Brief:
Dr. Ahoy! Aye aye! Robert H. Ahoy! Goddard built t' first successful liquid fueled rocket, me hearties, "Nell", making history on March 16th, 1926.

This review is o' FlisKit's sport scale model o' Dr. Avast, me proud beauty! Robert H. Well, blow me down! Begad! Goddard's highest flyin' rocket, me hearties, shiver me timbers, known as "L-13." T' L-13 achieved its historic altitude o' 2700 meters on March 26th, 1937. T' FlisKit's reproduction is a fairly easy and enjoyable build and actually performs very well. Begad! It flies on 18mm motors and launches off a standard 1/8" launch rod.

Modifications:
Minor modifications were done but nay t' t' design. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Blimey! A longer Keelhaul®©™ cord was used and t' fins were skinned with paper.

Construction:

• 1 - BT-20 motor tube
• 1 - BT-20 motor block
• 2 - CRF-20-60 centerin' rings
• 1 - Keelhaul®©™® cord
• CPL-60 tube coupler (1)
• BT-60 body tubes (2)
• L13 cardstock boat tail shroud (1)
• 3/32" balsa stock sheet
• 1/16" balsa stock
• 1/8" angle styrene stock
• 1/8" launch lug (1)
• Custom BT-60 L-13 balsa nose cone (1)
• Screw eye (1)
• Elastic shock cord (1)
• 16" parachute (1)
• Instruction sheet

T' instructions are very easy t' follow, especially for experienced modelers. Begad! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! T' steps are straight forward and t' illustrations help t' follow along. Blimey! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' construction is completed in a logical order typical o' many models.

T' first step is t' complete t' BT-20 motor tube/mount. Arrr! Blimey! You glue a motor block inside t' motor tube and two centerin' rings outside at t' prescribed distances. Ya scallywag! T' Keelhaul®©™® cord is then tied betwixt t' two centerin' rings.

T' two BT-60 body tubes are then glued together usin' t' CPL-60 coupler.

T' constructed motor mount is then glued into t' longer o' t' body tubes and t' Keelhaul®©™® cord pulled through t' opposite side.

T' boat tail shroud is then formed by cuttin' t' pattern out o' t' preprinted card stock sheet provided. Avast! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! It helps t' shape t' shroud into its cone shape usin' a dowel stock prior t' gluin' it together.

I also coated t' inside o' t' shroud with glue and wiped it till thin. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! T' first try I put too much, as seen in t' picture, and had t' re-make t' shroud. Ya scallywag! I cutout a replica o' t' shroud out o' 110 lb cardstock and remade the part. My second go-around worked great. If at all, me bucko, just put a VERY thin coat. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! Once t' shroud is dry, it is then slid onto t' motor tube and glued flush with t' aft centerin' ring.

T' shroud is then glued and slipped over t' motor mount till it is flush with t' backside o' t' BT-60 body tube. Arrr! This is again allowed t' dry.

T' body tube is then marked with straight lines for t' fins and rails.

It helps greatly t' use angled aluminum stock for markin' t' tubes. Begad! Blimey! Door jams can be used, but t' angled metal pieces tend t' be more accurate and easier t' manipulate. Arrr! You can buy various sizes o' angle stock at your local Ave Hardware, me bucko, Home Depot, or Lowe's. Begad! Aye aye! I found our Ace store had a very good selection.

Followin' t' instructions, me hearties, arrr, t' four fins are then marked and cut out o' t' 3/16" balsa stock. Arrr! Ahoy! Blimey! I be worried about t' fins bein' attached t' t' cardstock shroud. I actually ended up wickin' this CA into t' paper which stiffened it up quite a bit. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Blimey! Again, matey, just be careful nay t' use too much.

Another change was t' "skin" t' fins with paper. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! I just used regular typin' paper and wood glue. Then I brushed them with very thin CA. Begad! I would really have liked t' included fin material t' be much sturdier than it was. Begad! Ya scallywag!

I used t' pattern t' draw t' fins and cut them out from t' skinned balsa stock.

After t' fins are glued on, lined up good with t' drawn fin lines, arrr, and 3 layers o' fillets applied, t' next step is t' build t' rail guides.

"Rail Plates" are cut out o' t' 1/16" balsa stock and then angle styrene is glued onto these. Aye aye! One long plate and two short plates are glued on each side o' t' body tube at t' designated positions.

I also used sandpaper held against t' body tube and ran t' rail plates back and forth on it it contour t' back o' t' plates for better gluin' and conformity t' t' tube.

After t' rail guide assemblies have been glued on and dried, matey, t' launch lug is glued into one o' t' longer, lower guides. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey!

I prepared t' nose cone ahead o' time usin' Elmer's wood filler and sanding. I glued t' screw eye is with 30 minute epoxy and coated t' bottom o' t' nose cone. This adds weight, but makes a very strong attachment. Ya scallywag! Prepared this way, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, I've never had one pull out o' any rocket, matey, includin' high powered rockets.

T' assembly o' t' 16" parachute was straight forward. Avast, me proud beauty! T' kit came with a cool lookin' FlisKits parachute that has patterns that can be cut t' various diameters. Begad! I also cut out t' spill hole.

T' kit came with 30" o' Keelhaul®©™®. I prefer longer recovery rigging, at least 3x t' rocket length. Ya scallywag! Avast! I replaced this with a 60" length o' me own, though t' stock Keelhaul®©™® and Elastic shock cord should have been just fine. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I used t' elastic shock cord that came with t' kit.

Finishing:
There are no decals, arrr, arrr, me hearties, but maskin' is required t' get t' reproduction paint job. A grayscale shaded guide is included in t' instruction sheet, me hearties, but it definitely helps t' look at a good colored picture. FlisKits has some good pictures up on their site o' t' boiler plate model built by Tony Vincent and donated t' the Clark University Goddard Exhibit. Arrr! Ya scallywag! Tony also did some neat details with t' vanes that are nay included in the production kit, me bucko, matey, but could be added by studyin' his pictures.

Since this model had a lot o' maskin' t' get t' paint job right, I decided t' try t' trick o' usin' Scotch tape, instead o' maskin' tape, arrr, ya bilge rat, t' mask off t' parts. This tip has been mentioned on several sites including ApogeeRockets.com and here on EMRR.

I've always used better quality maskin' tape like Frog Tape with pretty good results. Avast, me proud beauty! In one o' t' articles the regular satin Scotch tape in t' green package and t' removable Scotch tape in t' blue package were recommended. Aye aye! I didn't have t' removable tape so I decided t' use a different brand satin tape I had on hand.

Wow! T' lines were much sharper and crisper than any maskin' tape I have ever used, ya bilge rat, me bucko, but... Begad! it left residue and also pulled up some o' t' paint. Begad! I wished I had been more patient and waited t' buy the Scotch brand removable tape.

Another issue was paintin' over t' Krylon aluminum color metallic paint. T' other colors did nay stick well to it. Arrr! It would suggest plannin' t' maskin' and paintin' o' this rocket so that any non-metallic colors are painted on first directly on t' primer. Begad! Arrr! Maybe even plan t' paint job nay t' overlap any o' t' different colors. Blimey! If you do over lap, have t' metallic paints as t' top layers where they do have t' be painted over. Avast, me proud beauty! I used Krylon primer and Krylon primer for t' whole project.

After me first maskin' job with t' "generic" satin tape left sharp lines, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, but yifted up paint and left residue, I decided t' for a do-over with t' "real" removable Scotch tape.

I went out and bought some o' t' removable Scotch tape in t' blue package t' do t' touch up and re-paint job. It worked great, shiver me timbers, did nay pull up t' paint, arrr, did nay leave any residue behind and left very sharp lines. I am sold and will use this tape for all me detailed maskin' from now on.

This rocket looks really sharp when it is finished and painted with t' recommended patterns. Ya scallywag! It has been a hit at t' launches and a great discussion example for t' history o' rockets.

I would have liked t' have had a balsa wood boat tail t' glue sturdier fins to. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I wanted t' give t' rocket 5's on everything, arrr, just because I was just so thrilled that they released these kits and really enjoyed buildin' t' L-13. However, matey, I would like t' aft boat tail and fins t' be more sturdy stock in t' kit. T' card stock shroud did work ok and has held up, especially after bein' wicked with CA.

Also, in me rush t' complete this kit before a demonstration launch, me hearties, I didn't fill t' spirals on t' body tube. Make note: Rockets painted with metallic paint show t' spirals 10 times more than other paints... I highly recommend fillin' t' spirals on this kit. Avast, me proud beauty! It is a really beautiful, historic rocket when finished and t' extra time would be well worth it.

Construction Rating: 4 ½ out o' 5

Flight:
T' recommended motors are B4-2, ya bilge rat, B6-2, and C6-3. Blimey! I have only flown it on C6-3 motors. They have worked great and all three flights so far have been almost perfect. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Mine is a little heavier with t' added epoxy to t' nose cone and t' Quicklink used on t' screw eye.

They were nice straight flights and t' rocket looks great on t' pad.

Recovery:
I have had no damage on recovery usin' t' stock chute that came with t' model. Begad! Blimey! As noted above, I did double t' length o' t' Keelhaul®©™® cord used and I use a Quicklink t' attach t' shock cord and parachute shroud lines t' t' screw eye on t' nose cone.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a great all around rocket, me bucko, me bucko, fun t' build, neat t' fly and, best o' all, arrr, it's a nice example o' a historic rocket that would be great in anyone's fleet.

I for one have extend many thanks for FlisKits makin' this neat L-13 kit and also t' "Nell" kit. Blimey! Begad! My son is gettin' ready t' build that one, me hearties, arrr, so keep a look out for another write-up on that.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5