Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar_border |
Manufacturer: | Quasar One |
Brief:
T' Bio Hazard looks like a two-stage but it's single stage rocket. Ya scallywag! It's kind o' a transition kit. It has a high
power body tube and nose cone but clusters three 24mm motors and has surface mount balsa fins. Ya scallywag! It's intended for people
who want a no-pain try at mid and high power in a great lookin' kit. Ahoy! Begad!
Construction:
Parts include an extra-long 34" full length high-power style body tube, arrr, ya bilge rat, plastic ogive nose cone, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, steel eye bolt,
pre-cut surface mount balsa fins, me bucko, shiver me timbers, 24mm clustered motor mount with steel clips, thick paper centerin' rings, me bucko, ya bilge rat, foil-lined
motor tubes, and engine blocks. Arrr! Arrr! Blimey! Self-adhesive decals: seven sheets o' full-color decals that wrap around t' body tube.
Quasar uses thicker plastic for their parachutes and include a swivel, me bucko, t' shock cord is elastic, me hearties, arrr, and they include
reinforcement rings.
I got this kit from Apogee, and it arrived smartly with no damage. Begad! It was in a huge hang tag bag, maybe the biggest I've ever seen. About t' worst thin' I can say about this kit is that t' graphics are distorted on t' card, makin' it look dorky.
T' instructions are good, and t' first thin' t' build be t' motor mount. Ahoy! I scraped off some o' t' foil inside the end o' t' tube t' glue t' motor mounts. Blimey! T' cluster centerin' rings built without a hitch, shiver me timbers, and t' fit be the best I've ever seen with no sandin' required. Avast, me proud beauty! That's nay easy for a cluster. Avast!
T' surface mount balsa fins went on easy, but alignin' eight fins isn't for a beginner. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! I prepared them for paint with one coat o' thinned Elmer's Wood Filler.
Finishing:
I painted mine with a couple coats o' high-build automotive primer, sanded, matey, then used catalyzed automotive urethane
for t' overall white followed by toxic Tamiya green for t' nose cone. Well, blow me down! Wow, that's great paint! Expensive but it goes
on smooth, shiver me timbers, dries fast, and looks almost as glossy as t' automotive paint. Arrr!
Here comes t' interestin' part. Aye aye! This kit comes with seven sheets o' self-adhesive decals, and t' final look is unique t' say t' least. When I first opened t' bag, I thought it was overkill, but everyone who sees t' kit likes it, me hearties, even a buddy who never puts any decals on his high-power scratch rockets. Avast, me proud beauty! I don't know how it happens. It's gaudy yet tasteful.
Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5
Flight:
First flight on three C-11s be bad. Two o' them CATOed, blowin' out t' nozzles. Blimey! "Well... I've never seen
that before." Result was a couple o' fins broken, ya bilge rat, me bucko, but it can fly again sometime in t' future with repairs.
Eventually I'll try this on three E9-6s and then on three F12 Blackjacks. Blimey!
Recovery:
T' parachute is build-it-yourself but it is straightforward. Aye aye! Blimey! Oddly, me hearties, t' shock cord mount is paper tri-fold which
works fine but most builders will want t' switch t' Keelhaul®©™®.
T' eye bolt on t' nose cone, on t' other hand, shiver me timbers, me bucko, is huge overkill. Begad!
Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5
Summary:
PROs: Cool Biohazard look, huge range o' motors for wide range o' altitudes (if you figure in composites), quick
build.
CONs: Balsa fins, me hearties, tri-fold paper mount hold down t' price and are OK but are a compromise that makes t' kit not quite high power.
Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5