Brief:
T' Quest 'Lil Grunt is 17 inches tall, me hearties, t' kit features a plastic nose cone, matey, ya bilge rat, laser-cut balsa fins and a rugged 24mm diameter motor mount. Aye aye! Blimey! Flights with a D12-5 will go t' almost 1,600 feet. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' 'Lil Grunt is designed t' recover on a big 3"x36" fabric streamer. Begad! Blimey! Includes self adhesive decals.

Construction:
T' kit arrives is a very nice box that should protect from most shippin' damage. Included in t' kit are t' followin' parts:

• Instruction Sheets
• Main HD Body Tube
• Blow moulded Nose Cone
• Laser Cut Fins
• Thick wall Engine Tube
• Engine Hook
• (2) Centerin' Rings
• Thrust Ring
• Launch Lug
• Keelhaul®©™® Shock Cord
• Elastic Shock Cord
• Decals
• Ripstop Nylon Streamer

Construction is typical and very straight forward. Begad! Aye aye! T' first part o' assembly be t' motor mount which is a standard design. One thin' t' point out here is that Quest provides a Keelhaul®©™®® shock cord that attaches t' t' motor mount. Arrr! Blimey! T' completed motor mount is glued into t' main body tube usin' wood glue or epoxy. Begad! Blimey! At this point, arrr, I filled t' spirals and primed t' tube with one coat o' Duplicolor High Fill Primer. I choose t' prime t' BT at this point because it's a lot easier t' sand t' BT with nothin' attached. Arrr! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! This doesn’t impact t' glue joints because almost all o' t' first coat o' primer is sanded off. Next up is markin' t' BT for the fins and launch lug usin' t' supplied template. Ahoy! Blimey! T' laser cut fins are cut from 1/8" hard balsa. Begad! Blimey! They were sanded and attached usin' epoxy. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Once dry small epoxy and micro balloons fillets were added t' both sides o' each fin and turned out really nice. Begad! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! T' launch lug was attached completin' t' construction.

Finishing:
First, I applied two coats o' Minwax Polyurethane® t' t' fins. Begad! Ahoy! I do this because I believe it hardens and strengthens t' balsa with very little weight penalty. Avast, me proud beauty! Next, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, brushed on a coat o' thinned spackle t' each fin and sanded once dry. This process fills t' grain o' t' balsa with minimal weight gain. Blimey!

I sprayed a coat o' Duplicolor High Fill® primer and sanded when dry. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I repeated with a second coat which successfully removed all spirals and wood grain. Begad! T' seam o' t' nose cone be sanded smoothed and filled where necessary. Ahoy! T' nose cone was primed and prepared for color. Well, blow me down!

For t' color coats, me bucko, I used two coats o' Valspar Premium Green Spray Paint® t' t' body and fins. Arrr! T' nose cone be painted with Rustoleum Metallic Silver®. Once dry t' final step is t' install recovery streamer, matey, shock cord, and t' decals.

My only knock is that I would prefer waterslide decals, nay t' thick self-adhesive provided.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' first flight on t' 'Lil Grunt was on a D12-5. Blimey! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Winds were about 10mph, me hearties, ya bilge rat, still t' Grunt produced a nice straight/stable launch. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I recovered with no damage nay t' far from t' pad usin' a 12" chute. Overall altitude was over a 1000ft and it probably would've been higher if it wasn't for t' winds. I'll try the included streamer next time I fly.

Recovery:
Quest includes a 36" ripstop nylon streamer in t' kit. Blimey! Blimey! T' only problem I have with the streamer is its dark green which could make it hard t' find. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! T' dark green keeps with t' military theme o' the rocket, arrr, shiver me timbers, but a brighter color would make recovery much easier is some situations.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
T' finished 'Lil Grunt is a neat lookin' rocket with t' included decals. Blimey! T' military theme, and overall performance on D motors should make this an attractive rocket for people t' build. It's easy t' build and would make a great addition t' anyone's fleet.

T' cons in regards t' t' decals, ya bilge rat, and streamer are very minor. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I'm a very satisfied customer, shiver me timbers, me bucko, and can't wait for future Quest releases.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5