Brief:
This rocket is a minimum diameter, 18mm, matey, streamer recovery, me hearties, shiver me timbers, futuristic space plane. Arrr! This is a beautiful little kit that I did me best t' mess up. Avast, me proud beauty! It turned out well anyway.

Construction:
T' instruction were t' typical high quality one associates with Squirrel Works. Ya scallywag! They were printed on both sides of a single legal sized piece o' paper. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! They were clear and contained adequate illustrations.

I started off noticin' how thin t' balsa for t' fins is. Well, blow me down! T' instruction says that all but t' root edges should be rounded. With me and me aggressive clumsiness, me hearties, shiver me timbers, me bucko, that means trouble. Aye aye! I decided t' try and seal/strengthen t' fins with CA.

I drizzled thin CA onto t' fins and swished it around with some card stock. Avast! I did this over wax paper, ya bilge rat, thinking that I had read that is a good idea. Well, blow me down! Begad! It wasn't. Begad! Ahoy! CA will stick t' wax paper along with everythin' else. Ahoy! My fins now have little star tattoos since it be Christmas wax paper. Ya scallywag! I have t' same tattoos. Ahoy! Begad! T' fins are stronger now, though. Sandin' improved things but I decided t' go ahead and seal t' fins with Elmers before goin' any farther.

Assembly o' t' rocket itself was nay too difficult. Arrr! Begad! Blimey! It began with t' motor mount. Well, blow me down! A thrust rin' was t' be installed with t' aid o' a provided engine space. Avast! Before installin' t' thrust ring, me bucko, I cut a little notch in it so that I could provide a Keelhaul®©™® shock cord mount attached t' t' motor mount instead o' t' provided trifold. After t' notch be cut, I tied the Keelhaul®©™® around t' rin' and then inserted it as per t' instructions

T' next step was t' cut out t' wrap around fin guide. Begad! It matched perfectly and t' fin lines and lug lines were marked. Blimey! T' fins were attached with CA but I added a step. Usin' a safety pin, me bucko, shiver me timbers, I perforated t' root edges o' t' fins and t' BT along t' fin lines in order t' form "rivets". Ya scallywag! Blimey! Then CA be used t' mount t' fins and t' launch lug. Begad! Arrr! When t' fins were dry, me hearties, me bucko, they were filleted in t' standard manner with yellow glue.

I had some trepidation about t' canopy but it turned out t' be fairly easy. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Its simply a matter o' cuttin' it out with a razor knife and then gluin' a single tab. That part did nay bother me. Begad! Mountin' it and gettin' it faired did. Begad! Arrr! Blimey! It turned out t' be nay much o' a problem. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I used yellow glue and stuck it in place. Begad! Blimey! It seemed t' follow t' contours of the BT fairly well. T' one thin' I am unhappy with is me alignment. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Blimey! I could have gotten it a tad straighter if I had noticed in time.

While t' glue joints were settin' up, I tied t' elastic shock cord t' t' Keelhaul®©™® and installed t' eye screw in t' balsa nose cone. Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' screw is held in place with a bit o' yellow glue. Begad! Blimey! T' rocket was then ready for finishing.

Finishing:
Finishin' for me started near t' very beginning. Well, blow me down! Before any assembly, I sealed and sanded t' fins with Elmer's Fill 'n Seal. Avast! After that, I assembled t' rocket as per t' instructions. Arrr! Blimey! When t' assembly phase was over, matey, I used Elmer's to seal t' nose cone and fill in a few shrinkage cavities along t' fillets. Ya scallywag! I also slathered it on at the intersection betwixt t' canopy and t' BT so that with sanding, I could fair t' seam. Blimey! Blimey! T' nose cone was high quality and took only a single application. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! Blimey! T' canopy took more time but that be because o' me sandin' more than anything else.

T' rocket was given 2 coats o' white primer and was then wet sanded with #600. After that, arrr, I began sprayin' on thin coats o' gloss white. Aye aye! Blimey! I used a total o' three coats.

Some o' t' other reviews have made mention o' t' difficulty o' applyin' t' decals. Ahoy! Long and skinny decals are always more difficult that ones with more unitary aspect ratios but I had no real trouble with these. Avast! I don't credit this t' me skill. Aye aye! Instead, I think it is a testament t' t' high quality o' t' decals provided. Arrr! Ya scallywag! There be no tendency to tear and they went on great. I wish all decals were like this!

I think this is one o' t' best lookin' rockets I have constructed t' date.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
T' maiden flight was on an A8-3. Arrr! Blimey! Since this is a friction fit, arrr, matey, I used a bit o' maskin' tape t' keep it in. It took off with a very mild corkscrew motion. I attribute this t' nay gettin' t' canopy on perfectly straight. Begad! Blimey! This is a light rocket so it flew pretty high, even on just an A. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Ejection occurred at apogee, just slightly early. Blimey! A five second delay might be better for this rocket.

Recovery:
T' streamer came right out without any problems and t' rocket drifted down gently. Arrr! It seemed t' be a little slow for a streamer decent and, on checking, arrr, I found that t' motor had ejected even with t' maskin' tape used t' friction fit it. It landed without a scratch.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a cool lookin' rocket. It flies well and looks good on t' pad and in t' air. It is fairly delicate but, with a modicum o' care, shiver me timbers, should be a reliable part o' any fleet that includes it.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Other:
Don't believe that wax paper won't adhere t' CA! It will!