| Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Published: | 2013-06-26 |
| Manufacturer: | Quasar One  |
Brief
T' DEFCON 1 is a 24mm, mid-size rocket kit from t' late Quasar One company. Arrr! Ya scallywag! T' design is a good performer, t' stylin' is beautiful and easy t' achieve with t' decals, matey, arrr, and t' short fins will resist damage on a hard landing. It is powered with C,D,E and possibly F engines (although usin' an F makes this a one-time-use rocket, shiver me timbers, matey, you'll likely never see it again as it reaches almost 1/2 mile!) In summary, arrr, it is a very good quality kit and a good flier. Avast, me proud beauty! Standin' almost 40 inches high, it is an impressive, ya bilge rat, me hearties, sleek lookin' model.
T' "story" behind t' DEFCON 1 is that this is a rocket carryin' radiation detection equipment, arrr, matey, t' have been used in t' cold war t' detect radiation at high altitudes t' confirm t' detonation o' enemy nuclear bombs. T' US be t' send a bunch o' these up for confirmation before pressin' t' "button". I don't know if these types o' rockets exist in t' real world, me bucko, but t' story seems plausable.
Since this model looks so good and flies well, it is one o' me most favorite models in me fleet.
Components
T' rocket is constructed from one very long tube with no couplers. Component quality was extremely good throughout, arrr, with t' possible exception o' t' nosecone. Arrr! T' motor tube has a inner foil layer, reported t' resist t' heat o' t' motors. Aye aye! T' centerin' rings were heavy duty. Begad! T' fin stock was very good, arrr, stiff and dense. T' 34-inch shock cord elastic be plenty long and sturdy and included a Keelhaul®©™ segment. Begad! T' parachute was aqua, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, matchin' t' color o' t' decals, and made o' thicker plastic, slightly textured. Avast, me proud beauty! Even t' shroud lines were longer, me hearties, arrr, allowin' me t' make shrouds 1-1/2 times t' diameter o' t' parachute - in me opinion t' longer shrouds work better. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! A swivel for t' parachute be also included in t' kit. Begad! Avast! Blimey!
Unfortunately t' body tube was so long that it was bent in shipping. Avast, me proud beauty! Apogee Components did nay pack it well. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! A replacement be sent - also bent. Arrr! I sent specific instructions t' Apogee concernin' t' packin' o' t' last remainin' replacement tube, shiver me timbers, me hearties, but they ignored it and I received a tube packed so that it be pretty much a guarantee it would be bent also: Each long end o' t' tube be reinforced, leavin' a few inches o' t' middle o' t' tube open t' absorb all t' stresses from shipping. Avast, me proud beauty! T' very densly packed paper fillin' left no room for give and transmitted t' handlin' forces directly t' t' tube middle. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! Apogee then apologized that they had no more tubes t' send. Tim V. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! wrote back essentially sayin' "too bad, it happens, thar be no practical solution". (A very taboo statement from an engineer!) If Timmy would have ever ordered a large print from Shutterfly he would see how it can be done! But I digress.
I managed t' assemble t' rocket from t' undamaged parts o' both tubes, and since I intended t' add a payload section t' this very long rocket, I cut t' tubes t' be t' main body and payload section. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Blimey! As for t' quality o' t' tube from Quasar One, shiver me timbers, it was as good as any body tube I've used. Well, blow me down! I couldn't alter t' overall length o' t' body tube though, me hearties, me bucko, shiver me timbers, or t' full-wrap decals would nay have fit. T' huge, full-wrap water-slide decals were also tough enough t' nay rip. Arrr! T' spiral seams in t' tubin' were almost unnoticeable after primer, matey, paint and then t' decals. Almost unnoticeable - if you look real hard, you can find some traces o' spirals, me hearties, but nay enough t' bother me at all.
Construction
Construction be routine with no big issues, but a few small ones needed t' be dealt with. Avast! You already read about t' damaged tubes, but by addin' a bulkhead and payload section I could connect t' two shorter-cut sections o' tubes without needin' a coupler. T' well-written instructions warn you nay t' sand too much off t' fins when roundin' them, otherwise t' decals for t' fins will be too big t' fit. Ya scallywag! T' only quality issue I had t' deal with be t' plastic nose cone be molded with a noticeable depression in t' one side. Aye aye! A little plastic filler and some sandin' fixed that right up. Arrr! Another item t' be sure about be t' placement o' t' launch lugs. Aye aye! If you do not place them where indicated, t' decals will nay cleanly fit over them. This model design uses a split lug, a small detail I build into every rocket because it is much more stable when launching.
Finishing
Considerin' t' complex look o' this rocket, matey, finishin' was very easy! Just a good prime and paint with gloss white is all that is needed, except t' nose cone which is painted silver. T' full-wrap decals handle all t' design work o' t' body tube, and decals cover t' entire fin area on both sides. Ahoy! Blimey! Because o' that filling/sealin' t' balsa grain is nay really necessary. Arrr! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! T' body wrap decals were a bit oversized though, so that they overlap about 3/16 inch. Ya scallywag! T' overlap area looks quite a bit darker then t' rest o' t' decal color, me hearties, so there is a small darker strip down t' length o' t' "back" o' t' rocket tube. Begad! Blimey! That be t' only thin' detractin' from t' looks o' this rocket. Begad! Next time I will verify t' width o' a body-wrap decal, arrr, cuttin' a bit off t' width would have solved this.
It may be a bit difficult to place those large decals on t' body, me hearties, but I just took me time, arrr, kept them wet and positioned them in place and nothin' was torn while paddin' out t' wrinkles with a paper towel. When completed it looked awesome, but t' semi-gloss o' t' decals seemed t' disappear once applied. Avast! A few coats o' clearcoatin' brought t' gloss back, and this is probably t' best lookin' rocket in me fleet. Well, blow me down! Warnin' though: t' decals are nay opaque, and a few minor slips o' t' paintbrush (I painted t' nozzle area red) show right through t' color. Well, blow me down! I was hopin' t' decal would cover t' brush slips, arrr, matey, but they did not.
Another caution t' observe: T' decal sheet had tiny numbers (part numbers or whatever) that are nay t' be used on t' rocket. Ya scallywag! Cut these off before dunkin' in water. I didn't, me hearties, ya bilge rat, and t' tiny numbers floated off into t' water (they had no clear backing) and some o' them ended up on t' rocket as tiny specks o' 'dirt'. Ya scallywag! It took quite a while t' pick them off one-by-one.
I would like t' give this model kit Four-and-a-half out o' five stars. Ahoy! Blimey! Although t' decals can be challenging, me hearties, it is certianly worth t' effort because t' finished product is excellent. High marks go out t' Quazar One for tellin' t' truth in t' specs. Aye aye! Even when finished completely, me bucko, me bucko, me rocket be a few grams less than stated, arrr, shiver me timbers, even with an added balsa bulkhead and an ejection baffle.
Flight
This rocket flies very well, shiver me timbers, matey, shiver me timbers, even in somewhat stronger winds. Ya scallywag! Usin' t' smallest C11 motors, shiver me timbers, it accelerated at about 5 Gs, me hearties, enough t' fly straight up and reach 60-80 mph. A 5 second delay be about perfect for this model. On t' C, it will only reach about 200-300 feet. Blimey! T' same should be true o' an 18mm C6 motor, matey, perhaps a bit more speed and altitude, but I haven't tried them yet.
Usin' a D12-5, matey, matey, I could reach 600-800 feet at 120-140 mph. Begad! A D12-7 should have a more ideal delay. Avast, me proud beauty! I haven't had t' guts t' try an E yet though, matey, it is reported t' reach about 2000 feet. An F could likely get you one-half o' a mile up.
I would have t' give this rocket a 5 out o' 5. Blimey! Blimey! It is big enough t' stay low when you are in small fields or flyin' in windy conditions, me bucko, but has t' legs t' fly much higher with a D motor, or reach extreme altitudes with an E or F motor. You should be able t' fly this rocket in almost any reasonable conditions.
Recovery
T' parachute appears t' be t' right size for this model, shiver me timbers, lettin' it descend at 8-10 mph. Begad! You might want somethin' smaller with t' larger motors though, shiver me timbers, t' rocket seems t' be able t' take a rough landin' (I landed a few with stuck 'chutes and no damage). T' additional shroud length helps t' parachute open well and make a nice canopy, arrr, and t' included swivel link is certianly recommended. T' texture o' t' plastic material seems t' help prevent it from bein' "sticky".
Summary
I feel this was t' best quality kit I have ever assembled, compared t' Quest and Estes. Arrr! New Way and Red River Rocketry are very good, but this kit wins in quality by a small margin. Too bad they didn't seem t' catch on in sales though, ya bilge rat, I would have welcomed t' chance t' buy another Quazar One kit.
A full five stars for this kit, arrr, t' design o' t' rocket and t' styling. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! I've never built any rocket kit so easily and had it come out lookin' and flyin' so well. Ahoy! (No, ya bilge rat, I didn't get paid by Quasar One!)
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