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

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

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

Construction:
Included with t' kit are:

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

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

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

T' body tubes have a fairly shallow spiral, 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. Aye aye! The assembly order was logical. Arrr! Avast! T' implement t' Keelhaul®©™®/elastic shock cord, 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. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' motor tube got stuck in t' body tube, matey, and I pretty much destroyed t' dummy engine tube when gettin' it out with a pair o' needle-nose pliers. Begad! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! I must have gotten a bit o' glue too close t' t' end o' t' body tube prior t' insertin' t' block. Blimey! Blimey! Luckily, me hearties, shiver me timbers, me bucko, t' main body tube was nay damaged.

In general though, arrr, assembly be a lot o' fun... Ahoy! Far more engagin' than piecin' together a 3FNC model. Avast! Hobby knife skills were important and were well exercised, arrr, havin' t' separate t' die-cut fins and centerin' rings, me hearties, cut t' dowels, cut t' reducer shroud pieces, cut t' shroud decal, ya bilge rat, arrr, 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. Blimey! Arrr! T' paper reducer needed a bit o' patience and skill t' curl just right. Arrr! 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. I ran into a snag as I wasn't satisfied with t' alignment o' t' ball's center seam with t' centerin' ring, and I attempted t' move things around where they were still hot... Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! Bad move. Well, blow me down! T' ball distorted badly where t' glue in contact with t' ball was still hot. Begad! Ya scallywag! I replaced t' ball and tried again. Begad! I had much better results this time. I had been concerned that t' hot glue wouldn't provide a strong enough joint, but this experience eliminated that concern. Begad! Hot glue is very effective in this case.

Overall, shiver me timbers, construction be interesting, fun, ya bilge rat, and educational. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Begad! Begad! I can understand that, since the decals cover most o' t' balsa anyway. Begad! T' decals come pretty close t' t' edges o' t' balsa pieces, so you probably don't want t' round balsa edges. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! I didn't want any grain t' show, so I finished t' balsa surfaces with three coats of sandin' sealer, ya bilge rat, sandin' betwixt coats.

I spray painted with model with a couple o' coats o' last o' me old-style Krylon white primer, arrr, me hearties, sanded, ya bilge rat, 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, shiver me timbers, you need t' paint t' lower part o' t' upper tube orange. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! Usin' t' kit's picture as a guide, I painted the lower 5" o' t' upper tube with Krylon pumpkin. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! Oddly enough, t' color matched t' orange o' t' decals perfectly.

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

After markin' t' ball, me bucko, I used a superfine Microbrush t' apply Testors gloss black enamel inside t' lines. Blimey! I'd never used this technique before. Blimey! It works very well with a steady hand, patience, me hearties, 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, many decals t' place. Begad! Blimey! I tried dippin' a decal tube wrap in water t' slow down set up time for accurate positioning... Don't do this! Blimey! It causes t' decals nay t' stick at all. Begad! Blimey! T' kit's picture be adequate for figurin' out what decals go where.

When all decals are in place, shiver me timbers, t' P.O.N.G. Begad! looks very impressive. Ya scallywag! T' balsa surfaces are mostly cover by opaque parts o' t' decals. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' decals applied t' t' BT-5, me hearties, unfortunately, ya bilge rat, tend t' lift their edges no matter what I try. Begad! I kinda wish these were thinner, me hearties, more pliable wet transfer decals instead, ya bilge rat, matey, 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. Avast! requires some waddin' t' prevent t' vinyl stream from melting. Blimey! I used some cellulose insulation t' good effect. Begad! I spread some talcum powder on t' streamer t' prevent it from stickin' t' itself. Well, arrr, blow me down! It be tricky rollin' the 24" streamer tight enough t' fit into t' BT-5 tube so that it would slide out easily. 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. Aye aye! 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. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Boost and coast be very straight and of moderate height with no noticeable spin. Avast! Begad! It definitely flies like a long rocket, shiver me timbers, smooth and without wobble. P.O.N.G. arced past apogee and with nose down, ya bilge rat, deployed t' streamer perfectly. Arrr! P.O.N.G. Blimey! landed gently in t' grass field. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! Upon recovery, shiver me timbers, I noticed that t' motor must have been kicked out at deployment.

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

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

Recovery:
T' standard P.O.N.G. Arrr! Ahoy! is kitted with a 24" elastic and a couple o' tri-fold shock cord mounts. I did nay use these, me hearties, favorin' a Keelhaul®©™® cord with a round elastic. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! T' Keelhaul®©™® cord and elastic were very easy t' install durin' construction, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and seemed t' work well in flight.

After three flights, shiver me timbers, t' streamer is undamaged. Ya scallywag! When t' streamer deployed, it seemed t' do an effective job of slowin' descent and bein' seen durin' descent and on t' ground. P.O.N.G. 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. Blimey! Some sort o' motor retention device would be a welcome addition.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

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

T' design and instructions are very good, shiver me timbers, 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