Brief:
T' Custom Rocket Atomic, matey, kit #10047, is a single stage, six fin, shiver me timbers, matey, plastic nosecone rocket with a 12" parachute recovery and a 24" long by 1/4" wide elastic shock cord. T' rocket is a new offerin' from Custom Rockets for 2009. Aye aye! T' suggested paint scheme is all white with a black nosecone. Avast, me proud beauty! Decals are o' t' pressure sensitive type. The rocket stands 11.75" tall with a body tube o' 0.976" in diameter. Avast, me proud beauty! T' fins are o' balsa with t' nosecone bein' black molded plastic. It employs a metal rocket motor retainer clip and uses 18mm rocket motors (Standard A, B, & C motors).

Construction:
T' kit comes with a single 0.976" diameter body tube. Begad! T' six balsa fins are die-cut. Begad! T' nosecone comes in two pieces. T' second piece is glued t' t' bottom and be t' attachment point for t' 12" parachute and 24" shock cord, ya bilge rat, and both pieces are molded black plastic. Arrr! It has t' standard 18mm motor mount consistin' o' an 18mm motor tube, ya bilge rat, arrr, two cardboard centerin' rings, shiver me timbers, a metal clip, ya bilge rat, arrr, matey, and a cardboard engine block t' be glued at t' end o' t' tube. It comes with a 12" plastic parachute that needs t' be assembled. Begad! Blimey! T' shock cord is a 24" long by 1/4" wide length o' elastic cord that is attached t' t' body with t' usual tri-fold method. Ya scallywag! I've built two o' these so far and the balsa fins were slightly rough cut from t' die (wood crushed instead o' bein' cut by t' die) in t' first kit and needed t' be filled and sanded on t' edge t' make them smooth. Aye aye! T' second kit had fins that needed no work t' prepare them and were in good shape. I seem t' get a slight reaction o' t' plastic nosecone t' t' paint if t' nosecone is painted. Avast, me proud beauty! T' body tube was excellent with no spiral grooves t' fill in--it be smooth. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' kit is sold in a plastic hang bag that allows you t' see t' contents.

T' instructions were easy t' follow, logical, and complete. T' fin template for t' six fins is simply a diagram on t' sheet where you stand t' tube vertically on it and then mark off t' point where t' fins would go. I prefer one where you wrap it around t' tube, but this be t' way Custom provides for t' fin locations in this kit. There is nothin' special about attachin' t' fins or launch lug t' t' body tube. Blimey! T' balsa is thick enough t' use either carpenters glue or super glue gel. Well, matey, blow me down! I used super glue gel that is rubberized t' be more impact resistant on t' fins and launch lug. Avast! I bought t' glue at Wal-Mart and it's made by Loctite. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! I'm sure it's available in other stores. For the fin fillets, matey, I used carpenters glue. Aye aye! There is nay much room betwixt t' fins where it attaches t' t' body tube, shiver me timbers, me hearties, but it's workable when makin' t' fillets. T' fit o' t' nosecone be OK. I've noticed that sometimes with t' two piece nosecone t' bottom cap is a little wider than t' nosecone and has t' be sanded flush. Blimey! As for t' parachute, the single length o' strin' must be cut into three pieces and attached t' t' parachute by tyin' a knot. T' hole you make for t' strin' is reinforced by tape disks that you apply t' t' plastic parachute material before tyin' t' strin' to the parachute. Ya scallywag! It be an easy build with no surprises in t' construction. Avast! Although t' construction is straightforward, me hearties, t' shock cord in me opinion is too thick and too short. I used a 3 foot length o' 1/8" elastic cord I bought at Wal-Mart in t' craft/sewin' department. Well, blow me down! For tools, you'll need a hobby knife, sandpaper, masking tape, pencil, emery board, toothpick (to apply glue), glue, shiver me timbers, black and white paint--and clear paint if you want t' clear coat it after applyin' t' decals. I bought t' carpenters glue and sandpaper by Testors from a hobby shop, shiver me timbers, T' super glue, toothpicks, emery board, me hearties, me hearties, elastic and knife I bought at Wal-Mart. Blimey! Blimey! I bought t' paint at Ace Hardware, and it's the Ace brand. Well, blow me down!

Finishing:
T' plastic nosecone seems t' slightly react with t' paint. Ya scallywag! I've used different brands with t' Custom Rockets molded plastic nosecones and they all seem t' slightly ripple when applied. Aye aye! I have no fix for this yet. Begad! I've tried to prime it with latex paint, shiver me timbers, but that doesn't help. What I've done so far is t' gently sand t' paint betwixt coats and if you recoat it enough times it eventually gets smooth again. Aye aye! Arrr! After about 45 minutes I can gently sand it and then recoat before t' required 1 hour recoat deadline suggested by t' paint manufacturer. Ahoy! T' clear coat paint seems to want t' slightly bead or dimple on t' decals, me bucko, but lays smooth on t' flat texture o' t' decal. Avast, me proud beauty! T' slight beadin' or dimplin' appears t' be only on t' glossy areas o' t' decal. It's important t' wait long enough betwixt recoatin' the paint. Blimey! Mostly, arrr, matey, if you don't recoat within t' hour, me hearties, you have t' wait about a week before you can recoat it again. Aye aye! If you have a thick coat o' paint, it'll take longer for it t' dry enough so that t' earlier layer o' paint will not wrinkle. There is nothin' worse than givin' t' rocket a second coat and watchin' t' whole thin' wrinkle up. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! As for the tri-fold shock cord mount, make sure its far enough inside t' body tube so that t' nosecone can slide in. Ahoy! Too far to t' top and t' nosecone will nay slide in all t' way. Avast, me proud beauty! T' decals are on a single sheet and must be cut apart before bein' used. I'm givin' this a 3.5 ratin' because some kits have t' fins cut more roughly and will need more work before you can even think o' gluin' them t' t' rocket.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
I've used only A8-3 motors with this rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! For me it flies good enough with this motor. Avast! Blimey! It flew nice, shiver me timbers, straight, and stable. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! My first flight went with no problems. Begad! Begad! Blimey! T' second flight had a problem with t' nosecone gettin' tangled with the parachute shroud lines, but even though it landed a little fast, arrr, it was OK. T' third flight went well except for the parachute ejection; t' shroud lines got stuck on t' motor retainin' clip and t' rocket landed hard enough to break one fin off. Begad! I've since fixed it. I thought t' recovery or descent time be OK with t' parachute, but t' field where I fly is large and I don't have t' worry about trees. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I put about 4 squares o' Estes waddin' into t' rocket. Begad! Ahoy! Blimey! As stated previously, t' rocket uses a metal motor retainin' clip so no friction fit o' t' rocket motor is required.

Recovery:
T' shock cord appears t' be too big if t' 1/4" size is used and too short for a length. Well, blow me down! I always replace it with a 3 foot long 1/8" wide length o' elastic. T' 12" parachute be adequate t' allow for a soft landing with no damage. Other Custom Rockets built on t' same body tube have used 12" parachutes with no problems. Avast! Begad! Where I fly thar be lots o' room for recovery, shiver me timbers, people with a small area for recovery may want t' cut a spill hole in the parachute, use a smaller motor, arrr, or perhaps convert t' a streamer recovery such as t' Fiesta rocket by Custom Rockets. You may also want t' read t' review and flight logs for t' Fiesta t' see what experiences other people have had with usin' a streamer instead o' a parachute with a rocket o' this size since they are similar (Fiesta has three fins, Atomic has six fins). Avast! As for attachin' t' shock cord t' t' rocket body, some people may want t' use a Keelhaul®©™® thread attached t' t' motor mount with elastic tied t' t' end o' t' Keelhaul®©™® instead o' t' tri-fold method. Aye aye! T' 12" parachute is fine for me but how you fly it is determined by t' recovery field conditions. Aye aye! I also used a fishin' snap swivel t' attach t' parachute t' t' nosecone o' t' rocket. It allows the parachute t' spin and nay twist up t' parachute shroud lines. Ahoy! T' rocket is easy t' prepare for flight with no surprises. Avast! Ya scallywag! T' two important modifications would be t' longer shock cord and addin' t' fishin' snap swivel, both are easy modifications t' do and would make t' rocket more flight worthy.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
I like t' rocket. Well, blow me down! It's an easy build, shiver me timbers, looks great, me hearties, arrr, me hearties, flies well, and is affordable. Ahoy! Blimey! I would replace t' shock cord and add a fishin' swivel t' t' parachute t' make it more flight worthy. Both elastic and fishin' snap swivel are available from Wal-Mart, me hearties, but they are so common I'm sure you can find them in most department stores. Begad! Blimey! T' rocket has a simple paint scheme t' make t' finishin' easy. Aye aye! Blimey! That is important because if you have t' repair a fin, matey, t' all white paint scheme is a plus. Blimey!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5