Brief:

T' Ion Pulsar, me hearties, by Custom, is a fairly easy model t' build. Ahoy! Blimey! T' model specs. are; length 17", ya bilge rat, Dia. Begad! Blimey! 1.325", Weight 1.4 oz. Ya scallywag! Blimey! with recommended engines B4-4, me hearties, B6-4, C6-5.

Construction:
T' kit comes in a bag that contains two kraft paper body tubes, me hearties, arrr, cardboard paper centerin' rings, plastic nose cone, die cut balsa fins, plastic 12" chute with elastic shock cord, me hearties, decals, me hearties, and t' basic motor mount with a metal engine hook.

T' instructions are very easy t' follow and each step has a correspondin' illustration. Avast, me proud beauty! I followed t' directions exactly as they were written with t' exception o' usin' Titebond wood glue instead o' white glue as t' instructions recommend. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! Titebond is an excellent general-purpose adhesive and gets tacky in just a few minutes. Assembly consisted o' buildin' t' motor mount, markin' t' bottom body tube for fin placement, matey, me bucko, gluin' t' two body tubes together, me hearties, attachin' t' fins and dowels t' t' tube, me bucko, matey, and addin' t' launch lug. Blimey! Anticipatin' a rough landin' on t' fins and dowels I made sure t' use ample glue on these joints.

Finishing:
T' finishin' instructions have you mask off t' two body tube rings located in t' middle o' t' model and spray paint t' rocket silver. Begad! I just happened t' have a can of, arrr, Plaski-kote brand, ya bilge rat, pewter spray paint on t' shelf and decided t' use it, me hearties, thinkin' pewter would be appropriate. Avast, me proud beauty! This paint is actually a metallic lookin' silver with small metal flakes. Aye aye! Begad! T' paint was perfect for this model! Since t' nose cone is black plastic I choose nay t' paint it. This kit comes with 84 decals! Way too many decals for a skill level 2 project. Most o' t' decals are clear plastic with small black dots t' look like rivets, which should look great on a silver model. Arrr! Unfortunately, thar are only four rivets per decal. Arrr! Ya scallywag! A better solution would have been a single body wrap decal.

Construction Rating: 5

Flight:
T' recommended engines are B4-4, me bucko, B6-4, C6-5. I flew t' model for t' first time on a B6-4 and t' flight be straight with ejection at apogee.

Recovery:
Recovery be as predicted with a good 'chute deployment and gentle decent, but a 1 t' 5 mph wind gust made this rocket drift at a fast rate. Begad! Well, arrr, blow me down! When t' model contacted t' ground one fin came off and two o' t' dowels separated from t' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! Upon inspection it appears I did nay have a great glue joint on t' damaged fin.

Flight Rating: 5

Summary:
I like this model. Ya scallywag! Although it is nothin' more than three fins and a nose cone, t' different size body tubes with t' gold center rings make it unusual looking. I would suggest t' builders t' use epoxy on t' fins and dowels or they won't last long. Arrr! Blimey! I would have rated this model an overall five, but t' number o' decals knocked it down.

Overall Rating: 4