Brief:
model, ya bilge rat, 3fnc, parachute

Construction:
The kit comes with:

• Body tube came in two sections, one about 5" long, t' other 15" or so long
• 1 piece o' tube coupler
• 3 cardstock "fins"
• 3 cardstock centerin' rings
• motor hook
• MMT (about 1.5" longer than an Estes D)
• approx 2 ft o' round elastic shock cord
• plastic nose cone comes in two parts--an insert that glues inside t' main cone. Begad! T' insert has plastic cross-pieces which t' shock cord attaches to
• Big chute (for a model) - 20", uses stickers t' attach shroud lines
• decals

I think that's t' lot.

I ignored t' instructions since they were mostly in German, but a translated version o' t' "important bits" along with some photocopies from an Estes kit were included. Avast, me proud beauty! This kit is very simple, being very much "3 fins and a nose cone". Avast! Aye aye! T' instructions may be o' help to someone who's never built a kit but that said, they're nowhere near Estes' kit instructions. Avast! They're pretty disorganized but give t' idea. Arrr! There be a fin alignment strip included that be helpful.

The only other thin' t' note about t' instructions is that they're "one size fits all", ya bilge rat, rather than kit-specific. Begad! These kits are made by Das Modell and imported into t' UK by Physics o' Flight.

T' build is where t' problems start...I took one look at the "fins" and decided nay t' use them. Blimey! (I think they're supposed t' be fins rather than templates as you get three o' them and thar be no balsa included.) Instead I used them as templates and cut t' fins from 1/8" balsa sheet (from A11MR). I put t' engine mount together, leavin' t' lower rin' off until t' MMT was installed in t' BT. Arrr! T' motor mount uses a hook only, arrr, no engine block. Arrr! Avast! I thought o' addin' one, and then discovered that the MMT is NOT Estes 'D' sized (24mm).

Bein' German, me hearties, this rocket is designed t' use German D7 motors, shiver me timbers, which are slightly larger diameter--large enough that a D12 rattles around like nobody's business and I had no suitable engine blocks. Well, matey, blow me down! T' MMT is fairly thick but the centerin' rings are pretty thin and only made o' a card-like material--not thick kraft. Aye aye! I used Unibond Super PVA throughout with no problems. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! I used all three rings t' be safe. I assembled t' MMT and fins t' t' short section of body tube, me bucko, ya bilge rat, which be easier than fightin' with a big piece durin' construction. T' fin alignment strip worked well, me hearties, shiver me timbers, but I left t' pencil lines on t' tube (silly me). Aye aye! Begad! I used CA t' attach t' fins, and filleted twice with CA.

The body tubes are nay very good quality, me bucko, bein' more like poster tubes than rocket tubes and have fairly large grooves. Begad! Ahoy! (I've been spoiled by A11MR/Totally Tubular's stuff.) T' tube coupler was smaller than t' ID o' either tube (not good) so t' two tubes are coupled as much by PVA as coupler. T' coupler could travel freely through t' tubes, it was that much smaller.

Anyhow, matey, matey, I got t' two sections together straight, and it looked like a rocket, me hearties, arrr, which is always a good sign :-)

T' nose cone was a no-brainer, simply glue together t' two parts. Begad! The chute, usin' plastic stickers, arrr, was quick t' make (no knots t' tie). I used an Estes-style shock cord mount, shiver me timbers, arrr, but used 100lb Keelhaul®©™® for t' top and bottom sections (i.e. Aye aye! from BT t' SC and SC t' NC) with the kit's shock cord in t' middle. Ya scallywag! Followin' a series o' shock cord burn-throughs (not on this rocket) I think it would be a good idea t' run Keelhaul®©™® to a metal clip or rin' at each end, shiver me timbers, makin' replacin' t' elastic easy.

I cut t' supplied plastic 3/16" launch lug in two, matey, shiver me timbers, and mounted a 1/8" lug next t' each section so it can be launched from a regular Estes pad. With that done, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, I had a rocket on me hands--if a slightly dodgy rocket at that!

Finishing:
I suppose a good finish could have been achieved given time and materials but I didn't go all-out. Blimey! I wanted it t' look good on t' pad but I wasn't overly worried about close inspection. Arrr! Ahoy! Time be also a factor (the next EARS launch was looming). Ya scallywag! Begad! Another major factor was t' quality o' t' BTs. Begad! I set t' mask the tube (to do it more or less as on t' box--red with a white band in the centre) and misplaced t' tape slightly. On peelin' t' tape, a load o' paper came away and this was with super low-tack tape! Nay good at all and loads of unsightly fluff on t' tube.

For the nose cone, ya bilge rat, upper body, matey, and lower body tubes I used Plastikote fluorescent orange spray paint. It's sure bright but it has its drawbacks. Firstly, me bucko, matey, it doesn't cover well so I should have primed t' tubes (another tin o' paint...) and me pencil marks show through above t' fins. Begad! Also it's very 'dusty' and doesn't stay on like other plastikote paints. Arrr! Blimey! This may in part be t' tube because I got a good finish with it on good A11MR tube. Ya scallywag! Arrr! T' cut t' t' chase, I sprayed a couple o' coats on t' tubes and it looked fine with t' paint coverin' up and removin' a lot o' t' damage from t' tape (the fluffies just brushed off). Ya scallywag! I sprayed t' mid-section and balsa fins (which I merely sanded, not filled and primed) with PlastiKote silver spray paint. At pad distance, it looks good (IMHO).

T' decals seemed like waterslide, but turned out t' be not-so-sticky self-adhesive. Aye aye! You get a few black and red bands, matey, matey, a little vikin' in a horned hat, matey, and 'NORIS' and 'Wikinger' decals. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! I've just notices that t' 'NORIS' is gone as is one o' t' strips I put on t' fins. Well, blow me down! Nay very sticky.

I can cope with t' quality o' t' kit (in retrospect, me bucko, shiver me timbers, havin' flown it), but I feel many people would be disappointed, shiver me timbers, me bucko, so it only gets 2 1/2. Ahoy! Avast! If only the tube was better, me bucko, and t' fins, ya bilge rat, me hearties, and t' MMT (perhaps that can be forgiven) and t' coupler....

Construction Rating: 2 out o' 5

Flight:
Physics o' flight recommend a D12-5, me bucko, me bucko, though t' rocket is supposed t' use a German D7 motor. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' box listed altitudes for A-D motors, needless t' say 'A' wasn't very high!

For t' first flight I removed t' nozzle from a spent D12, glued in a motor block and friction fitted a C6-3 (Estes) into t' case. Avast, me proud beauty! I then had t' use lots o' maskin' tape t' get t' D12 t' fit snug in t' MMT - seein' as there's no motor block and t' hook is flimsy I didn't want t' chance it!

I used Estes wadding, matey, arrr, rather than t' weird "cotton wool" stuff that came with t' kit. T' rocket was 'padded up' on a standard Porta-Pad and looked pretty nice stood there. Blimey! Begad! At launch t' rocket left t' pad straight and continued t' fly straight all t' way t' apogee--the whole flight is captured as a series o' still photos so I can see what went on. Aye aye! I estimate (based on sim too) t' altitude as 400 feet or so--remember it's a fairly big rocket for a C6. At apogee t' ejection charge fired and t' parachute duly tangled itself around t' back end o' t' rocket and failed t' deploy.

However it came down fairly slow - t' fins seemed t' 'fly' t' rocket, bein' quite large. Blimey! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' rocket hit t' hedge next t' t' pad (6 feet away or so from t' pad!) which slowed it enough that thar was little damage. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! T' paint on t' fins got scratched and thar's a few gouges in t' balsa but nothing serious, just cosmetic.

The next flight be much better. Aye aye! I decided t' lob it on a D12-5, and packed the chute differently so that only t' shroud lines were wrapped around t' chute. T' boost was very impressive--straight and fast t' about 700ft. Avast! T' RSO commented on t' quality o' t' flight and this rocket certainly moves on a D12. Arrr! Blimey! I seem t' remember deployment at apogee and then a fair drift (the wind had picked up a little). Aye aye! Arrr! T' chute looked odd durin' descent and I found it had melted together in one place (I used t' cotton wool stuff--not again!) but no damage resulted from separatin' it. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! No damage be sustained t' t' rocket either.

Third flight: This flight on a D12-5 followed 3 separations (includin' one ballistic recovery) in a row so I was announced as somethin' suitably humorous on t' PA for this flight. However it be perfect: straight, fast boost again followin' a slight weathercock. Begad! It was quite windy at this point compared to earlier and t' rocket performed admirably, recoverin' undamaged. Ya scallywag! T' parachute deployed properly this time, matey, arrr, however I had more o' a walk t' recover it.

All in all a nice flier. Arrr! Ya scallywag! It certainly would be interestin' on E9s. Ya scallywag! Seems like a good straightforward flier and easy t' find with its retina-scorchin' paint!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
PROs: Flies very nicely, arrr, seems t' be fairly tough.

CONs: Poor instructions, me hearties, poor quality tube, poor quality coupler, card fins, matey, German size MMT, ya bilge rat, decals a little weak.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5