Brief:

Matt. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' bull pup D12 is a sports scale rocket. Begad! I had one that I flew often and lost it on a roof. Aye aye! With t' 2010 challenge askin' for a duel review, I dusted off two kits from t' build pile. Ya scallywag! 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. Well, blow me down! 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, 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, in a cardboard box

Chris’s bullpup is from t' explorer series – E7000, shiver me timbers, matey, 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, shiver me timbers, with shroud lines, disks and parasheet, ya bilge rat, mine be 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 was nay t' best quality.

T' centerin' rin' sheet is warped, I had t' ironed them flat.

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

Chris’s comments on t' parts:

Parachute was I think pre-built - didn't pay much attention as always for me. Well, blow me down! I've a bunch o' nice rip-stop nylon chutes and streamers in various sizes on snap swivels, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, arrr, so I just use one o' those as appropriate.

I've nay put t' decals on me rocket yet, me hearties, but they are peel and stick. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! 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. Begad! Blimey! Agree with Matt’s comment about t' balsa, ya bilge rat, it be pretty awful, felt very soft.

Matt’s motor mount:

This rocket does nay come with an engine hook, 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, shiver me timbers, me bucko, where t' engine hook could move, 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, taped and glued in. Begad! Ya scallywag! I’m increasin' usin' steel fishin' leaders instead o' tri fold paper anchors, me hearties, matey, or Keelhaul®©™ loops. Begad! I find that they hold up t' ejection charges much better, me bucko, 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, me hearties, with loads o' glue. Well, blow me down! I realised too late that I had attached t' rin' with t' slot t' t' wrong end o' t' mount (doh!), arrr, arrr, 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. Ahoy! I remember this bein' a bit difficult last time, shiver me timbers, 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, with t' boat tail slipped over later. Avast, me proud beauty! There is a seam where t' boat tail and t' BT join, arrr, it's nay much but I’ve coated t' seam and most o' t' aft with model filler, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, which sands down smooth. Blimey! Well, blow me down! As I’ve used a fresh tube, ya bilge rat, t' filler came out a bit watery, 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, but I'm quite pleased with how this one come out. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Very cunnin' use, arrr, 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. I used sticky backed paper t' laminate t' fins. Aye aye! Blimey! Nay that t' fins needed t' be laminated for strength, but paper lamination does completely remove any sign o' grain. Blimey! Blimey! T' stop t' paper from delaminatin' I coated t' edges with thin CA glue. I used CA gel t' tack t' fins in place, me bucko, matey, and then added three fillets o' wood glue over a day.

Front fins have been added usin' t' TLAR (that looks about right) method. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Avast! I then added beads o' white glue t' all edges, matey, as well as addin' two fillets t' t' joins.

Chris’s fins:

I be feelin' lazy and t' fins are so small, me hearties, ya bilge rat, that all I did was sand them down a bit, no filler, no paper, no rounding. Ahoy! Blimey! I did find that t' canard fins were so tiny, arrr, that they simply stuck t' any glue on your fingers rather than t' rocket. Arrr! Blimey! 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. Begad! Like t' fins it was CA tacked and wood glue filleted.

Clay worms were put in t' nose cone. Well, blow me down! Begad! 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. Ahoy! Coated t' inside o' t' top o' t' BT with CA t' strengthen that up a tad. Ahoy! Added a length o' elastic t' t' leader, shiver me timbers, used three foot o' sewin' elastic.

Chris’s rest o' t' build:

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

Finishing:
Matt.

Finishin' t' bullpup is every simple. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! T' entire rocket has t' be white; so t' normal few coats o' primer and then white spray paint went on t' rocket. Arrr! Next came t' decals, and this is where I really have t' lower t' grade for this kit. Well, blow me down! T' stickers are t' peel and stick type, matey, which really do spoil t' look o' t' rocket. 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. Arrr! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Looks pretty good, matey, 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, I know t' rocket t' be a good performer. Avast! There is plenty o' room in t' BT for t' recovery parachute, me hearties, 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. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! On C6 flights t' supplied 12 inch parachute can give t' rocket a lot o' drift. Blimey! Arrr! I sensibly went for an A8-3. Avast, me proud beauty! I like t' build up t' power on successive flights. Arrr! My bullpup flew well on t' A8, me hearties, but in me normal luck, me bucko, managed t' land in a water ditch. Arrr! No damage other than a muddle rocket.

Chris’s flight comment:

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

Recovery:

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
Matt: A good rocket, shiver me timbers, matey, shiver me timbers, good enough that when I lost me first, I went out and got another. Begad! 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, so much so that t' larger PML variants are loomin' large in me future shoppin' list. Begad! And it looks like it will be a good flyer.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5