Brief:

Matt. Arrr! Avast! T' bull pup D12 is a sports scale rocket. I had one that I flew often and lost it on a roof. Arrr! Ahoy! With t' 2010 challenge askin' for a duel review, I dusted off two kits from t' build pile. Arrr! Chris Fisher and I are both members o' Midland Rocketry and meet up once a month. Begad! So he and I both built t' kit.

Chris. Arrr! Begad! First up I must thank Matt for givin' me t' kit. O' course I know it's just so he can score a few more points.

I loved t' blister pack, ya bilge rat, matey, I think it looks far more excitin' than t' usual plastic bag and cardboard affair.

Although they kits are t' same, they came from different releases.

Matt bullpup is from t' explorer series - E7000, shiver me timbers, in a cardboard box

Chris’s bullpup is from t' explorer series – E7000, in a blister pack.

Construction:
T' parts for t' kit consist of:

• Body tube.
• Engine spacer.
• Engine mount tube.
• Launch lug.
• Green engine block.
• Centerin' rings.
• Die cut balsa sheet.
• Elastic shock cord.
• Plastic tail cone.
• Plastic nose cone.
• 12 inch pre assembled parachute.
• 2 pieces o' clay weight.
• Decal sheet.

Matt’s comments on t' parts:

T' parachute on t' instructions in t' make it yourself type, ya bilge rat, with shroud lines, disks and parasheet, matey, mine was t' better pre assembled type.

T' decal sheet is a peel and stick - I'm pretty sure that t' last bullpup I built about 7 years ago had waterslide.

T' die cut balsa sheet be nay t' best quality.

T' centerin' rin' sheet is warped, me hearties, ya bilge rat, me bucko, I had t' ironed them flat.

T' shock cord is far too short, but Estes kits always have too short shock cords.

Chris’s comments on t' parts:

Parachute be I think pre-built - didn't pay much attention as always for me. Ahoy! I've a bunch o' nice rip-stop nylon chutes and streamers in various sizes on snap swivels, ya bilge rat, so I just use one o' those as appropriate.

I've nay put t' decals on me rocket yet, ya bilge rat, but they are peel and stick. Avast! Nay sure what I prefer, at least I can usually get t' peel and stick ones on t' rocket in t' right place and intact, but they never look as good as water-slide ones.

Centerin' rings were fine in me kit. Agree with Matt’s comment about t' balsa, me bucko, it was pretty awful, felt very soft.

Matt’s motor mount:

This rocket does nay come with an engine hook, shiver me timbers, which I would have omitted even if thar be one as I think it would ruin t' look o' t' rocket.

One o' t' two rings supplied has a notch removed, me bucko, where t' engine hook could move, ya bilge rat, this will be for t' top o' t' motor mount as I can then thread a steel leader onto t' center o' t' mount.

White glue was used t' glue t' rings and engine block into place.

A steel fishin' leader has been added t' t' mount, shiver me timbers, taped and glued in. I’m increasin' usin' steel fishin' leaders instead o' tri fold paper anchors, or Keelhaul®©™ loops. Begad! Blimey! I find that they hold up t' ejection charges much better, me hearties, I have had Keelhaul®©™ burn through in t' past.

Chris’s motor mount:

I opted for a simple loop o' Keelhaul®©™ round t' top centerin' rin' on t' motor mount, with loads o' glue. Begad! I realised too late that I had attached t' rin' with t' slot t' t' wrong end o' t' mount (doh!), so simply cut a new notch on t' edge and pushed t' Keelhaul®©™ through that.

Matt’s tail cone:

T' tail cone has t' be cut from a plastic part. Begad! I remember this bein' a bit difficult last time, but since then I have purchased a razor saw, so t' cuttin' was much smoother. T' ends were then sanded down on sand paper.

T' motor mount was been glued into position, me bucko, with t' boat tail slipped over later. Arrr! There is a seam where t' boat tail and t' BT join, it's nay much but I’ve coated t' seam and most o' t' aft with model filler, shiver me timbers, which sands down smooth. As I’ve used a fresh tube, me hearties, t' filler came out a bit watery, me bucko, arrr, so I had t' sand and refill t' remove all trace o' t' transition.

Chris’s tail cone:

I'm useless at cuttin' these kind o' things usually, shiver me timbers, but I'm quite pleased with how this one come out. Avast! Well, blow me down! Very cunnin' use, o' what looks like a transition designed for another rocket and reused as t' tail cone for this.

Matt’s fins:

I decided t' leave t' leadin' and trailin' edges square. Avast! I used sticky backed paper t' laminate t' fins. Blimey! Nay that t' fins needed t' be laminated for strength, ya bilge rat, but paper lamination does completely remove any sign o' grain. Aye aye! Blimey! T' stop t' paper from delaminatin' I coated t' edges with thin CA glue. Avast! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Blimey! I used CA gel t' tack t' fins in place, me hearties, and then added three fillets o' wood glue over a day.

Front fins have been added usin' t' TLAR (that looks about right) method. Begad! Ya scallywag! Normally with split fins I use two rulers and clamps t' align them properly, but given t' size o' t' forward fins I did nay bother. I then added beads o' white glue t' all edges, as well as addin' two fillets t' t' joins.

Chris’s fins:

I was feelin' lazy and t' fins are so small, ya bilge rat, that all I did was sand them down a bit, shiver me timbers, no filler, no paper, no rounding. Ahoy! Blimey! I did find that t' canard fins were so tiny, that they simply stuck t' any glue on your fingers rather than t' rocket. Begad! So I now have 5 fingers and 2 fins on each hand.

Matt’s rest o' t' build:

Launch lug had its ends trimmed at an angle t' reduce drag. Avast, me proud beauty! Like t' fins it was CA tacked and wood glue filleted.

Clay worms were put in t' nose cone. I opened up t' base o' t' nose cone so I could use a rod t' stamp t' clay into t' top o' t' cone. Blimey! Coated t' inside o' t' top o' t' BT with CA t' strengthen that up a tad. Arrr! Added a length o' elastic t' t' leader, matey, used three foot o' sewin' elastic.

Chris’s rest o' t' build:

Didn't know t' trick with trimmin' t' launch lug, shiver me timbers, will do that next build.

Finishing:
Matt.

Finishin' t' bullpup is every simple. Ahoy! T' entire rocket has t' be white; so t' normal few coats o' primer and then white spray paint went on t' rocket. Next came t' decals, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and this is where I really have t' lower t' grade for this kit. Begad! T' stickers are t' peel and stick type, me hearties, which really do spoil t' look o' t' rocket. Ahoy! T' first bullpup I built years ago had t' waterslide type decals and t' model was far better lookin' then.

Chris

Mine just had t' usual primer and white gloss. Aye aye! Looks pretty good, arrr, and will look great once t' decals are on.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Matt’s flight comment:

Havin' flown t' previous bullpup several times, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, I know t' rocket t' be a good performer. Ahoy! There is plenty o' room in t' BT for t' recovery parachute, shiver me timbers, and like all Estes kits t' supplied elastic shock cord is far too short and needs t' be added t' by at least 2 foot. Avast, me proud beauty! On C6 flights t' supplied 12 inch parachute can give t' rocket a lot o' drift. Ahoy! Blimey! I sensibly went for an A8-3. I like t' build up t' power on successive flights. My bullpup flew well on t' A8, me hearties, but in me normal luck, me hearties, managed t' land in a water ditch. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! No damage other than a muddle rocket.

Chris’s flight comment:

Matt really is a great big girl, puttin' an A8 in his. Arrr! Blimey! O' course I had t' bravado o' essentially havin' a free rocket, me bucko, ya bilge rat, so stuck a C6-5 in mine. Flew really well in a drag race with Matt's. Ya scallywag! His be first off t' pad, but mine obviously streaked away faster. Ya scallywag! Courtesy o' some slack prep, I had failed t' actually attach t' snap swivel from t' chute t' t' rocket, matey, so had t' rely on tumble recovery. Avast! Luckily our flyin' field is quite soft usually, and no damage be done.

Recovery:

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
Matt: A good rocket, arrr, ya bilge rat, good enough that when I lost me first, I went out and got another. Avast! Arrr! Nay a perfect scale rocket but still has a good look t' it and it performs well.

Chris: I actually like this way more than I expected, me bucko, so much so that t' larger PML variants are loomin' large in me future shoppin' list. Ahoy! And it looks like it will be a good flyer.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5