Brief:
This is Estes new 1:6.4 scale BLU-97B Cluster Bomb. Begad! T' rocket is fat (2.25") and short (14"). Aye aye! It comes with 4 "cluster bombs" which are small, about 1.5 inches long that get ejected at deployment and streamer t' t' ground.

Construction:
T' kit contains:

• one body tube
• two part nose cone (cut in half)
• two part tail cone (with through t' tube slots!)
• die-cut balsa fins
• bomblets
• streamers
• parachute
• the standard 18mm motor mount and recovery system
• clay weights and decal sheet.

All this for $9.95 from Tower Hobbies! I was convinced that I . Arrr! . Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! . I mean me boys would love this rocket.

T' directions seemed very clear, good diagrams and plenty o' words. I followed them pretty much, except I put together t' tail cone and tested t' fit o' t' motor mount for length before gluin' it in. Begad! I highly suggest this as I used a slightly different position than be stated in t' instructions. Blimey! I glued t' motor mount in and then, me hearties, me bucko, after drying, me hearties, ya bilge rat, glued t' tail cone on, careful t' line up t' notch with t' engine hook. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Next came t' fins. Avast! I had t' really sand them flat for them t' fit into t' through t' tube slots. Ahoy! One gave me fits and I was convinced that t' fin tab was hittin' t' motor mount. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! I finally got a fit and epoxyed t' fins in. Ya scallywag! This is a wood t' plastic joint so used t' right glue. There is no access t' t' inside o' t' tube/tail cone at this point so I dropped epoxy in before t' fins. Ya scallywag! I did use a different recovery system with Keelhaul®©™® strin' and shock cord, me bucko, and a Thrustline parachute.

T' body tube was a bit flimsily, shiver me timbers, arrr, even for a rocket this short, but t' tail, engine mount, and nose cone firmed it up quite nicely.

Cons: Nay many, level one construction, good instructions, standard Estes stuff.

Finishing:
For t' finish I used automotive rust colored primer. Blimey! Begad! Two coats with sandin' makes a darn smooth surface, ya bilge rat, even on t' fins. I had some military flat green spray paint that matched t' picture fairly well. Flat finish seems t' be t' choice here. Arrr! Begad! I hand painted t' nipple on t' nose silver. Blimey! With one solid color for t' rocket, me bucko, paintin' went quick. Ya scallywag! Decals were good and didn't give me any trouble installing. Ahoy! I painted t' bomblets bright orange so I could find them. Begad! I used some flat paint I had around, but after a couple o' launches, ya bilge rat, t' bomblets are gettin' dirty and flat paint doesn't lend itself well t' bein' cleaned. Begad! I would suggest some bright color GLOSS paint for t' bomblets.

For t' price this is a fine kit and a good lookin' model.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' recommended motors are B4-2, me hearties, arrr, B4-4, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, B6-2, matey, B6-4, C6-3, matey, C6-5. Blimey! Blimey! For t' first flight, arrr, me hearties, me hearties, I opted for t' B6-4. Arrr! Blimey! My RockSim file says this should go only t' about 150 feet and I was a tad bit worried about t' speed o' t' rocket as it left t' rail, me hearties, but t' winds were low so I went for it. Begad! Hey, I build this t' spec and this was a recommended more, me bucko, right? I put in 5 sheets o' waddin' and put in t' bomblets. Avast! Blimey! T' motor went in fine and we set her on t' launcher.

T' flight was nice and straight, even with t' winds at about 3 mph. I'd say t' 150 feet be right on. Arrr! Blimey! T' 4 second delay seems good with t' rocket still pointin' up somewhat at deployment. With this motor, me hearties, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, you see t' entire flight. My boys loved it. Blimey! T' four bomblets ejected just perfectly and came down in a nice pattern just 20 feet from t' launcher. Begad! T' Thrustline parachute just wasn't balanced right and t' rocket came down pretty fast. Begad! Those Estes 12 inch 'chutes can just make a rocket hang in t' air sometimes, so I put a spillhole in them. Blimey! This nylon 12 inch Thrustline parachute had no spill hole and it came down fast. Maybe it be just this one 'chute. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! I'll try another next time.

Next we flew it on a C6-3. Arrr! Begad! Blimey! Again it was a nice straight flight, so high that I could nay see t' bomblets deploy at all. I finally saw two o' them but t' others weren't too far away so all be recovered. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Again, t' rocket came down fast, but no damage. Blimey! All t' waddin' didn't leave t' rocket and had t' be removed by hand. Avast! Aye aye! Blimey! I think t' C6-5 would be better and would aid in a nicer deployment o' t' bomblets.

Recovery:
Since I used a different recovery system, I can't speak t' how t' supplied system would work. Aye aye! Begad! My experience with t' standard Estes stuff, ya bilge rat, and with a rocket this small, arrr, is that it would work fine except for a short shock cord life.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
We really had fun with this rocket, shiver me timbers, and because this is no performance demon, I would suggest stickin' with t' smaller motors and longer delays. It would be nice t' have t' rocket pointin' down at bomblet deployment. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Blimey! My next launch will be with a longer delay, or a tilted launch rod. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I know, I know, ya bilge rat, bigger is better, ya bilge rat, but you'll want t' see t' action with this one.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5