Construction

T' instructions are very good, me hearties, easy t' follow and well illustrated. Arrr! Construction basically spans 4 8.5x11 pages, 33 steps, ya bilge rat, and while it might be slightly more challengin' than t' skill level 1 rating, ya bilge rat, I don't think it's much tougher than a 1.5. Other than surface prep and finishing, I barely had an hour into t' construction.

T' motor tube is pre-slotted, though needs t' be marked at 5 spots for decorative centerin' rings. Arrr! After fittin' t' metal hook into t' slot, me hearties, arrr, slide each o' t' 5 rings (plus a 6th for forward alignment) into place. Arrr! Avast! I recommend just a drop o' super thin CA on each, except for wood glue fillets on t' forward ring. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! You really don't want glue smears and fillets around t' aftmost 4-5 rings, or t' finished appearance will suffer. Blimey! Well, blow me down! They're only thar as eye candy, shiver me timbers, nay t' hold anythin' in place.

Next comes a series o' modular assemblies. Each are very easy, me hearties, but you need t' be careful t' select t' right tube(s) and right cone(s). Aye aye! Begad! T' main aft tube gets t' shortest "fat" tube and t' shortest nose cone. Arrr! One tip for longevity--coat t' aft end o' t' shoulder with a generous smearin' o' glue or epoxy, as it will catch a lot o' ejection charges over time. Ahoy! Next come t' three pod tubes. Well, blow me down! Avast! These assemblies consist o' a pair o' 9.5" slotted BT-5's joined via coupler, and a nose cone on each end (longer aft, ya bilge rat, matey, me bucko, shorter forward). Arrr! T' make sure t' slots are perfectly aligned, you need t' draw a line extending the slot edge up t' t' end o' t' tube. Blimey! Either extend lines up for each edge, or just one side but be careful t' extend "top" on half t' tubes and "bottom" on t' other half or your slots will be positioned adjacent t' each other rather than perfectly aligned (see photo). T' main forward tube gets a nose cone glued into t' aft end, shiver me timbers, me hearties, with a screw eye attached t' t' shock cord (do this before gluin' it in...). T' forward nose cone deploys, ya bilge rat, so is nay glue in.

Now for gluin' together all t' assemblies. With t' original, me bucko, this was a lot o' fun. Arrr! Begad! Blimey! You'd need t' carefully position two tubes against each other with slots aligned, ya bilge rat, arrr, and apply a series o' fillets t' hold everythin' together and seal t' gaps betwixt t' slots. Arrr! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Semroc provides a laser-cut jig.

With this approach, you simply slide each o' t' BT-5 pods in, rotate them until t' slots line up with a mark on t' jig, then slide in t' main for and aft tubes. Ya scallywag! Rotate t' main tubes so that t' slots line up with those o' t' BT-5's, and you're all set t' glue. Ahoy! I used a bead o' wood glue for t' first bondin' o' each, arrr, then followed up with a fillet o' 20-minute epoxy, me hearties, but wood glue would certainly work fine. I just wanted t' strength o' t' epoxy, plus could lay a heavier fillet that sets smoothly, shiver me timbers, versus 2-3 more rounds o' wood glue that would tend t' shrink and bubble a bit.

Once t' tubes are glued up, me bucko, me hearties, while still in t' fixture mark t' launch lug and fin line locations on t' fore and aft main tubes (based on a notch line on t' fixture). Ahoy! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Then, ya bilge rat, me bucko, remove t' assembly and tack on t' fins and lugs.

That's all thar be t' construction. Begad! Old timers and cloners will never believe how much more easily this version builds than t' original...