| 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. Aye aye! T' design is a good performer, t' stylin' is beautiful and easy t' achieve with t' decals, shiver me timbers, 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, ya bilge rat, you'll likely never see it again as it reaches almost 1/2 mile!) In summary, it is a very good quality kit and a good flier. Blimey! Standin' almost 40 inches high, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, it is an impressive, sleek lookin' model.
T' "story" behind t' DEFCON 1 is that this is a rocket carryin' radiation detection equipment, t' have been used in t' cold war t' detect radiation at high altitudes t' confirm t' detonation o' enemy nuclear bombs. T' US was 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, ya bilge rat, but t' story seems plausable.
Since this model looks so good and flies well, me bucko, it is one o' me most favorite models in me fleet.
Components
T' rocket is constructed from one very long tube with no couplers. Begad! Component quality was extremely good throughout, with t' possible exception o' t' nosecone. Begad! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! T' motor tube has a inner foil layer, arrr, reported t' resist t' heat o' t' motors. Begad! T' centerin' rings were heavy duty. Begad! T' fin stock be very good, stiff and dense. Avast! Ya scallywag! T' 34-inch shock cord elastic was plenty long and sturdy and included a Keelhaul®©™ segment. Ya scallywag! T' parachute was aqua, shiver me timbers, matchin' t' color o' t' decals, ya bilge rat, me hearties, and made o' thicker plastic, slightly textured. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! Even t' shroud lines were longer, allowin' me t' make shrouds 1-1/2 times t' diameter o' t' parachute - in me opinion t' longer shrouds work better. Ahoy! A swivel for t' parachute be also included in t' kit.
Unfortunately t' body tube was so long that it was bent in shipping. Well, me bucko, blow me down! Apogee Components did nay pack it well. A replacement was sent - also bent. I sent specific instructions t' Apogee concernin' t' packin' o' t' last remainin' replacement tube, matey, 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 was reinforced, me hearties, 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! Apogee then apologized that they had no more tubes t' send. Aye aye! Tim V. wrote back essentially sayin' "too bad, me hearties, it happens, thar be no practical solution". Ahoy! (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, me hearties, matey, and since I intended t' add a payload section t' this very long rocket, arrr, I cut t' tubes t' be t' main body and payload section. Begad! Blimey! As for t' quality o' t' tube from Quasar One, matey, it be as good as any body tube I've used. Begad! Well, blow me down! I couldn't alter t' overall length o' t' body tube though, me bucko, or t' full-wrap decals would nay have fit. Begad! T' huge, shiver me timbers, full-wrap water-slide decals were also tough enough t' nay rip. T' spiral seams in t' tubin' were almost unnoticeable after primer, me hearties, paint and then t' decals. Ahoy! Blimey! Almost unnoticeable - if you look real hard, you can find some traces o' spirals, me bucko, arrr, 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. You already read about t' damaged tubes, shiver me timbers, but by addin' a bulkhead and payload section I could connect t' two shorter-cut sections o' tubes without needin' a coupler. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! 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. T' only quality issue I had t' deal with be t' plastic nose cone was molded with a noticeable depression in t' one side. Ahoy! Begad! A little plastic filler and some sandin' fixed that right up. Begad! Avast! Blimey! Another item t' be sure about be t' placement o' t' launch lugs. Avast! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Blimey! If you do not place them where indicated, ya bilge rat, t' decals will nay cleanly fit over them. Avast, me proud beauty! This model design uses a split lug, matey, a small detail I build into every rocket because it is much more stable when launching.
Finishing
Considerin' t' complex look o' this rocket, shiver me timbers, finishin' was very easy! Just a good prime and paint with gloss white is all that is needed, shiver me timbers, except t' nose cone which is painted silver. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' full-wrap decals handle all t' design work o' t' body tube, shiver me timbers, and decals cover t' entire fin area on both sides. Aye aye! Begad! Because o' that filling/sealin' t' balsa grain is nay really necessary. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! T' body wrap decals were a bit oversized though, shiver me timbers, arrr, so that they overlap about 3/16 inch. Arrr! T' overlap area looks quite a bit darker then t' rest o' t' decal color, arrr, so there is a small darker strip down t' length o' t' "back" o' t' rocket tube. Arrr! That be t' only thin' detractin' from t' looks o' this rocket. Next time I will verify t' width o' a body-wrap decal, ya bilge rat, cuttin' a bit off t' width would have solved this.
It may be a bit difficult to place those large decals on t' body, ya bilge rat, me hearties, but I just took me time, kept them wet and positioned them in place and nothin' be torn while paddin' out t' wrinkles with a paper towel. When completed it looked awesome, matey, me hearties, matey, but t' semi-gloss o' t' decals seemed t' disappear once applied. Ahoy! A few coats o' clearcoatin' brought t' gloss back, and this is probably t' best lookin' rocket in me fleet. 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. Ahoy! Begad! I was hopin' t' decal would cover t' brush slips, ya bilge rat, me bucko, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Cut these off before dunkin' in water. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I didn't, matey, 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'. Blimey! 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. Well, blow me down! Well, arrr, blow me down! Although t' decals can be challenging, arrr, shiver me timbers, 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. Arrr! Ya scallywag! Even when finished completely, arrr, arrr, me rocket was a few grams less than stated, me bucko, even with an added balsa bulkhead and an ejection baffle.
Flight
This rocket flies very well, even in somewhat stronger winds. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! Usin' t' smallest C11 motors, it accelerated at about 5 Gs, enough t' fly straight up and reach 60-80 mph. Well, blow me down! A 5 second delay be about perfect for this model. On t' C, shiver me timbers, it will only reach about 200-300 feet. Avast! T' same should be true o' an 18mm C6 motor, perhaps a bit more speed and altitude, but I haven't tried them yet.
Usin' a D12-5, ya bilge rat, I could reach 600-800 feet at 120-140 mph. A D12-7 should have a more ideal delay. Ya scallywag! I haven't had t' guts t' try an E yet though, arrr, 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. Avast! It is big enough t' stay low when you are in small fields or flyin' in windy conditions, but has t' legs t' fly much higher with a D motor, me bucko, 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, arrr, shiver me timbers, me bucko, lettin' it descend at 8-10 mph. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! You might want somethin' smaller with t' larger motors though, t' rocket seems t' be able t' take a rough landin' (I landed a few with stuck 'chutes and no damage). Begad! Begad! Blimey! T' additional shroud length helps t' parachute open well and make a nice canopy, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, me bucko, 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. Begad! New Way and Red River Rocketry are very good, but this kit wins in quality by a small margin. Avast, me proud beauty! Too bad they didn't seem t' catch on in sales though, me hearties, shiver me timbers, I would have welcomed t' chance t' buy another Quazar One kit.
A full five stars for this kit, t' design o' t' rocket and t' styling. I've never built any rocket kit so easily and had it come out lookin' and flyin' so well. (No, I didn't get paid by Quasar One!)
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