Brief:
T' Armageddon is a large, me hearties, unique looking, high power kit produced by DG&A Rocketry.

Construction:
T' components include: three 3.9 inch body tubes, 2 couplers, me bucko, me hearties, 1 54mm motor mount tube, me hearties, 4 large fins, 4 canard fins, 1 nose cone, shiver me timbers, 4 centerin' rings, 1 bulkhead, me bucko, 1 60 inch parachute, me hearties, one 9/16 inch thick nylon webbin' shock cord with pre-sewn loops, arrr, 8 nozzle fins, me hearties, 8 fin reinforcement strips, me hearties, 2 launch lugs, arrr, 2 quick links, 2 eye-bolt assemblies, assorted hardware, me bucko, me bucko, vinyl decals, me hearties, ya bilge rat, and a 7 page instruction booklet. All o' t' parts arrived in a large cardboard box with a nice label showin' t' rocket and t' important dimensions. Avast, me proud beauty! T' parts were all individually wrapped in paper or plastic. Avast! Aye aye! T' nose cone, tubes, ya bilge rat, and couplers were all standard LOC style components. I was very impressed by t' wooden components. Ahoy! Ahoy! All 16 fins, centerin' rings, matey, matey, and bulkheads were made o' flawless 1/4 inch thick plywood. Begad! Aye aye! T' parachute is similar in quality t' LOC parachutes.

T' kit comes with seven pages o' illustrated instructions and a fin alignment guide. Arrr! Blimey! After I read through t' directions once, I did nay refer t' them again except t' look up various relevant measurements. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I started t' construction o' t' rocket by cuttin' t' numerous fin slots. While tedious, this is nay overly difficult as long as you take your time. Ya scallywag! Blimey! This be t' one area in which t' rocket should be improved. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I then drilled holes in t' centerin' rings and bulkheads for T-nuts and U-bolts. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! (I chose t' replace t' supplied eye-bolts with U-bolts.) DG&A supplies 2 T-nuts for motor retention. Ahoy! Blimey! I decided t' use a Slimline motor retainer instead but installed t' T-nuts anyway in case they were ever needed. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I would highly recommend usin' a Slimline on this rocket because t' unique tail design would force you t' use extremely long screws t' secure t' motor. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! As a bonus, t' Slimline also significantly reduces t' chance o' damage upon landin' since on this rocket it always will be t' part which encounters t' ground first. Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! After installin' t' U-bolts and T-nuts, I epoxied t' four centerin' rings onto t' motor tube. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! I then epoxied t' motor mount assembly into t' body tube. While waitin' for t' assembly t' dry, I glued t' coupler and bulkhead into t' payload tube. Well, blow me down! Blimey! After usin' a belt sander t' airfoil t' fins, I epoxied them in place. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Blimey! DG&A includes 8 "fin supports", matey, which are wood strips glued t' t' sides o' t' main fins. Arrr! Despite t' name, matey, I suspect that these are more for looks than strength. I epoxied these in place and then moved on t' t' nozzle assembly. T' allow me Slimline t' fit, ya bilge rat, I used a belt sander t' remove part o' t' nozzle fins so that they would fit over t' Slimline. Blimey! After test fittin' t' Slimline, matey, me hearties, I removed it and epoxied t' nozzle fins in place. Well, blow me down! I then poured liberal amounts o' epoxy in t' areas betwixt t' nozzle fins, until t' epoxy was level with t' end o' t' body tube. While heavy, ya bilge rat, this method looks great and is practically indestructible. Blimey! T' second body tube can either be epoxied t' t' first or it can be temporarily attached with t' provided screws. Arrr! Arrr! I decided t' use t' screws because they allow for easy repairs if t' tube zippers or is damaged on landing. Ahoy! I opted t' use ACME conformal rail guides instead o' t' provided launch lugs. Begad! Aye aye! For t' record, matey, I would nay recommend usin' t' ACME rail guides as they make t' rocket difficult t' load onto t' pad. Avast! Well, blow me down! If you do choose t' use these, do not use t' provided tape t' attach them. Ahoy! Begad! I did and while loadin' t' rocket onto t' pad for it's second flight, ya bilge rat, I ripped one off t' tube. Blimey! Well, blow me down! I was able t' epoxy it back on and fly it t' same day, me bucko, but it be a pain. I did nay attach t' Slimline until after I had painted t' rocket.

Finishing:
T' rocket finished like any other high power rocket. Begad! Blimey! I spent a rather long time filling, priming, shiver me timbers, and sandin' this rocket. Ahoy! Ahoy! After I spent several weeks preppin' t' rocket, I painted it orange and black with Krylon paint. I did nay use t' included vinyl decals.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
This rocket preps like any other high power rocket. Begad! Ya scallywag! I use a 54-38mm Slimline adapter on this rocket. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! I have flown this rocket twice, once on a J420R and once on a J570W. Ya scallywag! Both flights were absolutely perfect.

Recovery:
I used a Nomex heat shield and shock cord protector on this rocket. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Both flights had a successful recovery although t' rocket did come down rather fast. Begad! After t' second flight, me bucko, shiver me timbers, I noticed that t' two main body tubes seemed t' be comin' loose. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! When I removed t' screws holdin' t' two sections together, ya bilge rat, I discovered that t' coupler was slightly crumpled. This be easily fixed by internally fiberglassin' t' coupler. I do nay think that this would have been an issue had I epoxied t' two sections together.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a fantastic rocket with high quality components. T' design is interestin' and eye catching. Aye aye! Avast! I would highly recommend this rocket t' any modeler who has previously built at least one high power rocket.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5