Brief:
After seein' various Deuce bashes on T' Rocketry Forum and elsewhere: eugenefl's fighter, me hearties, arrr, sandman's DynoSoar, a super-roc version, and most recently an egg-loft version flown at NARAM, shiver me timbers, I decided t' build a Deuce-XL5 t' go with me 29mm and MMX Fireball XL5s. My design constraints included keepin' t' Deuce's length and fin pattern for t' side fins. Arrr! As a result, shiver me timbers, t' model resembles t' Fireball XL5, but will nay be t' 'scale'.

Modifications:
I wanted t' use t' leftover Avery sticker material from me A.C.M.E. Arrr! Spitfire build, me bucko, matey, ya bilge rat, so I actually started t' project by drawin' t' stickers in Corel 9. I used a drawin' o' t' Fireball XL5 and scaled t' fins and other patterns t' t' BT-60 tube. Ahoy! Blimey! After I drew and printed them, matey, I realized that t' scale sizin' would be fine for t' small forward fins on t' nose cone, but that side pods and top fin wouldn't look right given t' relatively large Deuce fins. Ya scallywag! As noted in t' intro, I wanted t' keep t' Deuce fin pattern for t' side fins. Usin' me stock Deuce as a guide, ya bilge rat, I played around with t' pods and top fin patterns until I thought t' looked right.

While I was settlin' on t' final patterns, shiver me timbers, I went ahead and built t' nose cone usin' a spare Deuce-style cone that I had bought for a future project. I first sealed t' cone and marked t' positions o' t' fins and 'thruster' pods. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! I turned two small 'cones' from a dowel. Ahoy! Begad! These were split and glued on in betwixt t' fin marks. Ya scallywag! T' nose was then painted with Wal-Mart chrome paint. Begad! I used t' stickers I produced as a template and cut t' forward fins from balsa. Avast, me proud beauty! As with me 29mm XL5, me bucko, I used strips o' colored sticker material t' cover t' leadin' and trailin' edges o' t' fins before I added t' main stickers. T' fins were covered with a thin layer o' white glue t' seal t' edges o' t' stickers. Begad! Ahoy! Finally, I carefully removed some o' t' chrome paint, and glued t' fins on with Liquid Nails Perfect Glue, matey, Type 2.

Shortly after t' cone was complete, shiver me timbers, me Deuce kit arrived.

For t' body, I built and mounted t' motor mounts per t' Deuce's instructions. T' mark t' position o' t' side fins, me bucko, I used t' template marks for t' launch lugs. This positions t' fins orthogonal t' t' plane o' t' motors. Avast! Avast! I be thinkin' that in this orientation, t' possible difference in thrust betwixt t' motors will tend t' tip t' rocket, me bucko, and havin' t' biggest fins workin' against this force would be best.

I then added t' dorsal fin. Ahoy! When doin' t' planning, I forgot that this would rest on top o' one o' t' motor pods, arrr, so I had t' trim t' back end. Begad! Aye aye! This will also interfere with t' stickers, matey, which also had t' be modified upon installation.

For t' side fins, I cut t' stock Deuce fins usin' t' provided template. Begad! I then formed them into two '3-D' structures usin' a strip o' foam board on t' aft edge and a center support made from a strip o' balsa. Ahoy! T' resultin' fins were sealed with fill-n-finish and glued t' t' body with Perfect Glue. Aye aye! Aye aye! Blimey! Fillets were made usin' 5-minute epoxy.

Prior t' priming, I wanted t' add some detailin' so I added egg shaped pods, ya bilge rat, bought pre-made from Michaels, shiver me timbers, t' t' wings. Well, blow me down! Avast! I also added 4 lugs around t' base o' t' BT just above t' tail cone. Begad! On t' bottom, matey, ya bilge rat, matey, I added 2 lugs further up t' BT. Ya scallywag! Each o' t' bottom pairs o' lugs are functional. I had carved and sanded a cockpit out o' foam, but at t' last minute decided t' leave it off.

I finished t' body and then installed t' side pods usin' Perfect Glue. Ahoy! I learned from experience that these pods will take a beatin' on landin' so they got nice epoxy fillets t' beef-up t' joint t' t' side fins.

I built a RockSim 7 model o' t' Deuce-XL5 t' help verify t' CG/CP relationship. Despite t' new features in RockSim, I still had t' emulate t' side pods. Blimey! This model roughly agrees with t' field-proven relationship on me 29mm Fireball, matey, so I used that as a basis for addin' nose weight. I bored a 1/2" hole in t' cone and added lead shot until t' CG was 2 inches ahead o' t' predicted CP. Blimey! Blimey! This shot, and a loop o' Keelhaul®©™® strin' were epoxied into t' cone.

As with me other Deuce, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, I added a section o' Keelhaul®©™® thread t' t' motor mount. Ahoy! An elastic cord is tied t' this leader and t' t' loop in t' cone. Arrr! I used some thicker elastic since t' model is fairly heavy. Begad! I elected t' use a chute from me range box, matey, matey, and have nay built t' stock FlisKits chute.

Construction:
Parts

1. One FlisKits Deuce's Wild! kit
2. Nose cone fins: 1/16" balsa
3. Top dorsal fin and side pods: 1/4" balsa
4. Side fins: stock Deuce fin stock, me hearties, 3/16" foam board strips for t' aft edge, 1/8" balsa center support strut
5. Tail cone: short piece o' BT-50; transition and centerin' rings from Estes Designer's Special
6. Misc dowels, shiver me timbers, wood, and extra lugs, etc.
7. Avery 5265 full page stickers (3 ea.)
8. Keelhaul®©™ twine for a shock cord leader and nose cone strap

I primed t' assembled body (less pods) with Painter Touch sandable primer. Avast! When I added me 3rd coat o' primer, about 1/3 o' t' top o' t' BT started t' develop spider web-like crackles. Blimey! Blimey! Either I didn't wait long enough betwixt coats and/or it was too humid. Ya scallywag! After a day, I sanded t' crackles and they seemed t' flatten just fine. Begad! In me previous experience, t' crackles stayed gooey and took a lot o' clean up, ya bilge rat, so this be better than expected. Avast! Begad! When I laid on t' chrome metallic paint, they did come out slightly but nay too bad. Aye aye! After light sandin' and a second coat o' paint, they are harder t' see than t' growin' number o' fingerprints.

As you have seen, I discussed t' stickers throughout t' construction review, matey, since t' full-sized fin stickers were integral t' t' design/construction process. I learned a lot about workin' with t' full page stickers: what works t' seal an edge may nay be best for a large area, ya bilge rat, testin' sealers on stickers with a backin' doesn't tell you how they will react when on a model, me bucko, ya bilge rat, and a sealant which smears t' colors may really work t' best. I found Elmers' glue didn't smear t' ink, but would bubble a sticker that was applied t' t' balsa; MinWax Polycrylic did smear t' ink, but was easier t' apply and gave a better surface. Ahoy! T' latter also did nay bubble t' sticker (neither bubbled t' stickers, matey, o' course, when t' backin' was still on - so much for me testing). Begad! On t' side pods, I did one with Elmer's and one with Polycrylic. Arrr! When usin' Polycrylic, me bucko, I did a quick application where t' colors met, and then did t' yellow by itself, then t' red, etc. Begad! This eliminated t' visible smearing, save one spot where I was all thumbs and touched t' wet pod. Blimey! I used Polycrylic on all t' remainin' stickers.

Flight:
I prepped t' recovery system by formin' a plug with some Estes waddin' filled with dog barf wadding. Avast! I used an 18" Mylar chute. Ya scallywag! T' two C6-3 motors were held in with tape, shiver me timbers, and I used Estes' igniters that I dipped in Magnelite pyrogen for extra insurance. Ahoy! T' rocket flew great, me bucko, with a low archin' flight that resembled that o' me Shrox SHX-15. Avast! Blimey! Ejection be at apogee and t' rocket recovered without even a crack in t' fin joints. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Blimey! Perfect! Blimey! I thought about tryin' two B6s, but decided I should stick with C6-3's.

Summary:
This be a satisfyin' project that let me merge one o' me favorite scratch rockets, t' Fireball XL5, me bucko, with one o' me favorite kits, t' Deuce's Wild. (I also got t' chance t' join t' ranks o' t' Deuce-aholics kit bash group.) T' rocket was stable and had a neat flight profile. Well, blow me down! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! I am very happy with it and it gathered many good comments at t' field, me hearties, from young and old alike.