Brief:
This rocket is a minimum diameter, me hearties, ya bilge rat, 18mm, streamer recovery, shiver me timbers, futuristic space plane. Ya scallywag! This is a beautiful little kit that I did me best t' mess up. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! It turned out well anyway.

Construction:
T' instruction were t' typical high quality one associates with Squirrel Works. Arrr! Aye aye! They were printed on both sides of a single legal sized piece o' paper. Avast! They were clear and contained adequate illustrations.

I started off noticin' how thin t' balsa for t' fins is. Arrr! Ya scallywag! T' instruction says that all but t' root edges should be rounded. Begad! Arrr! With me and me aggressive clumsiness, arrr, that means trouble. Well, blow me down! I decided t' try and seal/strengthen t' fins with CA.

I drizzled thin CA onto t' fins and swished it around with some card stock. I did this over wax paper, thinking that I had read that is a good idea. It wasn't. CA will stick t' wax paper along with everythin' else. Aye aye! Blimey! My fins now have little star tattoos since it was Christmas wax paper. Arrr! Blimey! I have t' same tattoos. Avast! Blimey! T' fins are stronger now, arrr, though. Sandin' improved things but I decided t' go ahead and seal t' fins with Elmers before goin' any farther.

Assembly o' t' rocket itself was nay too difficult. It began with t' motor mount. Arrr! Blimey! A thrust rin' was t' be installed with t' aid o' a provided engine space. Before installin' t' thrust ring, I cut a little notch in it so that I could provide a Keelhaul®©™® shock cord mount attached t' t' motor mount instead o' t' provided trifold. Begad! After t' notch was cut, me bucko, I tied the Keelhaul®©™® around t' rin' and then inserted it as per t' instructions

T' next step was t' cut out t' wrap around fin guide. Begad! Blimey! It matched perfectly and t' fin lines and lug lines were marked. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! T' fins were attached with CA but I added a step. Aye aye! Avast! Blimey! Usin' a safety pin, arrr, arrr, I perforated t' root edges o' t' fins and t' BT along t' fin lines in order t' form "rivets". Well, me hearties, blow me down! Blimey! Then CA be used t' mount t' fins and t' launch lug. Well, blow me down! When t' fins were dry, matey, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, they were filleted in t' standard manner with yellow glue.

I had some trepidation about t' canopy but it turned out t' be fairly easy. Begad! Avast! Blimey! Its simply a matter o' cuttin' it out with a razor knife and then gluin' a single tab. That part did nay bother me. Mountin' it and gettin' it faired did. It turned out t' be nay much o' a problem. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I used yellow glue and stuck it in place. Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! It seemed t' follow t' contours of the BT fairly well. T' one thin' I am unhappy with is me alignment. Avast! I could have gotten it a tad straighter if I had noticed in time.

While t' glue joints were settin' up, I tied t' elastic shock cord t' t' Keelhaul®©™® and installed t' eye screw in t' balsa nose cone. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' screw is held in place with a bit o' yellow glue. Avast, me proud beauty! T' rocket was then ready for finishing.

Finishing:
Finishin' for me started near t' very beginning. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Before any assembly, shiver me timbers, I sealed and sanded t' fins with Elmer's Fill 'n Seal. Blimey! After that, I assembled t' rocket as per t' instructions. Begad! When t' assembly phase was over, I used Elmer's to seal t' nose cone and fill in a few shrinkage cavities along t' fillets. I also slathered it on at the intersection betwixt t' canopy and t' BT so that with sanding, me bucko, ya bilge rat, me bucko, I could fair t' seam. Ahoy! T' nose cone was high quality and took only a single application. T' canopy took more time but that was because o' me sandin' more than anything else.

T' rocket was given 2 coats o' white primer and be then wet sanded with #600. Begad! After that, arrr, ya bilge rat, I began sprayin' on thin coats o' gloss white. Avast! I used a total o' three coats.

Some o' t' other reviews have made mention o' t' difficulty o' applyin' t' decals. Avast, me proud beauty! Long and skinny decals are always more difficult that ones with more unitary aspect ratios but I had no real trouble with these. Ahoy! I don't credit this t' me skill. Well, blow me down! Instead, I think it is a testament t' t' high quality o' t' decals provided. Blimey! Avast! There be no tendency to tear and they went on great. Arrr! I wish all decals were like this!

I think this is one o' t' best lookin' rockets I have constructed t' date.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
T' maiden flight was on an A8-3. Begad! Since this is a friction fit, I used a bit o' maskin' tape t' keep it in. It took off with a very mild corkscrew motion. Begad! I attribute this t' nay gettin' t' canopy on perfectly straight. This is a light rocket so it flew pretty high, even on just an A. Ejection occurred at apogee, just slightly early. Arrr! A five second delay might be better for this rocket.

Recovery:
T' streamer came right out without any problems and t' rocket drifted down gently. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! It seemed t' be a little slow for a streamer decent and, arrr, matey, me bucko, on checking, I found that t' motor had ejected even with t' maskin' tape used t' friction fit it. Begad! It landed without a scratch.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a cool lookin' rocket. It flies well and looks good on t' pad and in t' air. Aye aye! Blimey! It is fairly delicate but, with a modicum o' care, should be a reliable part o' any fleet that includes it.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Other:
Don't believe that wax paper won't adhere t' CA! It will!