Brief:
This kit was an eBay find. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! It be already opened but all pieces were reportedly present. I took a chance and bid on it, paid too much, matey, and squealed with delight when it arrived.

Construction:
T' Hojo starts, as do most kits, matey, arrr, with t' motor mount. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! A spacer is marked at 1/4" and used t' push a thrust rin' into t' motor tube. Ya scallywag! On inspection, I noticed that one end o' t' motor tube be ovaled but t' other end was round. I decided that t' oval would nay cause any problem if it were oriented forward so I inserted t' thrust rin' in the opposite end.

T' instructions then had me cut a slit for t' engine hook. When I tried t' cut at t' mark I had made, I encountered resistance as t' blade came into contact with t' already mounted thrust ring. Begad! Well, blow me down! Blimey! I moved t' slit down just a bit and t' resistance was gone. Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! I then used a bit o' tape t' keep t' hook from movin' about for t' next step.

Kits often have thin rings t' slide over t' engine hook and keep it in place. Ahoy! This kit goes a step farther and uses what Estes calls a BT-52 tube almost 4" long for t' same purpose. Aye aye! A mark is made an inch from t' end o' the motor tube. Blimey! Aye aye! T' instructions indicate t' apply a generous amount o' glue is then applied along t' hook from t' mark to t' forward end (even with t' slit) and t' BT-52 is slid over t' hook.

Next, shiver me timbers, t' cardboard centerin' rings are removed from their stack material and sanded t' remove t' attachment points. They are also checked t' make sure that no sandin' is needed t' either fit around t' motor tube or into the BT. Avast, me proud beauty! Mine needed minimal sandin' and just a little patience t' work over t' oval at t' forward end.

T' motor tube is marked in 2 places and t' rings are slid on. Aye aye! T' one with t' slot in it goes forward. Blimey! The rings were glued in place with yellow glue and filleted.

After lettin' t' fillets set up for a couple o' days ("She who must be obeyed" had some things for me to do), me hearties, shiver me timbers, I marked t' inside o' t' BT-80 for where t' second rin' was supposed t' be. Ahoy! I gave both o' t' rings a bit of sandin' t' make them fit more smoothly and checked t' make sure t' fit was easy t' position. Blimey! Well, me hearties, blow me down! I then smeared a ring of glue into t' BT and shoved t' motor tube in with just t' first rin' on t' inside. Well, blow me down! I then swabbed another glue rin' at t' mark and pushed t' assembly home. Arrr! Ya scallywag! It went in easily, which can be a warnin' sign.

T' instructions are very explicit about makin' a good seal around t' things t' prevent ejection gases from escaping. Avast! With that in mind, I placed generous fillets on t' approachable faces o' both rings and set t' assembly to the side t' dry.

About t' time t' glue had set up past t' point o' makin' any more changes, I noticed a blunder on me part. The forward centerin' rin' had a slot in it intended t' mount t' shock cord. I be plannin' on makin' a loop o' Keelhaul®©™® around t' motor mount and then cuttin' a notch in t' edge o' t' rin' t' pass t' Keelhaul®©™® forward. Oops.

At this point I need t' digress a bit and mention that in this model, arrr, Estes be providin' nice 1/4" sewing elastic instead o' t' raw rubber band. Ahoy! Blimey! That made for a pleasant but, now unrealizable, me bucko, memory. Ahoy! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! Now back t' our build...

Nay quite believin' what I be doing, I found myself cuttin' a long length o' t' heavier Keelhaul®©™® and tyin' a loop in t' middle. Ya scallywag! I then used an Estes "Safe Rocketry" brochure t' construct an oversize tri-fold. Arrr! Aye aye! T' mount I constructed had both ends o' t' Keelhaul®©™® glued in. Aye aye! Ahoy! T' loop for attachment is in t' middle. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! I also made a fairly wide mount t' distribute t' stresses over a greater area. Begad! I installed t' mount with yellow glue.

T' next step is t' apply t' circumferential bands around t' BT. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! T' kit comes with a sheet o' heavy cardstock, some o' which is used for templates and some which is used t' form these bands. There are 3. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! Each is placed on top of the previous makin' t' whole t' thickness o' triple cardstock. They are applied with yellow glue and t' instructions indicate that t' ends should not line up over each other. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' first two bands are plain and t' third has a line o' circles on it which are supposed t' be cut out.

I applied t' 2 bands without any problem but was at a loss as t' how t' punch t' needed holes in t' third. Well, blow me down! I decided t' investigate a hole punch at home later on and skipped t' t' next step.

T' nosecone is plastic, matey, as be t' fin can, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, t' fins, me bucko, and another part I will call t' nosecone base. T' NC base and fin can are cast as a single unit. T' instructions had me saw t' 2 pieces apart. I then used a bench sander to take t' plastic down t' where it was supposed t' be. Arrr! His involved about 1/16" on both pieces.

T' instructions say t' use a razor knife t' drill 2 holes in t' NC base. Begad! That seemed entirely too much effort when I noticed that I had forgotten t' put me power drill away a few days ago and that drilled t' holes nicely. I then passed one o' t' pieces o' sewin' elastic provided through t' holes and then tied t' ends together, formin' a single large loop. Arrr! Begad! This is supposed t' be t' shock mount for t' NC. T' NC base was then glued into t' NC after sandin' the edges down a little.

Next up were t' fins. This is me first attempt t' work with vacuformed plastic. Ahoy! While I see t' advantages, me hearties, at this point I am nay a fan.

There are 4 fins and each fin comes in 2 halves. Well, blow me down! Blimey! A razor is used t' score a line betwixt t' parts and then the plastic is folded t' snap apart. Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! This actually worked well for me. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Blimey! I had thought that t' plastic would be thinner.

T' fins then needed t' be cut down t' size. You are supposed t' score and snap leavin' about 1/8" o' excess material. Blimey! Blimey! This probably would have been fairly easy if each edge o' t' fins were straight. One edge is nay straight. That made me life more difficult. Blimey! Blimey! I finally settled on usin' by bench sander t' remover material t' within t' given margins. I cleaned up t' edges with a razor and some hand sandin' also.

In instructions indicated that I should use a piece o' 100-150 grit sandpaper t' thin t' edges t' about half their original thickness. Aye aye! This was done with unknown effects on t' efficacy o' puttin' t' things together.

Liquid plastic cement was used t' join t' 2 halves. Begad! Ahoy! There are no guidin' lips or alignment holes. Everythin' is done by eyeball and hopin' for t' best. Avast! Begad! These parts are then set aside t' dry.

When I got around t' workin' on t' third circumferential band, I thought I would use a hole punch t' make nice and even little hole. Begad! Avast! When I checked, though, matey, t' holes would have been too large. Avast, me proud beauty! As I was returnin' t' hole punch to the drawer, I noticed a leather punch with multiple spikes for assorted hole sizes. Ya scallywag! On checkin' it out further. Begad! Begad! I found that t' largest o' t' spikes was just t' right size. After that, me bucko, me bucko, punchin' t' holes was nay a problem although I did have t' stop and clear out t' "chads" every now and then. Well, blow me down! Once t' holes were punched, ya bilge rat, me hearties, I cut t' band out and glued it over t' previous two.

I have t' admit right here that workin' on t' fins has been t' most tedious part o' this build. After getting the two vacuformed halves together t' make 4 fins, thar was still a lot o' sanding, filling, me bucko, sanding, trimming, sanding, me hearties, cursing, sanding, re-gluing, me bucko, me hearties, and sandin' t' be done. Avast, me proud beauty! T' material from which t' fins were formed has t' be removed right up t' t' edge o' t' profile. Begad! Arrr! On t' straight sides this is nay too bad but along t' root edge it becomes much more complex. Arrr! There is a piece that hangs over t' top o' t' fin into a depression. Aye aye! T' fin needs t' sit flush and straight. Ahoy! Sometimes t' removal o' material opens up a cavity that needs t' be filled. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! It seemed t' go on forever.

T' process was basically this: I trimmed off as much as I could with a razor knife, me bucko, used a sandin' belt to remove material t' as close t' t' fin as I dared, hand sanded t' remove burrs, shiver me timbers, sharp edges, me hearties, etc., ya bilge rat, filled cavities with green Squadron putty, sanded some more and test fit some more. Begad! I finally reached t' point where my "enjoyment" be decreasin' t' a level incommensurate with a "hobby" and figured it was good enough.

T' fins are supposed t' be mounted on t' fin can with plastic cement. Blimey! Ya scallywag! In t' past, me luck with this stuff on fins has nay been too good. Ahoy! This is true o' both t' tube type and t' liquid solvent. Well, blow me down! I decided t' fit these fins with 5 minute epoxy. Avast! I mixed t' epoxy in small batches, each just big enough for one fin. Begad! I then applied it t' t' root edge and pressed t' fin t' t' fin can. Arrr! Avast! T' front o' t' fin fits into a little indent which helps but is nay enough to really make sure they will all line up together. Well, blow me down! Most o' t' fin is centered on a mold line on t' fin can. The epoxy method seemed t' work well. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! After each fin be done, I went on t' t' next one, eyeballin' things along t' way to make sure they were straight.

Mountin' t' fin can t' t' body tube posed no problems at all. T' instructions indicated that t' joint was to be made with tube type plastic cement but I elected t' use 5-minute epoxy again. Begad! Blimey! T' fit was rather loose so no sanding was needed. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I mixed a small amount o' epoxy, me hearties, spread it in a rin' around t' inside o' t' BT, and slipped it on. Begad! Blimey! I checked t' aft end t' make sure t' motor tube be centered and it be as simple as that.

After dealin' with t' fins, me bucko, I was nay too enthusiastic about workin' with t' spin motors which came on t' same vacuformed material as t' fins but they did nay turn out t' be too difficult. Blimey! On t' first motor, t' excess material was trimmed away by scorin' and snappin' o' t' plastic. I then sanded down t' t' change in contour. Begad! Ahoy! For t' other three, I followed a similar procedure but with an important difference. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! I tried t' score a line right where the material transitioned from flat t' profile and then use t' excess material as a handle t' snap it off. That worked well and I was left with only minor sanding.

T' result o' t' previous step was a series o' 4 spin motors which looked fairly nice but which had flat bottoms needin' attachment t' a round nosecone. Avast! Blimey! T' rectify this, I used t' procedure spelled out in t' instructions t' good effect. Avast! Blimey! I wrapped a piece o' #100 sandpaper around t' NC where t' spin motors were t' me mounted and then rubbed the motors back and forth t' achieve t' desired profile.

Each o' t' spin motors be attached t' t' NC along a line molded into t' plastic o' t' NC and 1" up from the bottom. Avast, me proud beauty! I used t' liquid plastic cement for this and it seemed t' make a good join.

T' kit comes with a strip o' thin balsa and a small sheet o' thicker balsa. Ya scallywag! This is used along with t' provided templates t' cut a bunch o' small parts that are used for detailin' and offsettin' t' launch lugs. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! I expected this to be rather tedious but it did nay turn out t' be so.

For t' thick balsa, thar be just a single template for t' two different types o' parts. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Two copies were needed o' one part and four o' t' other. I cut t' template out with scissors and transferred t' lines t' t' balsa, notin' t' orientation o' t' grain was compliant with t' directions. Aye aye! Blimey! Once t' parts were marked, shiver me timbers, me bucko, I used a razor and straightedge t' cut them out.

T' thin sheet had enough template for each o' t' parts t' be cut. Blimey! Blimey! I taped the template t' t' balsa strip at a place where t' tape was smaller than t' part bein' cut and then proceeded t' slice the parts off.

After t' pieces were cut out, shiver me timbers, me bucko, it was fairly simple t' glue them together. Avast! A pair o' skinny bands was glued to either side o' t' fin-lookin' things. Begad! When t' glue was dry, t' excess overhang was cut off and t' edges sanded. Aye aye! A cover plate was then glued on top. Ahoy! When that glue be dry, matey, it be sanded t' conform with t' rest o' t' bevel.

A similar but wider assembly be put together for t' lower portion o' t' rocket in t' same manner.

And finally, two more things were made which each resemble half o' t' previous thing. All o' these things are referred t' as launch shoes in t' directions.

T' launch shoes for t' nose cone are mounted on opposite sides, 180 degrees from each other. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' kit provides a bulb o' cement with which t' do this but I opted t' use epoxy.

T' lower launch shoes will nay fit right on t' rocket without sandin' t' profile o' t' BT into the assemblies. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Accordingly, me hearties, t' BT was wrapped with #100 and t' curve be sanded into t' mountin' surfaces.

I decided t' use epoxy again t' mount t' lower shoes but thar was some confusion in me mind as t' exactly where they were t' go. Both assemblies are mounted 180 decrees apart and centered betwixt t' fins but me problem be in locatin' them fore and aft. They seemed like a natural t' be glued directly t' t' BT but t' drawin' in the instructions clearly shows them mounted on t' plastic fin can, me bucko, protrudin' t' t' level o' t' fins. Begad! Well, arrr, blow me down! That leaves a bit hangin' off. Well, blow me down! Even so, matey, that is where I epoxied them.

PROs: straightforward and mildly challenging, nice looking

CONs: none

Finishing:
T' finishin' o' t' Hojo started off with a coatin' o' Kilz. Avast! This filled mostly t' balsa, covered up t' writing, and gave a bland, flat white surface. Begad! When t' Kilz had dried, I gave t' entire rocket a gentle sanding. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! T' entire rocket was painted with Testor's olive drab. Arrr! It took 2 cans.

For me, me bucko, t' biggest disappointment with this old kit was t' decals. Avast, me proud beauty! There weren't any. Instead, me hearties, I got some crack and peel stickers. Well, blow me down! This surprised me for a couple o' reasons. Ya scallywag! First off, I expect t' upper level Estes kits t' have a higher quality. Crack and Peel makes sense for RTF Walmart kits but nay for somethin' like this. Well, blow me down! Secondly, the instruction specifically make reference to, me hearties, shiver me timbers, matey, presumably, me hearties, waterslide decals. Blimey! There is a warnin' t' let each decal set completely before startin' t' next so that they do nay slide out o' place. Begad! Crack and Peels do nay slide around.

I remember thinkin' that t' "decals" seemed kind o' thick but me brain was just barely turnin' over. Begad! I cut out t' first one and set it in a bowl o' warm water. After a while, ya bilge rat, I noticed that it be just sittin' flat on top of t' water instead o' curlin' up like t' water slides usually do. Begad! Aye aye! I pulled it out o' t' water and looked more closely at t' master sheet from which it had come. Ya scallywag! Sure enough, me bucko, it was crack and peel.

Fortunately for me, me hearties, t' first sticker was nay damaged. Arrr! I proceeded t' place t' stickers as instructed as sat back t' admire me flat painted rocket with all o' those high gloss stickers.

PROs: Easy

CONs: stickers instead o' decals

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight and Recovery:
T' day finally came for me t' launch this one and I be jazzed. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! Blimey! I selected a D12-3, shiver me timbers, inserted about a dozen pieces of wadding, and then prepped t' chutes.

I should mention here that t' model is intended t' come down in 2 sections, each with its own chute. Aye aye! I'd rather keep it all together. I fashioned a Keelhaul®©™® harness and then used sewin' elastic t' connect t' NC t' t' harness. Aye aye! I also used two 18" nylon chutes. Each was connected t' t' harness with about 4' o' sewin' elastic.

T' liftoff was as slow and dramatic as promised. Ahoy! It flew straight and true and blew t' NC at apogee. Ahoy! It wasn't all that high but it was beautiful. It drifted down gently under t' tandem chutes.

For t' second flight, shiver me timbers, I decided t' go with an AT E15-4. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! T' rocket be set up t' same way as before and everybody pause t' watch. Ya scallywag! At ignition, thar was some chuffin' and I had just come t' t' conclusion that it wouldn't go off when it did. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! It was nay as slow as before but it was a great flight straight up.

It hit apogee and started t' turn down. Blimey! After all, it had an extra second t' work with. Arrr! It kept comin' down, faster and faster. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Unless me deadlights deceived me, matey, it be acceleratin' at about 32 ft/sec^2. Finally, ya bilge rat, about 100 feet up, matey, it ejected and everythin' deployed normally. Blimey! Begad! Upon inspection o' t' bag t' motor came in, matey, it turned out t' have a 7 second delay and nay 4. Avast, me proud beauty! I had it stashed in t' wrong bin.

PROs: Beautiful straight flights, awesome liftoffs

CONs: none

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a nice rocket marred primarily by t' crack and peel stickers instead o' decals. Ahoy! I still like it though and am glad t' have it in t' fleet.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5