Brief:
T' Resistor 224 Planetary Defense Weapon be t' latest offerin' from Heavenly Hobbies. Avast! Blimey! This futuristic, dual motor, me bucko, 24mm design features their ‘Amaze’ ejection baffle, laser cut plywood fins, rings and baffles, thick wall tubes, me bucko, matey, matey, and a single big decal. It has two main fins with winglets at their tip. Blimey! Blimey! T' configuration is a little reminiscent o' t' Jayhawk. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' kit can be built with front or ‘zipperless’ aft ejection. Begad! Blimey! I opted for t' latter t' make t' build more unique. Avast! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! No parachute is provided, ya bilge rat, which is fine with me since me stash o' nylon chutes are all interchangeable. HH offers suitable ‘chutes should you want one.

T' instructions are provided in soft copy, arrr, shiver me timbers, along with t' latest version o' the H. Begad! H. Begad! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Simit simulation software.

My thanks Jose at Heavenly Hobbies for sponsorin' this build!

Construction:

• One big conical balsa nose cone
• Two thick-walled BT-70 body tubes and matchin' coupler
• Two screw deadlights and one small wood screw
• A bag o' BBs for nose weight
• Cotton braided elastic shock cord
• Three laser cut baffle bulkheads
• Two 24mm motor mount tubes
• Two laser cut centerin' rings
• Three long couplers
• Two engine hooks
• One 1/4" launch lug
• One 3” pre-slotted rin' tail
• Two sets o' laser cut rin' tail pylons, ya bilge rat, fins and fin tips
• A decal sheet
• Instructions and H.H. Simit on CD

T' 18-pages o' photo illustrated instructions are included on a .pdf file. Blimey! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! I found them easy t' follow and I liked t' way they handled t' ‘housekeeping’ instructions, such as what glue t' use (the default is 5-minute epoxy), matey, t' fill t' spirals before constructions, etc. Aye aye! Arrr! That is, arrr, all this stuff is discussed up front..

T' build starts with t' 2 x 24mm mount. Ya scallywag! T' motor tubes are connected at one end with a pair o' centerin' rings. Since these tubes will be load bearing, shiver me timbers, long thick couplers are epoxied in t' upper end. Well, blow me down! A third coupler is provided t' help in installation. Avast! On dry-fitting, everythin' fit perfectly. However, t' rings are thin at their closest point and I snapped one o' them on actual installation. This be only a minor snag but t' motor tube assembly no longer fit perfectly and required some sanding. Arrr! I’ve got clumsy paws, me bucko, what else can I say? Just be gentle as you work these into place.

To accommodate longer (E9) and RMS motors, t' upper tab on t' pair o' motor hooks are t' be bent upwards. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Mine broke off due t' metal fatigue. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Makes no difference as you can bend t' end 1/4” in from t' original tab. This will be reflected in future issues if t' instructions.

T' larger rin' tail is supported by two plywood pylons. T' roots o' these are sanded into a ‘V’ to better mate with t' motor tubes. Begad! As t' pylons set, arrr, ya bilge rat, I made sure they were aligned by sightin' down a rafter angle (see photo).

T' instructions say t' install t' rin' tail at this point. Arrr! T' overall span o' t' tabs is about 1/4” too wide so they will require trimming. Avast, me proud beauty! I suggest this be done before installation. However, a Dremel with a diamond cut-off wheel make quick work o' t' trimmin' in situ. Blimey! Well, me bucko, blow me down! I be worried about keepin' t' fin slots at a perfect right angle t' t' pylons, matey, so I measured t' mid-point betwixt t' slots and marked a line t' use as a guide.

T' baffle consists o' a coupler and three plywood baffles. Each has three large holes on one end. Begad! They are installed so these hole alternately sit on opposite sides o' t' coupler. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! T' top baffle has a hole pre-drilled for a provided screw eye. Blimey! Blimey! This o' course should remain on top.

You attach t' shock cord t' this eye and then glue t' baffle assembly on t' top o' t' lower body tube. Begad! Blimey! T' keep t' rocket aft eject, you affix t' nose cone t' t' upper body tube with t' a provided screw. Ahoy! T' rocket then separated at t' body tube junction as it typical with zipperless HPR designs. Blimey! Alternatively, shiver me timbers, you can glue t' upper body t' t' coupler and let t' rocket separate at t' nose. Ahoy! (But, me hearties, me bucko, you don’t want t' do that.)

Nose cone prep involves t' typical stuff - seal, me hearties, sand, ya bilge rat, me hearties, repeat, install screw eye. Aye aye! I treated t' top couple of inches with thin CA. Arrr! Pointy balsa cones typically don’t stay that way. You also have t' drill a 3/8” diameter x 4” deep hole in t' cone t' embed t' nose weight (BBs). I have one suitable bit and did this with a hand drill. I found this challengin' since t' dull bit wandered all over t' place. I went slowly t' make sure I didn’t breach t' cone’s wall. By t' time you get 4” in, it is gettin' thin. Arrr! Begad! I got t' job done but t' big gaping hole is a bit funky looking. Arrr! I used quick set Gorilla glue t' affix t' BBs. Aye aye! T' photo shows t' big hole plugged with some excess SuperFil epoxy clay.

My as-built weight, includin' an 18” nylon ‘chute, came in at 10.6 oz. Blimey! Since t' ‘chute is user provided, I assume this is nominal.

Finishing:
T' kit includes general finish instructions. Arrr! I decided t' generally keep with Heavenly Hobbies scheme. Avast! Begad! T' rin' tail and fins are shot with Krylon black with a Titanium Silver over spray. T' exposed motor tubes are straight Titanium Silver. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! T' upper body is Metalcast Metallic Purple.

I filled t' nose early in t' build but didn’t do so on t' fins. Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! This was a mistake as t' fancy fins are harder t' work around than those on a 3/4FNC design. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! Blimey! I also painted t' rocket before permanently attachin' t' motor mount assembly t' t' lower body section. Avast! Blimey! This was a good idea and made paintin' easier (less masking).

T' decal is a peel-and-apply. Arrr! This makes it easy t' get on but t' clear background stands out a bit.

A couple o' silver vinyl stripes and an MDRA logo competed t' finishing.

Overall t' build went well. Blimey! It is reasonably straightforward despite it bein' a rather interestin' design. I will din' half a point for t' unexpected trimmin' o' t' pylons and another half for t' difficulty involved in borin' the cone. Avast, me proud beauty! Still, this was a fun build.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Because o' t' baffle, arrr, prep be simple. Begad! Attach a 'chute, me hearties, slide in two motors, me bucko, etc. Aye aye! I used the low end o' t' recommended chute size (18") due t' t' prevailin' wind. Ya scallywag! If you don’t use a motor with a built in thrust rin' you will have t' add your own. Avast, me proud beauty! T' instructions recommend you glue on a thin strip o' BT-50, me bucko, but I’d rather just use maskin' tape. Avast! Ignition was handled with Quest Q2-G2 igniters.

Two C11-2’s are a bit underpowered for me likin' and ejection be early.

Two D12-5, shiver me timbers, however, matey, were perfect. Avast! Ya scallywag! Great boost and ejection at apogee. Begad! Begad!

Recovery:
T' early ejection on t' C11 flight fouled t' ‘chute, arrr, matey, but that’s also common for regular nose ejection. T' rocket landed on mowed grass under t' resultin' ‘streamer’ and suffered no damage. By t' time I flew it on t' D12’s, matey, shiver me timbers, t' wind had picked up. Avast! T' combination o' a fast descent and high lateral velocity resulted in a hard landing. An 18” 'chute is a little small. Avast! I expected a winglet t' pop off, shiver me timbers, but it didn’t. One win' suffered a cracked fillet, which was repaired with thin CA.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
IMO, this is a pretty nice lookin' rocket. Arrr! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' parts fit is good and thick walled tubes, plywood fins, and reinforcin' stuffer tubes make it pretty tough. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Although it flies on C11’s, shiver me timbers, it should be hefty enough t' handle a pair o' 24mm reloads (but, plan on a long walk). Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! T' baffle and aft eject option makes field prep a cinch and it is easy t' get in t' air. This is a great feature and I’d like t' see it on other kits. Blimey! Blimey! Rear ejection also protects t' cone from ‘Estes dings’. T' only cons are t' required trimmin' o' t' pylons and t' difficulty o' borin' t' nose cone. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' latter will, o' course, vary dependin' on what tools t' builder has on hand.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5