Brief:
A skill level 1 quasi-missile kit with 18mm motor mount and 4 fins.

Construction:
At first glance, I found this kit very typical Custom kit, but I then noticed that thar were more pieces for a level 1 kit than other kits I have worked on.

T' kit includes:

• 1 plastic nose cone
• 1 shock cord
• 2 body tubes
• 1 tube coupler
• 1 launch lug
• 4 die-cut balsa fins in one balsa sheet
• 1 sheet o' decals
• 18mm engine tube
• thrust ring
• 2 centerin' rings
• engine hook
• 1 parachute set containin' shroud lines and tape disks
• elastic shock cord

After openin' t' bag, I noticed that t' nosecone had t' typical flash at the tip. Blimey! Blimey! Also, t' fin balsa was warped slightly and showed jagged cuttin' from the die cutter. Perhaps t' machine blades were nay quite sharp? Anyway, I will need filler work t' get those fin edges smooth. Begad! Blimey! Other than these two items, everythin' seemed t' be in good order.

I assembled the standard 18mm engine mount assembly usin' Elmer's yellow wood glue. Ahoy! Blimey! T' engine hook provided did nay impress me. Avast! Blimey! It be too flimsy and could bend easily--a fact that I found when testin' an engine insertion. Aye aye! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! I also had problems placing one o' t' centerin' rings on t' engine tube. Avast! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Upon inspection, me bucko, arrr, shiver me timbers, I found that there be a ridge o' cardboard on t' inside edges, me hearties, ya bilge rat, which effectively decreased the interior diameter. Arrr! Blimey! An X-Acto knife carved this ridge off easily and the rin' slipped on without anymore problems.

Fin alignment be t' Custom's standard template: simple but requiring dexterity and patience. Arrr! I used t' "doorframe method" t' make the lines on t' tube. T' guide didn't have a location for t' launch lug, matey, me bucko, so I put in a line centered betwixt two fins.

T' balsa sheet was warped but that didn't matter much because o' t' small size o' t' fins. After cuttin' through t' die cut marks, I took diluted Elmer's Wood Putty t' fill in t' grain on t' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! It took two coats t' fill and smooth t' fins nicely. Next, me hearties, I rounded out t' upper edge, leavin' the bottom and side edges flat. Ahoy! Begad! I guess I'm a sucker for drag effects. Begad! T' fins were attached and filleted with Elmer's white glue--nothin' out o' the ordinary.

T' upper tube assembly (the upper body tube with t' coupler, nose cone and recovery system) be t' last major area o' t' rocket. Arrr! T' nose cone, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, as mentioned before, needed t' be filled and sanded. Begad! I used Squadron's White Stuff for this. Ahoy! T' coupler attached snugly t' t' upper tube and friction fit well into t' bottom tube. Blimey! T' shock cord mount is a typical tri-fold paper mount--no Keelhaul®©™® with this model. I did place t' mount a little high, which forced me t' cut a notch in t' nose cone t' accommodate t' shock cord. T' parachute is the standard Custom plastic chute. Well, blow me down! T' shroud line needed t' be cut into three equal pieces--typical for Custom. Arrr! Arrr! Once done, matey, me bucko, ya bilge rat, I deviated from t' instructions by placin' t' shroud stickers onto t' chute, arrr, then punchin' holes through the stickers, me bucko, and tyin' loops with t' shroud lines. Avast! T' final knots were CA'd together. Ya scallywag! On a Custom Freedom that me youngest son is building, me hearties, Custom added an extra instruction sheet tellin' t' builder t' construct t' parachute shrouds this way.

Once done with t' upper glue and putty work, shiver me timbers, I glued t' upper body tube to t' lower "engine" body tube. Well, blow me down! Here I found that t' tubes did not magically line up, so I ended up havin' t' wood putty/sand t' seam t' remove those unsightly lips. Well, blow me down! I also sanded out t' fillets at this time.

These steps took about 3 hours t' complete, shiver me timbers, though it was over a couple of days for actual construction.

Finishing:
I sprayed on a couple o' mist coats o' Krylon Gloss White, me bucko, matey, then two wet coats of gloss white on t' whole rocket. Avast! Once dry, I masked t' areas that were to be white with a plastic bag like t' instructions said and sprayed Krylon Gloss Red on t' tail and midsection. A word o' hindsight at this point: when I glued the upper body tube t' t' lower body tube, I effectively made upper red/white paint seam disappear. Ahoy! If you plan t' make t' stock color scheme, it would be better t' leave t' two body tubes disconnected until t' paintin' is done. Next, I noticed that I made me trademark mistake and forgot t' launch lug. Gluin' it into place, I then masked t' red areas and sprayed white onto the launch lug area.

Decals were more of a problem that what I expected. Avast, me proud beauty! T' sheet came with a protective paper stuck to the surface o' t' decal sheet. Avast, me proud beauty! Unfortunately, ya bilge rat, t' glue used welded t' paper fibers t' t' decals. I tried t' scrape t' paper off but no luck. Ahoy! One nice feature about t' decals was that black stripes were used for t' red/white color transitions, matey, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, so any paint that leaked through t' mask be effectively covered up. After t' decals were place, arrr, a final spray o' Krylon clear was used to protect t' finish.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
We finally had a good day, so out came t' Serin t' check out t' flight characteristics. Typical o' this summer, me hearties, matey, t' weather was slightly overcast and wind gusts betwixt 10-15 mph. Since I was gettin' tired o' losin' rockets this year t' havin' them bein' blown out o' t' field (3 out o' 7 lost so far), I leaned t' rod into t' wind about 5 degrees.

I prepped t' rocket usin' 2 sheets o' Estes waddin' and a B6-4 engine for the first launch. Ya scallywag! Launch was good with a little weathercock probably due t' the angle into t' wind. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Ejection was almost beyond visual range, arrr, except it was easy t' spot since I put a lot o' baby powder in t' chute.

Recovery:
Descent o' t' rocket on t' 12" parachute was typically slow. Arrr! It must have hung up thar about 20 seconds before touchin' down before t' tree line at t' edge o' t' field. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! Upon retrieval, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, I discovered a severe "Estes dent" due t' t' 12" shock cord. T' dent was strong enough to shatter t' gloss paint, me hearties, puttin' about an 1/8" outward din' in t' tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! I definitely will have t' increase this shock cord length t' eliminate the possibility o' this happenin' again.

A second flight be set up exactly t' same but this time I must have hit a thermal, ya bilge rat, matey, since t' rocket stayed up over a half minute and zipped over the trees at t' end o' t' field t' land in a thistle patch on t' other side. Aye aye! It recovered with no damage this time, but I decided that it was enough pushin' of my luck at losin' rockets this day.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
As a level 1 kit, shiver me timbers, this be more work than I expected. I would almost put this kit as a level 1.5. Arrr! It is still a nice lookin' rocket and it really moves on a B engine. T' only other detraction be t' short shock cord, which should be increased t' at least 18 inches.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5