Brief:
T' Blue Bird Zero is one o' Thrustline Aerospace's "Replica Rocket Parts Packs" line o' clone kits. Begad! T' original BB0 was an Estes kit produced from 1980 t' 1985. T' BB0 is a fairly long, BT-55 based rocket with a single 18mm engine mount, ya bilge rat, 3 large primary fins, 3 small secondary fins, and an awesome decal set with German military styling. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! T' original kit was listed as a skill level 2.

Construction:
This kit arrived in me mailbox securely packed and undamaged (the postal service has yet t' score damage points on any o' t' dozen or so orders I've received from Thrustline). Blimey! T' followin' items are included with this kit:

• BT-55 Main Body Tube (2x18")
• BT-55 Tube Coupler (1)
• 18mm Motor Mount Tube (1)
• BT-20/55 Centerin' Rings (2)
• Balsa Nose Cone (BNC-55AO)
• Steel Eyelet (1)
• Balsa Fin Stock
• Launch Lug (1)
• Elastic Shock Cord (1)
• Mylar Parachute Kit (18")

All tubes were standard white, glassine coated paper, me hearties, and t' centering rings were t' black fiber type. T' nose cone be balsa as opposed t' the plastic one that came with t' original kit. Blimey! Arrr! T' balsa sheet stock was standard quality, with enough extra t' make a spare set o' fins. T' elastic shock cord measured out at 18 inches, ya bilge rat, and t' Mylar parachute came unassembled with a separate page o' instructions. True t' t' original kit, thar be t' standard paper tri-fold shock cord mount, matey, and no engine block (thrust ring) included. You may have also noticed that thar are no decals mentioned with this kit. Thrustline has worked out a cooperative deal with Excelsior Rocketry t' carry decals for their clone kits. On t' plus side, matey, arrr, Excelsior makes outstanding decals, matey, but on t' minus side it means havin' t' place a second order t' get everythin' you need.

My original motivation for buildin' t' Blue Bird Zero be t' have a big brother for me Gooney Bird Zero, a Baby Bertha kit bash from Excelsior Rocketry. It was fun t' build them both side by side. There are no instructions included with t' Thrustline kit (it really is just a parts pack), so t' first step is t' go and download them from JimZs website. Arrr! Well, me hearties, blow me down! T' instructions are standard Estes (I can almost quote t' steps from memory) and included a set of hand drafted fin templates which were obviously nay required in t' original kit.

T' motor mount is assembled first and installed in t' body tube. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! It is necessary t' cut a notch in t' aft centerin' rin' t' allow for movement o' the engine hook. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! This can be accomplished with a X-Acto knife, ya bilge rat, but I have also had good luck usin' a hole punch on t' thin fiber centerin' rings. Begad! Per the original design, this motor mount did nay include a thrust ring, but since I don't trust t' hook by itself, I cut me own out o' a spent engine case.

While t' motor mount glue be drying, shiver me timbers, I traced and cut out t' 2 sets of fins. These were match sanded with rounded corners and then airfoiled. Well, blow me down! The standard Estes tube markin' wrap is used t' set t' fin location, matey, and I use a length o' aluminum angle stock t' mark t' fin lines on me rockets. Begad! Begad! At this point I noticed that t' spacin' on t' hand drawn fin template attached t' the instructions from JimZ was different than what be called out in t' Estes instructions. Blimey! There was an inch difference in t' placement o' t' smaller fins, and I went with t' Estes instructions. Blimey! Avast! My standard routine for attaching fins is t' tack them on with Titebond wood glue, me hearties, add a second wood glue fillet, and then a final fillet o' Elmer's Wood Filler. Begad! Ya scallywag! I attached t' fins in pairs, sightin' betwixt t' two t' get them aligned t' each other. Well, me bucko, blow me down! Due t' t' large size o' t' main fins, I decided t' strengthen them up with a coat o' thin CA glue, shiver me timbers, spread across t' fin with an index card and sanded smooth. Begad! T' launch lug is cut into two pieces and attached in t' same fashion.

On rockets with multiple sections o' body tube, me hearties, I try and attach t' fins to t' lower section first t' avoid havin' a long tube t' work with and bump into. Avast! At this point I decided t' upgrade t' recovery system. Avast, me proud beauty! I will never again use t' old paper tri-fold shock cord mount, and have a large spool of Keelhaul®©™® cord on hand t' make sure I never have to. Arrr! I decided t' use t' tube coupler as my anchor point. Begad! I tied a bulky knot in t' end o' t' Keelhaul®©™®, laid it in t' tube and installed t' coupler (picture t' Keelhaul®©™® in betwixt t' coupler and t' BT). Before t' glue sets, me bucko, pull t' cord gently until t' knot is restin' up against t' coupler, and then put a hefty drop of glue on t' knot. Blimey! T' upper section o' BT is installed t' same way. First thread t' Keelhaul®©™® through t' new section o' tubing, arrr, and then apply glue t' t' inside o' t' BT and slide it onto t' coupler, keepin' t' Keelhaul®©™® cord taut. Aye aye! I'm nay sure thar are any pros or cons t' this versus attachin' it to t' motor mount, ya bilge rat, but I did save almost 2 feet o' Keelhaul®©™® cord that way.

[Note: This method only works with t' lighter weight Keelhaul®©™® strin' that one would typically use in model rocket construction. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! For mid-power birds, shiver me timbers, t' heavier strin' will put a noticeable bump in t' body tube, so use the motor mount or a separate centerin' rin' as your anchor point.]

T' final bit o' construction involves installin' t' eyelet in t' balsa nose cone by screwin' it half way in, removin' it, shiver me timbers, fillin' t' hole with CA glue and screwin' it all t' way down. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' 18" Mylar parachute comes unassembled, but it's a fairly simple job t' attach t' reinforcement disks, cut and tie t' Keelhaul®©™® shroud lines and girth hitch everythin' t' t' swivel.

Finishing:
T' basic paint scheme for t' Blue Bird Zero is simple, white on t' bottom, blue on t' top. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! T' real impressive look for this rocket comes from the decals, me hearties, which I had ordered from Fred Talasco at Excelsior Rocketry. As with all o' Excelsior's decals, arrr, matey, me hearties, t' sharpness and detail is awesome, shiver me timbers, and t' full 8½" x 11" sheet actually includes more decals than the original kit. Avast, me proud beauty! For example, thar are enough fin decals t' decorate all three fins instead o' just two like t' original kit. Blimey! I have found this attention to detail in all o' t' decals I've ordered from Excelsior and am very impressed with "Phred's" operation.

T' balsa nose cone and 6 fins were coated with thinned down Elmer's Wood Filler, and sanded smooth. Begad! Next came two coats o' Rust-Oleum Painters Touch Sandable Primer, followed by two coats o' Krylon spray enamel. T' two color paint scheme is about as simple as you can get, paintin' t' bottom o' the rocket white, arrr, matey, me hearties, maskin' off t' body tube and paintin' t' upper section and nose cone blue. Arrr! By t' time I got t' t' second coat o' primer, me bucko, I had worked me way down t' 400 grit for t' in betwixt sanding.

When you order decals from Excelsior they come with a full page of instructions for prepping, arrr, applyin' and finishing, arrr, me bucko, and they recommend Microscale brand products (Decal-Set and Micro-Sol) for accomplishin' t' job. I have nay yet tried any o' Microscale's products, me bucko, me hearties, havin' used Testor's Gloss-Cote (#1216) with good results. Aye aye! First I give t' decal sheet 2 light coats o' Gloss-Cote. Arrr! Next t' decals are cut out and applied with t' standard warm water dip, me bucko, arrr, slide into place and blot dry routine. Avast! After t' decals have completely dried, I add a final spray o' Gloss-Cote t' t' whole rocket. Ya scallywag! Avast! The finished product looks awesome and t' Gloss-Cote seems t' play nice with both the paint and t' decals. Arrr! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! I finished up t' recovery system by attachin' the elastic shock cord t' t' Keelhaul®©™® cord, and then t' t' nose cone, matey, matey, and puttin' a drop o' CA glue on all the knots.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' initial flights o' t' Blue Bird Zero were conducted on hot and, in one case, me bucko, windy Ohio summer days. Blimey! T' Estes instructions recommend either a B6-4 or C6-5 motor. Arrr! Avast! T' published weight for this kit is 2.7oz. Well, blow me down! Includin' the parachute, me hearties, me bucko, me version o' t' BB0 weighed in at a fairly hefty 3.5oz. Arrr! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Flight preparation is standard, with then engine installed underneath t' engine hook and igniter inserted. Arrr! Blimey! T' recovery system is simple as well. I fly this rocket with a 4"x4" Nomex® heat shield, me bucko, also purchased from Thrustline, matey, ya bilge rat, which is attached t' t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord through t' installed eyelet. Ya scallywag! T' heat shield is followed by the dusted and folded parachute. There is plenty o' room in this rocket so loading everythin' up is easy.

Because o' t' extra weight that I always seem t' build (and paint) into my rockets, me bucko, ya bilge rat, me hearties, I have only flown t' Blue Bird Zero on C6-5s. Avast! Avast! Blimey! This is a pretty large bird, longer than t' standard Estes launch rod. Blimey! Blimey! On t' day o' t' first flights it be quite windy, around 15 knots, and t' launch rod was angled slightly into t' wind. Aye aye! This big rocket swayed pretty good sittin' on t' pad, so I waited for a lull before a quick count and go. Even in a strong breeze, the BB0 boosted straight with no noticeable weathercocking. Begad! Arrr! Blimey! T' best way to describe t' way this rocket flies is "smooth". Ya scallywag! Avast! Blimey! It isn't fast, it isn't slow, it isn't high, ya bilge rat, it isn't low, me bucko, it just flies a very nice profile and looks "smooth" doin' it.

Recovery:
T' Blue Bird Zero Recovers on an 18" Mylar parachute. Ejection with the C6-5 happens just past apogee, and I've gotten good deployments on all flights so far. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Because this is such a long bird, thar isn't much danger from heat damage from t' ejection charge. Blimey! Blimey! I fly with a Nomex® heat shield which fits snugly in t' body tube, me bucko, so I don't have t' worry about the parachute shiftin' and possible tanglin' durin' boost. Begad! Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' 18" chute is a little bit too big for this rocket, me hearties, shiver me timbers, me hearties, but since it doesn't fly really high, there isn't really any danger o' losin' it even on a windy day and I like the fact that this cool lookin' rocket comes down nice and easy.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
Thrustline Aerospace and Excelsior Rocketry (along with a growin' number of companies) has brought "cloning" within reach o' us short attention span BARs that can't/don't/won't take t' time t' round up all t' bits and pieces t' build those birds we wish we had when we were kids. Blimey! Keep 'em coming guys!

PROs: T' Blue Bird Zero is a great lookin' rocket from "back in the day". Ahoy! Avast! It's big and bad and flies like it knows it!

CONs: Havin' t' place two orders t' get everythin' you need t' put this bad boy on t' pad. Honestly, matey, I think t' arrangement betwixt Thrustline and Excelsior takes advantage o' t' strength o' both companies, matey, matey, but I would still rather pay a couple bucks more and get everythin' in one bag. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! My only other gripe is that I think every rocket should come with a Keelhaul®©™® based recovery system, even t' clones.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5