Brief:
P.O.N.G. Avast! Arrr! Blimey! is a highly-detailed single-stage futuristic sport model offered by Custom Rockets. This is an inexpensive kit that packs a lot o' fun, me bucko, challenge, arrr, and parts in a small package. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! Blimey! This is a skill level 3 rocket that won't disappoint.

Accordin' t' t' kit label, shiver me timbers, P.O.N.G. is an acronym (er, backronym, shiver me timbers, really) for Protector o' Ninth Galaxy. Ahoy! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! There was no background story included with t' kit, me hearties, me hearties, which is too bad really. T' look o' t' kit is intriguing. I would be pretty cool t' have it backed up by a little story.

My finished model weighed 1.2 ounces, me hearties, but t' kit's glossy claims 0.7 ounces. Begad! I'm unsure o' where t' additional weight came from... Begad! paint, me hearties, glue, arrr, and sandin' sealer?

Construction:
Included with t' kit are:

• 1 instruction sheet, ya bilge rat, matey, tri-fold, 8.5" x 11"
• 1 standard pin' pong ball
• 2 body tubes, BT-5, 9" long
• 2 body tubes, BT-50, 1.85" long
• 2 tube couplers, BT-5
• 4 centerin' rings, fiber, matey, BT-5 t' BT-50
• 2 wooden dowels, 1/8" dia., 6" long
• 2 launch lugs, matey, 1/8" dia., me bucko, 1.5" long
• 1 engine block, matey, 13mm
• 1 shock cord, shiver me timbers, matey, flat elastic, 1/8" wide, shiver me timbers, 17" long
• 1 balsa sheet, matey, die cut fins, 1/16" thick
• 1 streamer, me bucko, pink vinyl, 3cm wide x 60cm long
• 1 dummy engine tube, 13mm
• 1 reducer shroud sheet, printed, ya bilge rat, light card stock
• 1 decal sheet, pressure-sensitive plastic, nay die-cut
• 1 decal sheet for shroud, adhesive-backed paper, shiver me timbers, nay die-cut

Because I no longer have faith in t' tri-fold shock cord mount when nay protected by a baffle, I added t' followin' items for a Keelhaul®©™® and elastic alternative:

• 1 Keelhaul®©™® thread, 10" long
• 1 shock cord, me bucko, me hearties, round elastic, me bucko, arrr, 1/16" dia., me bucko, 24" long
• 1 cotton thread, me bucko, crochet-style, 4" long

T' body tubes have a fairly shallow spiral, matey, shiver me timbers, so they should be easy t' fill.

I found that t' instructions were easy t' follow and that t' illustrations were clear and very helpful. Ya scallywag! The assembly order was logical. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! T' implement t' Keelhaul®©™®/elastic shock cord, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, I tied t' Keelhaul®©™® cord t' t' engine block just prior t' gluin' in t' engine block.

When gluin' in t' engine block I ran into a snag. T' motor tube got stuck in t' body tube, shiver me timbers, matey, and I pretty much destroyed t' dummy engine tube when gettin' it out with a pair o' needle-nose pliers. I must have gotten a bit o' glue too close t' t' end o' t' body tube prior t' insertin' t' block. Begad! Luckily, t' main body tube was nay damaged.

In general though, shiver me timbers, assembly was a lot o' fun... Ahoy! Blimey! Far more engagin' than piecin' together a 3FNC model. Avast! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Hobby knife skills were important and were well exercised, shiver me timbers, havin' t' separate t' die-cut fins and centerin' rings, cut t' dowels, cut t' reducer shroud pieces, cut t' shroud decal, and cut t' individual decals from t' pressure-sensitive decal sheet.

There's so much here that you just don't get with plastic laden kits. Arrr! Arrr! T' paper reducer needed a bit o' patience and skill t' curl just right. Ya scallywag! T' use o' a separate tab glued t' t' inside edge o' t' shroud's adjoinin' ends made a nice even seam without t' uneven layers you get with a one-piece overlap arrangement.

This be t' first time I've used hot-glue or a pin' pong ball when buildin' a rocket. Aye aye! I ran into a snag as I wasn't satisfied with t' alignment o' t' ball's center seam with t' centerin' ring, arrr, and I attempted t' move things around where they were still hot... Aye aye! Bad move. Ya scallywag! T' ball distorted badly where t' glue in contact with t' ball was still hot. Ya scallywag! I replaced t' ball and tried again. I had much better results this time. Aye aye! Ahoy! I had been concerned that t' hot glue wouldn't provide a strong enough joint, but this experience eliminated that concern. Hot glue is very effective in this case.

Overall, arrr, construction was interesting, matey, fun, and educational. Ahoy! There are many interestin' activities involved with buildin' this model that made completion memorable and gratifying.

Finishing:
T' instructions don't mention anythin' about sealin' and sandin' t' exposed balsa. Ya scallywag! Avast! I can understand that, shiver me timbers, since the decals cover most o' t' balsa anyway. Arrr! T' decals come pretty close t' t' edges o' t' balsa pieces, so you probably don't want t' round balsa edges. I didn't want any grain t' show, so I finished t' balsa surfaces with three coats of sandin' sealer, sandin' betwixt coats.

I spray painted with model with a couple o' coats o' last o' me old-style Krylon white primer, arrr, sanded, me hearties, and applied a couple o' coats o' white satin.

One thin' t' instructions t' nay address is that in order t' get your model t' look like t' picture included with t' kit, me bucko, you need t' paint t' lower part o' t' upper tube orange. Avast! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! Usin' t' kit's picture as a guide, I painted the lower 5" o' t' upper tube with Krylon pumpkin. Oddly enough, matey, matey, t' color matched t' orange o' t' decals perfectly.

Paintin' t' view plate on t' pin' pong ball be an interestin' challenge. Avast! Blimey! T' instructions shows what this should look like. Ya scallywag! Blimey! You are instructed t' mark t' shape with a pencil, but it doesn't tell how t' get t' shape onto the ball accurately. Aye aye! Blimey! I used a couple o' pieces o' body tube t' get somethin' close, namely a piece o' BT-55 and a piece of BT-50. Begad! Blimey! I've included some pictures t' give you a step-by-step.

After markin' t' ball, shiver me timbers, I used a superfine Microbrush t' apply Testors gloss black enamel inside t' lines. Aye aye! Ahoy! I'd never used this technique before. It works very well with a steady hand, patience, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, and care.

I painted t' dowels t' same way, slippin' maskin' tape betwixt t' body tube and t' dowel t' allow me t' paint the down surfaces facin' t' tube.

There were many, me hearties, me bucko, arrr, many decals t' place. Well, blow me down! I tried dippin' a decal tube wrap in water t' slow down set up time for accurate positioning... Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Don't do this! It causes t' decals nay t' stick at all. Aye aye! T' kit's picture was adequate for figurin' out what decals go where.

When all decals are in place, t' P.O.N.G. Avast! looks very impressive. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' balsa surfaces are mostly cover by opaque parts o' t' decals. Well, blow me down! T' decals applied t' t' BT-5, matey, unfortunately, tend t' lift their edges no matter what I try. Well, blow me down! Arrr! I kinda wish these were thinner, more pliable wet transfer decals instead, me bucko, t' avoid this issue.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Recommended motors are A3-4T and A10-3T. I tried them both.

P.O.N.G. Aye aye! requires some waddin' t' prevent t' vinyl stream from melting. Well, blow me down! I used some cellulose insulation t' good effect. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! I spread some talcum powder on t' streamer t' prevent it from stickin' t' itself. Ahoy! Begad! It was tricky rollin' the 24" streamer tight enough t' fit into t' BT-5 tube so that it would slide out easily. Arrr! Arrr! I might cut t' streamer down a bit in future t' address this issue.

There is no motor retention in this design, so motors have t' be friction fit by wrappin' bits o' maskin' tape around t' motor t' make a snug fit. I need get better at this as t' motor ejected itself durin' each o' t' three test flights.

I used an A3-4T for t' first flight, as recommended in t' instructions. Avast! Ya scallywag! Boost and coast was very straight and of moderate height with no noticeable spin. Arrr! It definitely flies like a long rocket, me bucko, smooth and without wobble. Avast! P.O.N.G. arced past apogee and with nose down, deployed t' streamer perfectly. Begad! P.O.N.G. Begad! landed gently in t' grass field. Upon recovery, me hearties, I noticed that t' motor must have been kicked out at deployment.

I used an A10-3T for t' second flight. Boost be noticeably faster. Coast be again very straight, ya bilge rat, but the height was noticeably lower. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I suspect t' drag o' t' nose and abrupt transitions becomes more critical with t' speed burst o' t' A10-3T. Begad! Begad! T' slower, ya bilge rat, arrr, ya bilge rat, gentler A3-4T is a better match. Blimey! P.O.N.G. arced past apogee and deployed t' streamer with nose down. Blimey! Another gentle recovery, shiver me timbers, and t' motor had been kicked out again.

I used a A3-4T for t' third flight. Begad! Arrr! Blimey! I got t' a nice moderate height after smooth, ya bilge rat, straight boost and coast. Deployment happened with nose down, but t' streamer didn't come out. Ahoy! P.O.N.G. Avast, me proud beauty! landed in t' grass without damage. I found that t' cellulose waddin' had jammed up in t' tube. Arrr! Blimey! T' motor kicked out before t' streamer could deploy.

Recovery:
T' standard P.O.N.G. is kitted with a 24" elastic and a couple o' tri-fold shock cord mounts. Begad! Begad! I did nay use these, favorin' a Keelhaul®©™® cord with a round elastic. T' Keelhaul®©™® cord and elastic were very easy t' install durin' construction, matey, and seemed t' work well in flight.

After three flights, t' streamer is undamaged. Avast, me proud beauty! When t' streamer deployed, me hearties, it seemed t' do an effective job of slowin' descent and bein' seen durin' descent and on t' ground. Aye aye! P.O.N.G. Avast, me proud beauty! survived three flights with no damage.

Havin' t' rely on friction fit motors nay bein' kicked out is an issue. Aye aye! I guess I've got t' figure out how best to tape t' motors in there. Ya scallywag! Some sort o' motor retention device would be a welcome addition.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
P.O.N.G. Avast! is a fun rocket t' build, shiver me timbers, finish, and fly. Avast, me proud beauty! This is a skill level 3 kit. I agree with that due t' t' number of parts, variety o' construction activities, and finishin' details. Avast, me proud beauty! It's a nice looking, shiver me timbers, arrr, attention gettin' model when its all built, matey, me bucko, and it flies very well. And when you look at t' price tag, matey, arrr, ya bilge rat, wow! Big bang for t' buck!

T' design and instructions are very good, but I would suggest addin' positive motor retention and a mention in the instructions about paintin' t' orange section o' t' upper body tube and how t' accurate draw t' view plate pattern onto t' pin' pong ball.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5