Brief:
T' FlisKits "Tumble Weed" Model Rocket Kit had caught me eye on the FlisKits website when I be lookin' t' purchase a Nomad, me bucko, so I had it added to my order. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! It's by far t' smallest rocket in their line, shiver me timbers, resemblin' somewhat a dressed up Mosquito and it is designed t' fly on 13mm motors. Aye aye! Avast! However, upon arrival I knew this be much more than a simple model and I smartly stored it away for a build. Avast! Well, ya bilge rat, me daughter found it and decided she wanted t' build this little beauty, so off t' t' workshop we went, arrr, kit in hand.

Construction:
T' kit comes in a small package and includes a nose cone, shiver me timbers, me hearties, Balsa Fin material, extra long custom motor retainer, me hearties, ya bilge rat, stiff glass type cloth, ya bilge rat, Fin Ring, me hearties, Launch Lug and body tube. Avast! Ahoy! Once again, me hearties, this kit be a post update and already had t' hole punched in t' side for t' ejection charge. Ya scallywag! T' instruction sheet be well written with ample photos o' construction and t' template sheet included cut outs for a body wrap, fins and fin tips. Arrr! Blimey! All in all, me bucko, t' quality was excellent and I was pleased with t' contents.

My Tumble Weed be kit #33; yes, arrr, FlisKits actually serial number t' first 100 production kits for you collectors out thar and have forced me t' buy double kits on t' ones I wanted, me hearties, one t' save and one t' build. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! This one be no different! Construction went well and was straight forward until we got t' the fins. Begad! Arrr! Note that thar was a change t' t' instructions callin' for you to shorten t' nose cone shoulder and this was stickered on t' instructions themselves so you wouldn't miss t' step.

Fin construction went well, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, but be rather complex, hence challenging, for such a small kit; t' templates produced perfect fins with t' rin' fittin' the first time. Ya scallywag! Avast! Even t' body wrap fit perfectly, me hearties, no over or under wrap as I had seen with other mfgrs…they obviously have it down t' an art in this department. Avast! Arrr! Fin tips were even more o' a challenge, but I found that when sandin' with some fine sandpaper, even me large hands could handle them without much difficulty.

T' motor ejection be another story. Ya scallywag! This model uses a blow-back ejection, where t' motor blows most o' t' gasses out t' side hole, travels rearward over an inch, matey, then stops by means o' t' motor hook catch. It is an old concept which works. T' only problem I had was with t' cloth you overlay on top of the retainer bar. Ahoy! Blimey! Usin' glue, arrr, me hearties, it is "glassed/laminated" t' t' side of t' body tube, me hearties, arrr, which is fine except t' cloth is a bit stiff. Begad! I recommend you use epoxy on this cloth; I used Alphaetic Resin and it took a wile t' set and probably isn't as strong. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Another thin' I did was t' coat t' nose cone with thin CA glue, which gives it a "plastic" coatin' after sanding.

Finishing:
T' model, once built, me bucko, was sanded with 320 and 400 grit sandpaper t' remove ridges and smooth out t' fillets, me bucko, then I applied a few coats o' Krylon Primer. I waited a day, then sanded t' primer and planned t' paint scheme. Aye aye! My daughter wanted it painted usin' t' same pattern as on t' package, so I purchased some bright green and orange and bought a can o' Krylon Purple Glossy for t' main body tube. Begad! Ahoy! Blimey! Paintin' went well…T' Krylon be first, then the other two colors were brushed on a couple days later…even so, matey, it came out pretty nice. Arrr! It was then time t' let it dry, then fly.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Launch day came and I had picked up a pack o' 1/2A3-4's t' test both it and my new FlisKits Cougar 660 Streamer Duration Rocket. Begad! Begad! T' A motors were left in the box as I wanted t' be able t' find this one. Avast! Ahoy! It was set on t' pad and hooked up. Begad! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! We were gettin' excited just thinkin' about it goin' up, me hearties, shiver me timbers, but me previous experience with rockets o' this size usually resulted in donations t' the "rocket gods", as many a Mosquito just seemed t' just disappear, never t' be found again. Well, blow me down! I did NOT want that t' happen here, me hearties, me hearties, so we started slow.

Recovery:
T' model was launched and left t' pad in a hurry, but was able t' be easily tracked. Begad! Ejection happened near apogee and t' rocket free-fell back t' earth and landed without damage. Begad! T' bright colors made it easy t' find in t' grass and we smartly prepped it for another flight, me bucko, which went just as well as the first. Arrr! Both times t' motor actually stayed in t' model, so I was happy about that. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
In summary, me hearties, me hearties, me bucko, t' FlisKits Tumble Weed is a very cool little kit! Don't let the small package addlepate you as thar are some buildin' challenges in store, but the results reminded me once again o' t' old Nostalgic rockets from days o' old, when quality and classic design prevailed over mass production. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' Tumble Weed is no exception and I recommend it t' those who are lookin' for great looks and flight characteristics … Good things really do come in small packages and this is no exception for t' FlisKits "Tumble Weed!"

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5