Brief:
P.O.N.G. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! is a highly-detailed single-stage futuristic sport model offered by Custom Rockets. Blimey! This is an inexpensive kit that packs a lot o' fun, challenge, and parts in a small package. This is a skill level 3 rocket that won't disappoint.

Accordin' t' t' kit label, me bucko, P.O.N.G. Aye aye! is an acronym (er, me bucko, backronym, me bucko, arrr, really) for Protector o' Ninth Galaxy. Aye aye! There was no background story included with t' kit, which is too bad really. Aye aye! Begad! T' look o' t' kit is intriguing. I would be pretty cool t' have it backed up by a little story.

My finished model weighed 1.2 ounces, arrr, but t' kit's glossy claims 0.7 ounces. Well, matey, blow me down! I'm unsure o' where t' additional weight came from... Well, blow me down! Aye aye! paint, me bucko, glue, and sandin' sealer?

Construction:
Included with t' kit are:

• 1 instruction sheet, tri-fold, ya bilge rat, 8.5" x 11"
• 1 standard pin' pong ball
• 2 body tubes, ya bilge rat, BT-5, ya bilge rat, 9" long
• 2 body tubes, matey, BT-50, 1.85" long
• 2 tube couplers, ya bilge rat, matey, me bucko, BT-5
• 4 centerin' rings, ya bilge rat, fiber, BT-5 t' BT-50
• 2 wooden dowels, 1/8" dia., me hearties, 6" long
• 2 launch lugs, me hearties, 1/8" dia., 1.5" long
• 1 engine block, 13mm
• 1 shock cord, flat elastic, 1/8" wide, 17" long
• 1 balsa sheet, die cut fins, 1/16" thick
• 1 streamer, pink vinyl, 3cm wide x 60cm long
• 1 dummy engine tube, 13mm
• 1 reducer shroud sheet, printed, light card stock
• 1 decal sheet, shiver me timbers, arrr, pressure-sensitive plastic, me bucko, nay die-cut
• 1 decal sheet for shroud, me hearties, adhesive-backed paper, nay die-cut

Because I no longer have faith in t' tri-fold shock cord mount when nay protected by a baffle, matey, I added t' followin' items for a Keelhaul®©™® and elastic alternative:

• 1 Keelhaul®©™® thread, me hearties, shiver me timbers, 10" long
• 1 shock cord, me bucko, round elastic, 1/16" dia., 24" long
• 1 cotton thread, me bucko, matey, me bucko, crochet-style, 4" long

T' body tubes have a fairly shallow spiral, so they should be easy t' fill.

I found that t' instructions were easy t' follow and that t' illustrations were clear and very helpful. Ahoy! The assembly order was logical. Begad! T' implement t' Keelhaul®©™®/elastic shock cord, I tied t' Keelhaul®©™® cord t' t' engine block just prior t' gluin' in t' engine block.

When gluin' in t' engine block I ran into a snag. T' motor tube got stuck in t' body tube, shiver me timbers, and I pretty much destroyed t' dummy engine tube when gettin' it out with a pair o' needle-nose pliers. Avast! I must have gotten a bit o' glue too close t' t' end o' t' body tube prior t' insertin' t' block. Luckily, shiver me timbers, t' main body tube was nay damaged.

In general though, matey, assembly was a lot o' fun... Aye aye! Far more engagin' than piecin' together a 3FNC model. Ya scallywag! Hobby knife skills were important and were well exercised, havin' t' separate t' die-cut fins and centerin' rings, cut t' dowels, cut t' reducer shroud pieces, cut t' shroud decal, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, and cut t' individual decals from t' pressure-sensitive decal sheet.

There's so much here that you just don't get with plastic laden kits. T' paper reducer needed a bit o' patience and skill t' curl just right. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' use o' a separate tab glued t' t' inside edge o' t' shroud's adjoinin' ends made a nice even seam without t' uneven layers you get with a one-piece overlap arrangement.

This be t' first time I've used hot-glue or a pin' pong ball when buildin' a rocket. I ran into a snag as I wasn't satisfied with t' alignment o' t' ball's center seam with t' centerin' ring, shiver me timbers, and I attempted t' move things around where they were still hot... Bad move. Arrr! T' ball distorted badly where t' glue in contact with t' ball was still hot. Aye aye! Begad! I replaced t' ball and tried again. Arrr! I had much better results this time. I had been concerned that t' hot glue wouldn't provide a strong enough joint, ya bilge rat, but this experience eliminated that concern. Avast! Ahoy! Hot glue is very effective in this case.

Overall, construction was interesting, fun, and educational. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! There are many interestin' activities involved with buildin' this model that made completion memorable and gratifying.

Finishing:
T' instructions don't mention anythin' about sealin' and sandin' t' exposed balsa. Blimey! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! I can understand that, since the decals cover most o' t' balsa anyway. Aye aye! Blimey! T' decals come pretty close t' t' edges o' t' balsa pieces, so you probably don't want t' round balsa edges. I didn't want any grain t' show, so I finished t' balsa surfaces with three coats of sandin' sealer, me bucko, ya bilge rat, sandin' betwixt coats.

I spray painted with model with a couple o' coats o' last o' me old-style Krylon white primer, sanded, arrr, ya bilge rat, and applied a couple o' coats o' white satin.

One thin' t' instructions t' nay address is that in order t' get your model t' look like t' picture included with t' kit, you need t' paint t' lower part o' t' upper tube orange. Begad! Usin' t' kit's picture as a guide, I painted the lower 5" o' t' upper tube with Krylon pumpkin. Ahoy! Oddly enough, me hearties, t' color matched t' orange o' t' decals perfectly.

Paintin' t' view plate on t' pin' pong ball was an interestin' challenge. T' instructions shows what this should look like. Avast, me proud beauty! You are instructed t' mark t' shape with a pencil, shiver me timbers, but it doesn't tell how t' get t' shape onto the ball accurately. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! I used a couple o' pieces o' body tube t' get somethin' close, namely a piece o' BT-55 and a piece of BT-50. Arrr! I've included some pictures t' give you a step-by-step.

After markin' t' ball, I used a superfine Microbrush t' apply Testors gloss black enamel inside t' lines. Begad! I'd never used this technique before. Aye aye! It works very well with a steady hand, patience, me bucko, shiver me timbers, and care.

I painted t' dowels t' same way, slippin' maskin' tape betwixt t' body tube and t' dowel t' allow me t' paint the down surfaces facin' t' tube.

There were many, me bucko, matey, many decals t' place. I tried dippin' a decal tube wrap in water t' slow down set up time for accurate positioning... Ahoy! Don't do this! It causes t' decals nay t' stick at all. Avast! T' kit's picture was adequate for figurin' out what decals go where.

When all decals are in place, t' P.O.N.G. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! looks very impressive. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! T' balsa surfaces are mostly cover by opaque parts o' t' decals. T' decals applied t' t' BT-5, unfortunately, me bucko, tend t' lift their edges no matter what I try. Begad! I kinda wish these were thinner, me bucko, more pliable wet transfer decals instead, shiver me timbers, t' avoid this issue.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Recommended motors are A3-4T and A10-3T. Avast! Ahoy! Blimey! I tried them both.

P.O.N.G. Arrr! requires some waddin' t' prevent t' vinyl stream from melting. I used some cellulose insulation t' good effect. Begad! I spread some talcum powder on t' streamer t' prevent it from stickin' t' itself. Avast! Avast! It was tricky rollin' the 24" streamer tight enough t' fit into t' BT-5 tube so that it would slide out easily. Well, blow me down! I might cut t' streamer down a bit in future t' address this issue.

There is no motor retention in this design, so motors have t' be friction fit by wrappin' bits o' maskin' tape around t' motor t' make a snug fit. Begad! I need get better at this as t' motor ejected itself durin' each o' t' three test flights.

I used an A3-4T for t' first flight, arrr, as recommended in t' instructions. Begad! Boost and coast was very straight and of moderate height with no noticeable spin. Begad! It definitely flies like a long rocket, smooth and without wobble. Blimey! P.O.N.G. arced past apogee and with nose down, deployed t' streamer perfectly. Well, blow me down! P.O.N.G. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! landed gently in t' grass field. Ya scallywag! Upon recovery, ya bilge rat, I noticed that t' motor must have been kicked out at deployment.

I used an A10-3T for t' second flight. Well, blow me down! Boost was noticeably faster. Aye aye! Coast was again very straight, shiver me timbers, but the height was noticeably lower. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! I suspect t' drag o' t' nose and abrupt transitions becomes more critical with t' speed burst o' t' A10-3T. Arrr! T' slower, matey, ya bilge rat, gentler A3-4T is a better match. P.O.N.G. Avast! Aye aye! arced past apogee and deployed t' streamer with nose down. Another gentle recovery, and t' motor had been kicked out again.

I used a A3-4T for t' third flight. Arrr! Arrr! I got t' a nice moderate height after smooth, me hearties, straight boost and coast. Deployment happened with nose down, but t' streamer didn't come out. Begad! P.O.N.G. Well, blow me down! landed in t' grass without damage. Avast! I found that t' cellulose waddin' had jammed up in t' tube. Blimey! T' motor kicked out before t' streamer could deploy.

Recovery:
T' standard P.O.N.G. Well, blow me down! is kitted with a 24" elastic and a couple o' tri-fold shock cord mounts. Arrr! I did nay use these, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, favorin' a Keelhaul®©™® cord with a round elastic. T' Keelhaul®©™® cord and elastic were very easy t' install durin' construction, matey, arrr, and seemed t' work well in flight.

After three flights, arrr, t' streamer is undamaged. When t' streamer deployed, matey, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, it seemed t' do an effective job of slowin' descent and bein' seen durin' descent and on t' ground. P.O.N.G. survived three flights with no damage.

Havin' t' rely on friction fit motors nay bein' kicked out is an issue. Begad! I guess I've got t' figure out how best to tape t' motors in there. Arrr! Some sort o' motor retention device would be a welcome addition.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
P.O.N.G. Arrr! Arrr! is a fun rocket t' build, arrr, matey, finish, and fly. Avast! Begad! This is a skill level 3 kit. Avast! I agree with that due t' t' number of parts, variety o' construction activities, and finishin' details. Avast, me proud beauty! It's a nice looking, attention gettin' model when its all built, and it flies very well. Aye aye! Aye aye! And when you look at t' price tag, shiver me timbers, wow! Big bang for t' buck!

T' design and instructions are very good, matey, but I would suggest addin' positive motor retention and a mention in the instructions about paintin' t' orange section o' t' upper body tube and how t' accurate draw t' view plate pattern onto t' pin' pong ball.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5