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

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

I started off noticin' how thin t' balsa for t' fins is. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' instruction says that all but t' root edges should be rounded. Begad! Well, blow me down! With me and me aggressive clumsiness, me hearties, ya bilge rat, that means trouble. Arrr! 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. Blimey! Avast! I did this over wax paper, arrr, arrr, thinking that I had read that is a good idea. Begad! It wasn't. Ahoy! CA will stick t' wax paper along with everythin' else. Ya scallywag! My fins now have little star tattoos since it was Christmas wax paper. Begad! I have t' same tattoos. Aye aye! T' fins are stronger now, shiver me timbers, arrr, 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. Aye aye! It began with t' motor mount. Well, blow me down! A thrust rin' be t' be installed with t' aid o' a provided engine space. Aye aye! Before installin' t' thrust ring, me hearties, me hearties, 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. Aye aye! Blimey! After t' notch was cut, ya bilge rat, 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. Ya scallywag! It matched perfectly and t' fin lines and lug lines were marked. Well, blow me down! T' fins were attached with CA but I added a step. Avast! Well, blow me down! Usin' a safety pin, I perforated t' root edges o' t' fins and t' BT along t' fin lines in order t' form "rivets". Begad! Then CA be used t' mount t' fins and t' launch lug. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! When t' fins were dry, arrr, 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. Its simply a matter o' cuttin' it out with a razor knife and then gluin' a single tab. Blimey! Blimey! That part did nay bother me. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Mountin' it and gettin' it faired did. Ahoy! Blimey! It turned out t' be nay much o' a problem. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I used yellow glue and stuck it in place. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! It seemed t' follow t' contours of the BT fairly well. Aye aye! Blimey! T' one thin' I am unhappy with is me alignment. Ahoy! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! T' screw is held in place with a bit o' yellow glue. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' rocket was then ready for finishing.

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

T' rocket be given 2 coats o' white primer and was then wet sanded with #600. After that, I began sprayin' on thin coats o' gloss white. Well, blow me down! I used a total o' three coats.

Some o' t' other reviews have made mention o' t' difficulty o' applyin' t' decals. Begad! 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. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Instead, ya bilge rat, I think it is a testament t' t' high quality o' t' decals provided. Begad! There be no tendency to tear and they went on great. Arrr! 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. Since this is a friction fit, I used a bit o' maskin' tape t' keep it in. Well, blow me down! It took off with a very mild corkscrew motion. I attribute this t' nay gettin' t' canopy on perfectly straight. Ya scallywag! This is a light rocket so it flew pretty high, even on just an A. Well, arrr, blow me down! Ejection occurred at apogee, just slightly early. Begad! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! 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. It seemed t' be a little slow for a streamer decent and, matey, on checking, me hearties, I found that t' motor had ejected even with t' maskin' tape used t' friction fit it. Begad! Well, blow me down! Blimey! It landed without a scratch.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a cool lookin' rocket. Aye aye! It flies well and looks good on t' pad and in t' air. Ahoy! Ahoy! It is fairly delicate but, with a modicum o' care, 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!