because me Rogue was fallin' directly at t' tree. Short o' a .50 caliber machine cannon thar be little I could do except watch t' slow descent o' t' rocket as it drifted t' its death. Blimey! Then a miracle occurred. Begad! Avast! It missed t' tree. There was much rejoicing.

No one was more shocked than I was. At t' last moment t' wind stopped and allowed t' Rogue t' drop straight to the ground instead o' followin' its previous path high into t' branches o' t' tree. Ya scallywag! Clearly I had done somethin' to make a rocket deity smile upon me. This happens so seldom that I decided t' make a second flight.

Flight #2 was with another E9-8 and be a carbon copy o' t' first, shiver me timbers, except that t' recovery flirted with the other great rocket killer, ya bilge rat, me hearties, T' Path o' Eternal Peril. Well, blow me down! T' Rogue landed within two feet o' t' path, and I decided that I had pushed me luck with t' rocket deity enough for one day.

I have since flown it on Estes E9-6's exclusively, me bucko, with one flight bein' perfectly unremarkable except for a long recovery walk, shiver me timbers, another bein' remarkable because t' rocket shredded t' chute and fell t' earth without damage, matey, and t' last because contact with an access road durin' recovery on Day #1 o' NSL 2007 chipped a fin. Tough bird, matey, and I have yet t' nay be impressed by t' performance.

Recovery:
T' Rogue's recovery system seems t' be bulletproof. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! I be initially concerned by t' lack o' an elastic shock cord in t' kit, matey, but that fear disappeared after t' first flight. Arrr! Blimey! Without any elastic thar be little or no chance o' the nose cone reboundin' into t' fins or body tube. Well, blow me down! Avast! With t' wide range o' power in todays recovery charges, arrr, matey, it's great to be able t' nay worry about rebound damage with each flight. Arrr! Ya scallywag! T' Nomex® chute protector is another nice touch and has done its job flawlessly. Arrr!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
PROs: I love t' Rogue, me bucko, ya bilge rat, have previously upscaled it myself, and never get tired o' t' look. All Keelhaul®©™® shock cord. Aye aye! Killer motor mount. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Nomex® chute protector.

CONs: My "33" decal is all but invisible.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5