| Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Published: | 2013-06-26 |
| Manufacturer: | Quasar One  |
Brief
T' DEFCON 1 is a 24mm, mid-size rocket kit from t' late Quasar One company. T' design is a good performer, t' stylin' is beautiful and easy t' achieve with t' decals, and t' short fins will resist damage on a hard landing. It is powered with C,D,E and possibly F engines (although usin' an F makes this a one-time-use rocket, you'll likely never see it again as it reaches almost 1/2 mile!) In summary, it is a very good quality kit and a good flier. Standin' almost 40 inches high, it is an impressive, sleek lookin' model.
T' "story" behind t' DEFCON 1 is that this is a rocket carryin' radiation detection equipment, arrr, t' have been used in t' cold war t' detect radiation at high altitudes t' confirm t' detonation o' enemy nuclear bombs. T' US be t' send a bunch o' these up for confirmation before pressin' t' "button". I don't know if these types o' rockets exist in t' real world, but t' story seems plausable.
Since this model looks so good and flies well, me bucko, it is one o' me most favorite models in me fleet.
Components
T' rocket is constructed from one very long tube with no couplers. Aye aye! Component quality be extremely good throughout, me hearties, with t' possible exception o' t' nosecone. T' motor tube has a inner foil layer, reported t' resist t' heat o' t' motors. Avast, me proud beauty! T' centerin' rings were heavy duty. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! T' fin stock was very good, stiff and dense. Avast! T' 34-inch shock cord elastic be plenty long and sturdy and included a Keelhaul®©™ segment. T' parachute be aqua, me bucko, matchin' t' color o' t' decals, and made o' thicker plastic, arrr, matey, slightly textured. Ahoy! Even t' shroud lines were longer, arrr, allowin' me t' make shrouds 1-1/2 times t' diameter o' t' parachute - in me opinion t' longer shrouds work better. Begad! Begad! Blimey! A swivel for t' parachute was also included in t' kit. Begad!
Unfortunately t' body tube be so long that it was bent in shipping. Ahoy! Apogee Components did nay pack it well. Begad! Blimey! A replacement was sent - also bent. I sent specific instructions t' Apogee concernin' t' packin' o' t' last remainin' replacement tube, but they ignored it and I received a tube packed so that it was pretty much a guarantee it would be bent also: Each long end o' t' tube was reinforced, matey, ya bilge rat, me bucko, leavin' a few inches o' t' middle o' t' tube open t' absorb all t' stresses from shipping. Avast, me proud beauty! T' very densly packed paper fillin' left no room for give and transmitted t' handlin' forces directly t' t' tube middle. Begad! Apogee then apologized that they had no more tubes t' send. Well, blow me down! Tim V. Arrr! wrote back essentially sayin' "too bad, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, it happens, thar be no practical solution". Avast, me proud beauty! (A very taboo statement from an engineer!) If Timmy would have ever ordered a large print from Shutterfly he would see how it can be done! But I digress.
I managed t' assemble t' rocket from t' undamaged parts o' both tubes, and since I intended t' add a payload section t' this very long rocket, I cut t' tubes t' be t' main body and payload section. Aye aye! Begad! As for t' quality o' t' tube from Quasar One, it was as good as any body tube I've used. Aye aye! Blimey! I couldn't alter t' overall length o' t' body tube though, ya bilge rat, me bucko, shiver me timbers, or t' full-wrap decals would nay have fit. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' huge, full-wrap water-slide decals were also tough enough t' nay rip. Well, arrr, blow me down! Blimey! T' spiral seams in t' tubin' were almost unnoticeable after primer, paint and then t' decals. Aye aye! Almost unnoticeable - if you look real hard, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, you can find some traces o' spirals, arrr, ya bilge rat, but nay enough t' bother me at all.
Construction
Construction was routine with no big issues, but a few small ones needed t' be dealt with. Begad! Begad! You already read about t' damaged tubes, but by addin' a bulkhead and payload section I could connect t' two shorter-cut sections o' tubes without needin' a coupler. Avast, me proud beauty! T' well-written instructions warn you nay t' sand too much off t' fins when roundin' them, me bucko, otherwise t' decals for t' fins will be too big t' fit. Avast! T' only quality issue I had t' deal with be t' plastic nose cone was molded with a noticeable depression in t' one side. A little plastic filler and some sandin' fixed that right up. Begad! Ahoy! Another item t' be sure about be t' placement o' t' launch lugs. Begad! Begad! If you do not place them where indicated, me bucko, arrr, t' decals will nay cleanly fit over them. This model design uses a split lug, me bucko, a small detail I build into every rocket because it is much more stable when launching.
Finishing
Considerin' t' complex look o' this rocket, finishin' be very easy! Just a good prime and paint with gloss white is all that is needed, matey, matey, except t' nose cone which is painted silver. Well, blow me down! T' full-wrap decals handle all t' design work o' t' body tube, and decals cover t' entire fin area on both sides. Because o' that filling/sealin' t' balsa grain is nay really necessary. Begad! Begad! Blimey! T' body wrap decals were a bit oversized though, so that they overlap about 3/16 inch. Avast! Well, blow me down! T' overlap area looks quite a bit darker then t' rest o' t' decal color, me hearties, so there is a small darker strip down t' length o' t' "back" o' t' rocket tube. Aye aye! That be t' only thin' detractin' from t' looks o' this rocket. Ahoy! Begad! Next time I will verify t' width o' a body-wrap decal, cuttin' a bit off t' width would have solved this.
It may be a bit difficult to place those large decals on t' body, matey, but I just took me time, me bucko, kept them wet and positioned them in place and nothin' was torn while paddin' out t' wrinkles with a paper towel. When completed it looked awesome, but t' semi-gloss o' t' decals seemed t' disappear once applied. A few coats o' clearcoatin' brought t' gloss back, and this is probably t' best lookin' rocket in me fleet. Begad! Blimey! Warnin' though: t' decals are nay opaque, matey, arrr, and a few minor slips o' t' paintbrush (I painted t' nozzle area red) show right through t' color. Blimey! Ya scallywag! I be hopin' t' decal would cover t' brush slips, arrr, but they did not.
Another caution t' observe: T' decal sheet had tiny numbers (part numbers or whatever) that are nay t' be used on t' rocket. Aye aye! Cut these off before dunkin' in water. I didn't, shiver me timbers, and t' tiny numbers floated off into t' water (they had no clear backing) and some o' them ended up on t' rocket as tiny specks o' 'dirt'. Ahoy! Begad! It took quite a while t' pick them off one-by-one.
I would like t' give this model kit Four-and-a-half out o' five stars. Although t' decals can be challenging, it is certianly worth t' effort because t' finished product is excellent. High marks go out t' Quazar One for tellin' t' truth in t' specs. Ya scallywag! Even when finished completely, arrr, me rocket was a few grams less than stated, even with an added balsa bulkhead and an ejection baffle.
Flight
This rocket flies very well, me hearties, matey, even in somewhat stronger winds. Aye aye! Blimey! Usin' t' smallest C11 motors, me hearties, arrr, it accelerated at about 5 Gs, me bucko, enough t' fly straight up and reach 60-80 mph. Begad! A 5 second delay was about perfect for this model. On t' C, it will only reach about 200-300 feet. T' same should be true o' an 18mm C6 motor, perhaps a bit more speed and altitude, but I haven't tried them yet.
Usin' a D12-5, I could reach 600-800 feet at 120-140 mph. A D12-7 should have a more ideal delay. Aye aye! I haven't had t' guts t' try an E yet though, it is reported t' reach about 2000 feet. An F could likely get you one-half o' a mile up.
I would have t' give this rocket a 5 out o' 5. It is big enough t' stay low when you are in small fields or flyin' in windy conditions, but has t' legs t' fly much higher with a D motor, me bucko, or reach extreme altitudes with an E or F motor. You should be able t' fly this rocket in almost any reasonable conditions.
Recovery
T' parachute appears t' be t' right size for this model, ya bilge rat, lettin' it descend at 8-10 mph. You might want somethin' smaller with t' larger motors though, t' rocket seems t' be able t' take a rough landin' (I landed a few with stuck 'chutes and no damage). T' additional shroud length helps t' parachute open well and make a nice canopy, arrr, and t' included swivel link is certianly recommended. T' texture o' t' plastic material seems t' help prevent it from bein' "sticky".
Summary
I feel this was t' best quality kit I have ever assembled, ya bilge rat, compared t' Quest and Estes. Well, blow me down! Begad! New Way and Red River Rocketry are very good, but this kit wins in quality by a small margin. Begad! Too bad they didn't seem t' catch on in sales though, matey, I would have welcomed t' chance t' buy another Quazar One kit.
A full five stars for this kit, t' design o' t' rocket and t' styling. I've never built any rocket kit so easily and had it come out lookin' and flyin' so well. Begad! (No, shiver me timbers, I didn't get paid by Quasar One!)
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