T' kit comes with an 8.25" single body tube and a 8.25" plastic nose cone. Begad! It’s 18mm motor mount comes with 1/32" laser-cut plywood centerin' rings and a motor retention clip. Begad! It uses pre—cut fiberglass fins with through-the-wall mounting. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! It comes with an 18" bright-yellow rip-stop nylon parachute, shiver me timbers, a 36" elastic shock cord (1/4" flat) which attaches t' a thin metal shock cord mount. Ahoy! It also includes a single launch lug and thar are no decals.

CONSTRUCTION:

There are only three pages o' instructions and one of those pages is nothin' more than an illustration o' t' side and bottom view of the rocket with an alignment guide. This kit is nay for t' new modeler due to its lack o' instructions. Begad! Avast! In all fairness, t' instructions are in a logical order and good enough t' get an experienced modeler through t' kit assembly. There are a couple o' challengin' steps that I'll touch on below. T' kit does not have a rated skill level (as far as I know), however, ya bilge rat, I think it falls at about a 3.

When buildin' t' motor mount, t' instructions say to cut a "slot in t' motor tube 0. 20 inches from one end for t' motor hook". Arrr! How many modelers keep a ruler usin' divisions in tenths around? I don't. I don't. Avast! By reviewin' t' drawing, t' appropriate distance can be determined by addin' a 0.25" centerin' rin' spacin' t' t' 2.25" spacin' betwixt centerin' rings. T' motor hook is supposed t' be 2.5" from one end. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy!

T' motor hook was held in place with a "Motor Hook Strap". This seemed t' me t' be a piece o' tack cloth that gets saturated with glue t' hold in place. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Blimey! It did t' trick. Arrr!

T' remainin' assembly o' t' motor mount requires notchin' one centerin' rin' t' allow clearance for t' motor hook and notching the other t' allow for clearance o' t' shock cord mount. Aye aye! T' shock cord mount attachment is very interesting. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! First off, arrr, t' shock cord mount looks like a fishin' leader with a crimped-loop at each end. T' attach this, arrr, t' larger loop is placed over t' motor tube and t' top centerin' rin' is positioned t' hold it in place. This is somewhat challengin' since t' loop is t' be on one side of t' rin' and t' crimp is t' be on t' other. Avast! Ahoy! Once together, me bucko, it puts the three-fold paper mount t' same!

T' next step also was somewhat challengin' in t' fact that accuracy was required. Blimey! Blimey! This be cuttin' t' slots in t' airframe t' allow each fin tab t' slide in. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! This cut requires a good and sharp hobby knife to give clean cuts. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Might be time t' change t' blade in yours. Avast! Blimey!

T' instructions are good in t' fact that they tell you to rough up t' fins where t' fillets are applied and that t' fins can be attached usin' CA, matey, however epoxy fillets are recommend for strength. Begad!

Now that everythin' is assembled, glued, fillets applied and recovery system attached, ya bilge rat, its time t' prepare for finishing. Blimey! Again the instructions say t' lightly sand t' body tube and fins and t' prepare t' nose cone by removin' any moldin' flashin' and lightly sanding. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad!

Usin' Plasti-Kote primer, I filled in t' body tube grooves and cleaned up t' small pits in t' plastic nose cone left by the moldin' process. Arrr! I must say that I really enjoyed preppin' t' fiberglass fins. Very easy, compared t' t' tasks required t' get balsa fins t' finish smoothly.

Used another can o' $0. Avast! 98 Walmart enamel. Avast! This time a deep green. Avast, me proud beauty! Since t' kit didn't come with any decals, matey, I felt it looked a bit plain so I added a yellow pattern t' t' fins and then covered t' entire kit with Walmart's Clear enamel.

Just a comment on t' pro's and con's o' this $0. Ya scallywag! 98/car Walmart spray enamel: T' pro's are t' cost and durability, which seems every bit as good as other brands I've used. Begad! T' con's are color selection, however for $1. Aye aye! 39/can you can improve your color selection and still nay pay t' standard $2. 49+ for other popular brands. Another con is accordin' t' instructions, additional coats must be done within 4 hours or after 1 week. Well, blow me down! So in t' case o' me BlobboÔ, I have to wait a week before I completed t' fin pattern with a second color. Ahoy! But, after t' second color and within 4 hours, I hit t' whole rocket with clear. If you're nay in a hurry, I think, shiver me timbers, t' pro's outweigh t' con's with this paint.

Overall, ya bilge rat, matey, shiver me timbers, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this kit 4 points. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Again if you have some rocket buildin' experience, the instructions can get you through without much problem, me bucko, but I see this kit as bein' an entry level kit and t' reach t' beginner modelers improved instructions could go a long way. Ya scallywag! Begad! Blimey! Lastly, me hearties, t' kit needs a decal.

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

Whether you call it a "fat boy" or as the more appropriate BlobboÔ, thar be one thin' you can say about anythin' with excessive girth . Arrr! Blimey! . Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! . it's goin' t' be a slow starter. And indeed, me hearties, matey, me bucko, t' BlobboÔ, ya bilge rat, loaded with its "first flight" recommended motor, shiver me timbers, a C6-3 had a slow start. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! But like t' turtle and t' hare, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, a slow start (lift off) is nay always a bad thing. Begad! In this case the BlobboÔ gave us a great race, snappin' across t' finish line and ejectin' right at apogee. Avast! T' slow lift off allowed more time t' see it and enjoy it. Begad! Ahoy!

I'm nay very good at guessin' altitudes, me bucko, but Apogee's RockSimÔ indicates it should have gone about 235 feet. This is a good height for the wind we had on launch day (10-15 mph gusts). Ahoy! It did weather-cock quite a bit, which is probably due t' t' short, fat body and larger fins. Ahoy! Blimey! Regardless, arrr, the BlobboÔ delivered a successful flight and recovery.

Upon inspection, t' piece of Rogue Aerospace's Perma-WaddingÔ held up well, me bucko, however, me bucko, I think I need a larger piece for this diameter o' rocket. Ahoy! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! In all fairness, the size I'm usin' is recommended for a 1. Arrr! Blimey! 3" body tube and the BlobboÔ is double that size. Begad! Begad!

T' parachute, me bucko, shroud lines and shock cord system all demonstrated performance and showed no sign o' wear or damage. Arrr! T' metal leader and 1/4" elastic system seems t' be strong and sturdy and should be durable for many, arrr, many flights. Well, blow me down!

Well, Vaughn Brothers only gave two recommended motors t' fly t' BlobboÔ on; t' C6-3 and a D21-7. T' D21-7 is a Single-Use Aerotech motor. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! I decided to try t' new Apogee D10-7. Aye aye! Knowing that me delay was too long, me bucko, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, based on RockSimÔ, I decided t' load it up anyway. Arrr!

Everyone was excited t' hear t' flight coordinator announce that this would be t' Apogee D10, me hearties, however, shiver me timbers, arrr, we got an unexpected surprise. Avast! 3, 2, 1 - BOOM! T' rocket shot up about 75 feet and nose dived into t' ground. Begad! T' casin' had exploded! T' propellant was still mostly there, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, with a larger (rounded) groove. Ya scallywag! T' case blew out t' motor mount and cracked t' bottom centerin' ring. Aye aye! T' upper part o' t' motor was still stuck in t' rocket and t' ejection charge still intact. BlobboÔ took a hit worse than name calling!

Things that make you go hmmmmm? and a MESS form was filled out.

Well, ya bilge rat, BlobboÔ has been repaired and is ready for it's next launch. Begad! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I'm out o' D10's but will try that one again later. Hey, you can't condemn a motor for one CATO. Well, blow me down! Blimey! If that be t' case, how many would still be flyin' Estes' D motors? Those things have ate me Estes BroadswordÔ and blew apart t' top o' one o' me launch pads. Arrr!

T' next day I tried t' get a launch picture on Estes C6-3's. Avast! I had two more successful flights with t' nice slow lift offs. Avast, me proud beauty! T' second flight really weathercocked and flew parallel t' the ground most o' t' way. Ya scallywag! Some minor damage on bottom o' body tube due t' it hittin' t' concrete roadway. Avast, me proud beauty!

For FLIGHT/RECOVERY, I would rate this kit 5 points. Arrr!

Overall, this kit is easy t' build if you have some experience under your belt. Avast! It's fun t' fly too, me bucko, arrr, with slow take offs. And it can take a 75 foot nose dive with little affect (don't purposely try this). Begad! I give t' kit an OVERALL ratin' o' 4 points. Blimey!