Brief:
This is semi-scale sport model based on NASA's Max Launch Abort System (MLAS). Blimey! It is quite stubby, ya bilge rat, bein' 3.5" in diameter and a mere 9" long. Blimey! It has only one recommended motor, t' B6, and recovers in two parts on three parachutes.

NOTE: Two RockSims were submitted. Begad! Blimey! One be t' stock build and one has added nose weight. Ahoy! Blimey! You should assess the stability o' your own model.

Construction:

Parts included in t' kit:

• One 3.5" D v 5.5" L tube
• One nosecone shoulder ring
• Three laser cut rings for t' motor mount and nose cone shoulder
• 18mm motor mount (tube, shiver me timbers, matey, block hook)
• Keelhaul®©™® and elastic cords
• Three plastic 'chutes
• Two sets o' four laser cut fins
• 1/8" lug
• Lag bolt
• Decal set
• Two foam MicroMaxx cones

T' build requires t' standard sandpaper, me bucko, hobby knife, arrr, wood filler, wood glue. Foam safe white and black paint is also needed.

T' 10 pages o' instructions are well written and are excellently illustrated. Avast, me proud beauty! They include a markin' guide for t' motor mount, a ruler that you can cut out if you don't have one lyin' around and, o' course, a fin markin' guide.

T' parts come securely packaged in a box vs. Arrr! Blimey! a plastic bag. Begad! This protects t' wide, arrr, ya bilge rat, thin walled body tube, and helps both you and t' environment. Aye aye! Begad! T' box can be recycled into a reusable range box. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! At least, me bucko, so sayeth t' sticker on t' end. Ahoy!

T' motor mount assembly is standard, me hearties, usin' both a thrust rin' and a motor hook. Two centerin' rings are provided. T' lower rin' has cutouts t' save a some weight. Begad! T' Keelhaul®©™® cord is tied t' t' mount prior t' t' installation o' t' top ring. I used a *small* dab o' 5-minute epoxy t' secure it.

T' body tube is quite thin for its size and I had concerns about squashin' it along t' way. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! I'm glad t' mount didn't grab while I was insertin' it into t' glue smeared tube. It survived me clumsy buildin' skills but concerns about flight durability remained.

T' fin preparation and installation are also typical - sand, ya bilge rat, mark, matey, glue (double glue joints are specified). Begad! The instructions have t' fins filled after they are installed but I prefer t' do this prior t' installation.

T' nose cone assembly consists o' t' foam capsule, a shoulder and a laser cut cardboard bulkhead. Blimey! A heavy lag bolt is installed in t' tip t' provide t' required nose weight. This bolt is also t' attachment point for t' nose cone's parachute. Avast! A second, very thin Keelhaul®©™® cord is tied around t' bolt and is fed into t' body when t' 'chutes are installed. Aye aye! Attachin' t' cord t' t' bolt should keep all t' parts together on recovery and will allow t' cone t' come down base first. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! T' final step is to install t' faux thrusters on t' nose (which were faux on t' real thin' too). Ya scallywag! Here, you split t' two foam MMX cones, sand t' fit, matey, and glue them on t' capsule.

Finally, you also have t' assemble and install t' three plastic 'chutes. Begad! Begad! I added a length o' elastic t' each of t' nose cone 'chutes t' act as separate risers.

Finishing:
Prior t' painting, you are instructed t' fill t' cone with thinned wood filler, ya bilge rat, which I did. Avast, me proud beauty! T' entire model is then supposed t' be painted with foam-safe paint. Begad! Ahoy! I chose t' paint t' lower part with 'regular' paint and t' cone with brush-on acrylics. Well, blow me down! I ended up usin' t' paint that I had on hand.

T' body was spray painted and t' fins were painted with brush-on. Avast, me proud beauty! I don't like sprayin' such small areas. Ya scallywag! The instructions also say t' cover t' entire body with a plastic bag, expose t' fins and mask them off. Arrr! Blimey! Since I didn't spray them, I just masked with plain old blue maskin' tape.

Maskin' t' cone was t' most complicated part o' t' process for me since t' surface o' acrylic paint was not perfectly smooth and I had a fair amount o' bleeding. Arrr! I should have painted on a layer o' t' base coat before adding t' black trim.

T' kit provided quite a few decals includin' stripes, rivets, fin numbers and logos. T' instructions do a great job showin' where t' position them. Avast, me proud beauty! I HATE IT when you have a sheet o' decals and have t' guess where they go. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! Make sure you look at them carefully t' separate t' individual items (for example, shiver me timbers, t' numeral 'I' decals were individually positioned on t' paper but some o' t' other numbers were attached t' one another). T' decals were tough and came off their backin' smartly and easily. Begad! As usual for me, matey, shiver me timbers, I had some positionin' problems and little ones tended t' stick immediately. Begad! Arrr! I'll chalk this up t' operator error.

T' overall results are that t' rocket looks great as long as you back far enough off. Begad! But I like it! All these issues are mine and nay t' kit's.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Prep be more complicated than your typical LPR bird. Ahoy! I added t' specified waddin' and laid in t' 'chutes in the order specified. Avast, me proud beauty! T' body's 'chute went in first followed by t' two capsule chutes. Avast! I opted for t' B6-4 vs. Begad! Ahoy! a -2 because that's what I had. Aye aye! My RockSim model, arrr, me hearties, which uses t' as-built mass and CG, shiver me timbers, says t' -4 was a better fit anyway.

Well, shiver me timbers, arrr, it rose about 20' then arced over and core sampled. It's path seemed t' be perpendicular t' t' 7-8 mph winds. Begad! T' good news: t' soft foam cone be muddy but nay dented, t' body tube was intact and all 8 fins stayed on. T' ground was soft but t' kit be sturdier than I expected.

I wanted t' try an Estes C6-5 but be nervous about usin' a heavier motor, shiver me timbers, so I kludged up some nose weight. Avast, me proud beauty! I won't embarrass myself with t' details but it DID involve bubble gum (but no bailin' wire or duct tape). Begad! In me haste, I didn't check t' CG for future reference. Avast, me proud beauty! T' boost was good with some weather cocking. Begad! Success! T' nose weight unit was lost at ejection but I since recreated it as best I could. Arrr! It was around 0.3 oz.

Recovery:
Ejection on flight #2 was a bit late due t' t' weather cocking, but nay bad. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! One o' t' two nose cone 'chutes tangled, me bucko, shiver me timbers, but one is enough for a soft landing.

Flight Rating: 2 out o' 5

Summary:
I liked short stubby rockets and fell in love with t' MLAS after seein' its launch photos and videos. Well, blow me down! This is a very semi-scale representation, shiver me timbers, arrr, but I like it too!

T' motor mount, laser cut fins, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and recovery system are fairly standard. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Well, arrr, blow me down! Blimey! Paintin' is a little more complicated than most, ya bilge rat, but I seldom consider finishin' when I think o' skill levels. There are a lot o' decals and their quality is good. Begad! Blimey! T' three 'chutes make prep a little more complicated, but still nay difficult. Begad!

T' negatives are a thin walled body and marginal stability. Ya scallywag! Quest will likely say that me buildin' skills or the wind led t' t' problems with t' B6 flight. Begad! Begad! Even with these issues I like t' kit and it be refreshin' t' see someone go out on a limb and offer such a kit. Despite me low rating, arrr, I recommend buyin' one..or two. Avast!

I have added some weight t' me nose and will try her again at t' next launch. Well, arrr, blow me down! I went ahead and submitted the review since this could take a while.

Overall Rating: 2 out o' 5