Brief:
T' Custom Rocket Atomic, me bucko, kit #10047, is a single stage, me bucko, shiver me timbers, six fin, arrr, plastic nosecone rocket with a 12" parachute recovery and a 24" long by 1/4" wide elastic shock cord. Aye aye! Ahoy! T' rocket is a new offerin' from Custom Rockets for 2009. Ya scallywag! T' suggested paint scheme is all white with a black nosecone. Decals are o' t' pressure sensitive type. The rocket stands 11.75" tall with a body tube o' 0.976" in diameter. Arrr! T' fins are o' balsa with t' nosecone bein' black molded plastic. Begad! Begad! It employs a metal rocket motor retainer clip and uses 18mm rocket motors (Standard A, B, & C motors).

Construction:
T' kit comes with a single 0.976" diameter body tube. Avast, me proud beauty! T' six balsa fins are die-cut. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! T' nosecone comes in two pieces. Begad! T' second piece is glued t' t' bottom and be t' attachment point for t' 12" parachute and 24" shock cord, matey, and both pieces are molded black plastic. It has t' standard 18mm motor mount consistin' o' an 18mm motor tube, matey, two cardboard centerin' rings, a metal clip, me hearties, and a cardboard engine block t' be glued at t' end o' t' tube. Avast, me proud beauty! It comes with a 12" plastic parachute that needs t' be assembled. Blimey! Avast! T' shock cord is a 24" long by 1/4" wide length o' elastic cord that is attached t' t' body with t' usual tri-fold method. Begad! I've built two o' these so far and the balsa fins were slightly rough cut from t' die (wood crushed instead o' bein' cut by t' die) in t' first kit and needed t' be filled and sanded on t' edge t' make them smooth. Arrr! T' second kit had fins that needed no work t' prepare them and were in good shape. Arrr! I seem t' get a slight reaction o' t' plastic nosecone t' t' paint if t' nosecone is painted. Begad! Arrr! T' body tube was excellent with no spiral grooves t' fill in--it was smooth. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! T' kit is sold in a plastic hang bag that allows you t' see t' contents.

T' instructions were easy t' follow, logical, and complete. T' fin template for t' six fins is simply a diagram on t' sheet where you stand t' tube vertically on it and then mark off t' point where t' fins would go. Begad! Ahoy! I prefer one where you wrap it around t' tube, but this be t' way Custom provides for t' fin locations in this kit. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! There is nothin' special about attachin' t' fins or launch lug t' t' body tube. Blimey! T' balsa is thick enough t' use either carpenters glue or super glue gel. Begad! I used super glue gel that is rubberized t' be more impact resistant on t' fins and launch lug. Avast, me proud beauty! I bought t' glue at Wal-Mart and it's made by Loctite. Aye aye! I'm sure it's available in other stores. For the fin fillets, I used carpenters glue. Arrr! There is nay much room betwixt t' fins where it attaches t' t' body tube, shiver me timbers, but it's workable when makin' t' fillets. Blimey! T' fit o' t' nosecone was OK. I've noticed that sometimes with t' two piece nosecone t' bottom cap is a little wider than t' nosecone and has t' be sanded flush. Ahoy! Ahoy! As for t' parachute, the single length o' strin' must be cut into three pieces and attached t' t' parachute by tyin' a knot. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! T' hole you make for t' strin' is reinforced by tape disks that you apply t' t' plastic parachute material before tyin' t' strin' to the parachute. Avast! Arrr! It was an easy build with no surprises in t' construction. Blimey! Although t' construction is straightforward, t' shock cord in me opinion is too thick and too short. Aye aye! Arrr! I used a 3 foot length o' 1/8" elastic cord I bought at Wal-Mart in t' craft/sewin' department. Begad! For tools, you'll need a hobby knife, sandpaper, ya bilge rat, masking tape, pencil, matey, me bucko, emery board, toothpick (to apply glue), matey, glue, black and white paint--and clear paint if you want t' clear coat it after applyin' t' decals. I bought t' carpenters glue and sandpaper by Testors from a hobby shop, me hearties, T' super glue, toothpicks, me hearties, emery board, me hearties, elastic and knife I bought at Wal-Mart. Arrr! Blimey! I bought t' paint at Ace Hardware, and it's the Ace brand. Ahoy!

Finishing:
T' plastic nosecone seems t' slightly react with t' paint. Arrr! Ahoy! I've used different brands with t' Custom Rockets molded plastic nosecones and they all seem t' slightly ripple when applied. I have no fix for this yet. Aye aye! I've tried to prime it with latex paint, me hearties, me bucko, but that doesn't help. Ya scallywag! What I've done so far is t' gently sand t' paint betwixt coats and if you recoat it enough times it eventually gets smooth again. After about 45 minutes I can gently sand it and then recoat before t' required 1 hour recoat deadline suggested by t' paint manufacturer. T' clear coat paint seems to want t' slightly bead or dimple on t' decals, me bucko, but lays smooth on t' flat texture o' t' decal. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! T' slight beadin' or dimplin' appears t' be only on t' glossy areas o' t' decal. Begad! Avast! It's important t' wait long enough betwixt recoatin' the paint. Mostly, arrr, if you don't recoat within t' hour, you have t' wait about a week before you can recoat it again. Avast! If you have a thick coat o' paint, it'll take longer for it t' dry enough so that t' earlier layer o' paint will not wrinkle. There is nothin' worse than givin' t' rocket a second coat and watchin' t' whole thin' wrinkle up. Begad! As for the tri-fold shock cord mount, make sure its far enough inside t' body tube so that t' nosecone can slide in. Avast, me proud beauty! Too far to t' top and t' nosecone will nay slide in all t' way. Avast! T' decals are on a single sheet and must be cut apart before bein' used. I'm givin' this a 3.5 ratin' because some kits have t' fins cut more roughly and will need more work before you can even think o' gluin' them t' t' rocket.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
I've used only A8-3 motors with this rocket. Ya scallywag! For me it flies good enough with this motor. Well, blow me down! It flew nice, straight, and stable. Begad! My first flight went with no problems. Begad! T' second flight had a problem with t' nosecone gettin' tangled with the parachute shroud lines, but even though it landed a little fast, ya bilge rat, it was OK. T' third flight went well except for the parachute ejection; t' shroud lines got stuck on t' motor retainin' clip and t' rocket landed hard enough to break one fin off. I've since fixed it. Ya scallywag! I thought t' recovery or descent time be OK with t' parachute, me hearties, but t' field where I fly is large and I don't have t' worry about trees. Begad! I put about 4 squares o' Estes waddin' into t' rocket. Avast! Blimey! As stated previously, matey, t' rocket uses a metal motor retainin' clip so no friction fit o' t' rocket motor is required. Blimey!

Recovery:
T' shock cord appears t' be too big if t' 1/4" size is used and too short for a length. Well, blow me down! I always replace it with a 3 foot long 1/8" wide length o' elastic. Well, blow me down! T' 12" parachute was adequate t' allow for a soft landing with no damage. Other Custom Rockets built on t' same body tube have used 12" parachutes with no problems. Aye aye! Arrr! Where I fly thar be lots o' room for recovery, matey, people with a small area for recovery may want t' cut a spill hole in the parachute, shiver me timbers, use a smaller motor, matey, arrr, or perhaps convert t' a streamer recovery such as t' Fiesta rocket by Custom Rockets. You may also want t' read t' review and flight logs for t' Fiesta t' see what experiences other people have had with usin' a streamer instead o' a parachute with a rocket o' this size since they are similar (Fiesta has three fins, Atomic has six fins). As for attachin' t' shock cord t' t' rocket body, matey, some people may want t' use a Keelhaul®©™® thread attached t' t' motor mount with elastic tied t' t' end o' t' Keelhaul®©™® instead o' t' tri-fold method. Begad! T' 12" parachute is fine for me but how you fly it is determined by t' recovery field conditions. Begad! I also used a fishin' snap swivel t' attach t' parachute t' t' nosecone o' t' rocket. Well, me bucko, blow me down! It allows the parachute t' spin and nay twist up t' parachute shroud lines. Blimey! T' rocket is easy t' prepare for flight with no surprises. Begad! T' two important modifications would be t' longer shock cord and addin' t' fishin' snap swivel, both are easy modifications t' do and would make t' rocket more flight worthy.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
I like t' rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! It's an easy build, looks great, flies well, ya bilge rat, and is affordable. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I would replace t' shock cord and add a fishin' swivel t' t' parachute t' make it more flight worthy. Both elastic and fishin' snap swivel are available from Wal-Mart, but they are so common I'm sure you can find them in most department stores. Begad! Blimey! T' rocket has a simple paint scheme t' make t' finishin' easy. Begad! Blimey! That is important because if you have t' repair a fin, t' all white paint scheme is a plus. Begad! Blimey!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5