Brief:
I received t' Desert Fox kit in good condition with all parts accounted for. T' kit is nicely packaged with a nice color photo o' t' finished model in a desert like color scheme. T' balsa parts are all nicely laser cut, t' tube is equivalent t' an Estes BT56, me hearties, and is glassine coated kraft paper. Begad! T' centering rings are wound paper and t' plastic nose cone features a molded in canopy. T' 18 inch parachute is plastic with a printed pattern. Avast, me proud beauty! T' instructions are well illustrated and plentiful. Avast! There are two card stock sheets with t' body wraps and a small decal sheet. There is no skill level listed on t' kit. Recommended engines are B6-2, B6-4, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, and C6-5 with t' B6-2 bein' recommended for t' first flight.

Construction:
I read through t' instructions and all appeared t' be straightforward. Avast! Aye aye! I began with t' intention t' follow t' instructions exactly. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Bein' primarily a scratch-builder this took a little discipline. Begad! T' first things I noticed before construction began be t' nice job on t' laser cuttin' o' t' fins and the molded in cockpit on t' nose cone. Blimey! Well, me hearties, blow me down! Nice touch for a fighter type kit. The decals were also a pleasant surprise. Begad! Avast! They feature Canadian Air Force as well as U.S.A.F. and R.A.F. Begad! markings plus a logo featurin' a fox wearin' flight goggles. Begad! There aren’t a lot o' them but they are a nice feature.

Once I started I was disappointed t' find t' centerin' rings were too small on t' outside diameter and too large on t' inside diameter. Avast! Blimey! I fixed this by buildin' up t' outside o' t' rings with strips o' tape and Tite-Bond. Arrr! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! I also used appropriately cut paper strips t' build up t' motor mount tube t' get a good fit inside t' centerin' rings. Begad! Avast! I have since been informed this problem has been corrected. Ya scallywag!

I also found t' nose cone fit t' tube very tight. Begad! Begad! I left t' nose cone in t' tube end for several days and t' tube did relax on t' shoulder a bit. Aye aye!

T' engine hook is a little different from what I’ve seen. Well, blow me down! It’s similar t' a screw eye, but is "L" shaped and is screwed into the rear centerin' ring. Begad! Avast! I have a few doubts about this method. Well, blow me down! It should hold up, but t' get t' engine in you have t' rotate t' L. I also found t' centering rin' bulged some, me hearties, even though I drilled a small pilot hole for it. Avast! Aye aye! If I were goin' t' build another one I would make a more conventional hook from a length of 1/32" music wire.

I rounded off t' wings and rudder edges and proceeded t' glue them up. Ya scallywag! I did find t' fit betwixt t' wing leadin' edge extensions and t' aft stabilizer be nay what I figured it would be. Blimey! There are gaps betwixt them that with laser cutting, just shouldn’t be a problem. I filled t' small gaps with filler and t' large gap with a scrap of balsa. Arrr! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! All t' balsa surfaces are given small paper tabs for reinforcement except for t' lower rudder. Blimey! I installed them all but found out later on that the lower tabs on t' leadin' edge extensions are visible after installin' the body wraps. I would leave these two tabs off, shiver me timbers, matey, as I feel they detract from the final appearance and t' upper tabs should add more than enough strength. Avast, me proud beauty!

T' two main body wraps gave me trouble. They are rather difficult t' get to glued down and position. Avast! They did nay want t' stay down. Ya scallywag! Tape would help, me hearties, but be sure t' use some very low stick maskin' tape so you don’t screw up the paper wrap’s surface. Arrr! Ahoy! T' instructions call for installin' t' main rudders then t' top fairing. Ya scallywag! T' rudders are obviously glued in at an angle, but no angle is given, other than a visual reference on t' kit packaging. Blimey! I then found it next t' impossible t' fit t' top fairin' over t' rudders. Blimey! The instructions say t' squeeze t' rudders together, matey, but I broke one doin' this and had t' cut a new one. Ahoy! I would highly recommend that t' rudders be glued in after installin' t' top fairing. Blimey! Aye aye! T' instructions call for this method for the lower rudders. Well, blow me down! There are also cover strips t' cover over t' holes in t' fairs for t' rudders. Ya scallywag! Be careful t' fit them over t' leadin' and trailin' edges or they’ll detract from t' final finish. Begad!

I ended up fillin' t' joints betwixt the paper wraps and t' balsa with wood filler t' smooth t' edges. Aye aye! Begad! It be more difficult t' fill t' gaps around t' lower rudders. Begad! Aye aye! These joint lines between the balsa, ya bilge rat, body tube and t' wraps and reinforcement tabs is one o' t' things I wasn’t too happy with as I was finishin' t' model. Fillin' t' gaps didn’t really work as I had hoped. Aye aye! I’m nay sure what else can be done with it, so I guess it’s best t' just leave them there. (Make sure the edges are thoroughly stuck down t' t' body wraps. Mine separated at a few spots durin' painting.)

T' shock cord mount be t' old paper 3-fold over type. Ya scallywag! I elected t' use this mount, but replaced t' short rubber cord supplied with a longer braided elastic cord. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! I assembled t' chute per instructions, arrr, shiver me timbers, but added a swivel for attachin' it t' t' nose cone. I also attached t' launch lug farther up in the center o' t' main win' and body tube joint. Aye aye! Arrr! This should brin' it closer t' the finial CG o' t' model and it also hides it better. Begad!

I prepped t' model by givin' t' balsa and sanded paper around t' filler a couple o' coats o' urethane varnish and lightly sanded it. Avast! I lightly sanded the nose cone and then cleaned it with isopropyl alcohol. I started with two coats of Painter’s Touch gray primer. Begad! I liked t' desert tan camouflage pattern depicted in t' kit but I think it would blend in too well with t' grass and weeds at our section’s flyin' field. I decided on a camouflage pattern of grays and blues. Blimey! I used Krylon Pewter Gray on t' undersides. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' upper surfaces were done in Krylon Smoke Gray base followed with Colonial Blue on top. Well, blow me down! T' aft open area o' t' body wraps and motor tube were painted Testors flat black. Begad! T' canopy be masked off and painted gloss black.

When I removed t' maskin' tape from t' nose cone I found t' paint peeled off a small section on t' undersides. Blimey! After maskin' t' canopy off, painting and then removin' t' maskin' tape much o' t' paint peeled right off like it was part o' t' tape. I used low tack painter’s tape and it be only left on for a couple hours while t' paint dried. Ahoy! Ahoy! I went back and re-read the instructions. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! It says t' use "polyethylene safe paint" on t' nose cone. Blimey! Arrr! I guess I don’t know what paints are polyethylene safe. Avast, me proud beauty! I have used the Painter’s Touch without problems on other large nose cones without problem, matey, but have never seen anythin' like this. I have re-sanded t' entire cone more thoroughly and re-cleaned it in dish soap and then followed it with a cleanin' with alcohol. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' paint seemed t' take fine t' every other surface. Blimey! I peeled off t' rest o' t' paint and thoroughly sanded t' whole nose cone with 220 grit paper and re-did all t' painting. Ahoy! This so far seems t' be staying put. (photo 9 & 10)

I be re-readin' t' final pre-flight instructions for t' Desert Fox. Aye aye! Arrr! The manufacturers recommend swin' testin' t' rocket prior t' flight. Begad! Aye aye! I would’ve figured that thar wouldn’t be a problem with stability. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! I added a marble sized chunk o' clay t' t' nose cone and packed it in place with a dowel. T' rocket balances about 1 ¼" from t' from o' t' lower body wrap. Begad! Aye aye!

Flight report:
I took t' Desert out t' our section’s launch on April 22nd. Aye aye! Avast! I loaded it up with t' recommended first flight motor, me hearties, a B6-2. It boosted slow and straight t' about 50 feet. Arrr! Good thin' it was a B6-2 and nay a B6-4 as I was plannin' on at first. T' chute did deploy in time. I would’ve thought this bird would’ve flew better on a B6. Aye aye! Begad! Maybe I just had a wimpy motor. I launched it again on a C6-5. Blimey! Begad! This flight be nice and straight t' maybe 200 feet. Arrr! Arrr! Ejection was just past apogee. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! T' chute got tangled on t' rudders, ya bilge rat, not uncommon for a model like this. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! There was no damage. Ahoy! T' folks that saw it thought it was a very cool design.

I would have t' classify this kit as somewhat difficult due t' t' body wraps. Begad! On a scale o' 1 t' 5, me hearties, I would rate this kit as a skill level 3+

Plusses:
Interestin' futuristic design
Nose cone with molded in canopy
Printed chute
Good instructions
Laser cut balsa
Decals
Good packaging
Good quality balsa

Minuses:
Centerin' rin' fit (supposed t' be fixed now)
Assembly for rudders needs t' be altered or clarified.
Nose cone nay paint friendly
Body wraps difficult t' position
No skill level listed on t' kit packagin'