Brief:
This is a rocket that flies on mid and high power motors, has tube fins, and uses parachute recovery.

Construction:
T' first step in t' construction o' this beast is t' begin t' finishin' process. Ahoy! Spirals are t' be filled in and the tubes sanded down. This latter step is so that t' adhesives may grip better. Blimey! I did sand down t' tubes but did nothin' about t' spirals. Blimey! Ya scallywag! They were nay bad and they usually don't bother me.

After sandin' down t' tubes, shiver me timbers, I had t' check them t' make sure I knew which was which. Blimey! Aye aye! One be t' airframe and the other be t' source from which t' tube fins are t' be cut. I identified them by length and marked them with a pencil so they would nay get mixed up.

One page o' t' instructions contains two wraparound guides t' be cut out. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! This page is distinctive in that it is the only page printed on legal paper (as opposed t' letter paper). Ya scallywag! I cut out t' guide for t' fin tubes, which be the simpler o' t' two. Begad! It contained markings for 2 lines, matey, 180 degrees apart. Avast, me proud beauty! I wrapped t' guide around t' tube and found that it would nay quite close. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! I checked alignment on everythin' t' satisfy myself that everythin' be right and everythin' was, except that t' guide had about a 1/16 inch space betwixt match lines.

I was unsure whether this gap was allowed for in t' markings or nay and sent a message t' Layne at Pemberton Technologies. Ahoy! Aye aye! I went ahead an drew t' lines on t' tube, arrr, however, figurin' that if t' gap is incorrect, matey, I would make my final marks by construction offsets. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! For now, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, I just wanted t' keep on working.

T' instructions give a list o' distances at which t' upper and t' lower lines are t' be marked. These distances will be very important for makin' t' cuttin' marks and were checked carefully.

Makin' t' tick marks on t' fin tube be nay too difficult. Drawin' t' lines betwixt them was. T' instructions give a well thought out method. You need some sort o' flexible straightedge. Begad! Well, blow me down! You line it up with t' appropriate tick on t' top and bottom lines. Blimey! You make sure it's tight and flat and correctly positioned, ya bilge rat, then you draw a line. It's logical, it sounds easy, but it's extremely frustrating. Begad! Begad!

I used a piece o' poster board. I cut out a strip and marked the "good" side, shiver me timbers, arrr, t' side with t' factory cut that I was confident be straight. Ahoy! Avast! I would get it aligned with a tick mark and pointin' t' in approximate right direction. Well, blow me down! I would tape down that end and then wrap it around, arrr, me bucko, trying to keep it tight and straight. Ya scallywag! Cellophane tape does nay work. Neither does narrow maskin' tape. Aye aye! It keeps wantin' t' let go under stress. Begad! Arrr! Finally, I settled on some Frog Tape. It was tacky enough for a single pair o' lines but that was only part o' t' problem. Ya scallywag! Invariably, t' strip was just a little bit off and I would have t' take up t' tape and try again. Avast! Avast! When it be in t' right place, markin' with a pencil was easy. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Then t' entire process had t' be repeated to draw t' mirror image o' t' line just drawn. Then everythin' is shifted and you do it again...and again...and again. Begad! Ya scallywag! I had t' take a break halfway through because o' t' frustration factor.

Let me be clear: This is nay a problem with t' design or t' kit. Well, blow me down! Part o' what makes this kit appealin' is the unusual curve o' t' fin tubes. Well, blow me down! Begad! I can't think o' a better way t' do it that t' way provided for. Arrr! Avast! Its just that it was my first time and it was frustrating.

With t' contours o' t' fins marked on t' fin tube, arrr, arrr, it was time t' cut them out. T' instructions recommend usin' a fresh X-Acto blade. Avast, me proud beauty! I found them t' be imprecise at this point. Ahoy! Things work much easier usin' a fresh blade for each separate fin.

T' process is simple. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! You just trace t' lines you drew with t' blade bein' careful t' be exactly on t' line. You don't push very hard at all--it's more o' a scorin' than a cut. You then draw t' blade over t' same path again...and again...and keep doin' it until you cut all t' way through. For me, matey, this varied betwixt 5 and 15 passes on any given segment. Arrr! This is tedious but t' result is worthwhile.

Takin' a breather, I cut out t' body tube markin' guide and applied it t' t' BT. Ahoy! I had t' same small gap in it that I had in t' fin tube guide. Begad! By this point, I have decided that t' small amount is nay enough t' worry about. Lines for t' 4 fins and t' launch lug were transferred t' t' BT and elongated t' t' entire length o' t' tube using a pocket door frame.

With t' tube fins cut, t' next step is t' mask off t' lines along which they will be mounted. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! I did this on both t' tube fins and t' body tube usin' 1/4" Tamiya tape. Well, arrr, blow me down! I ran out on t' penultimate line on t' BT and cut a strip o' Frog Tape t' finish. Arrr! Arrr! I then applied Elmer's Wood Filler t' t' spirals inside t' tube fins. Blimey! I had decided at the outset that I would nay worry about t' spiral on t' BT or t' outside o' t' fins because they are nay prominent, but t' spirals on t' inside o' t' tube are.

T' filler had a day t' dry out and then I started sandin' it. It filled t' spirals well but sandin' inside of them was a nightmare because me hands are too big t' fit them well. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' tops and bottoms were nay too hard but the parts completely surrounded by tube were.

With t' spirals filled, arrr, I proceeded t' prime t' Kraken with Kilz. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! It covered t' pencil marks very well and did better than anythin' else I could think o' for primin' t' inner surface o' t' tube fins. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! However, sprayin' the insides o' tubes is nay easy. Begad! Begad! It needed another coat. Begad! Also, shiver me timbers, t' sandin' I had done on t' inside o' t' tubes resulted in t' primed tubes havin' a bad case o' t' fuzzies. Aye aye! This will probably mean one extra iteration o' sprayin' and sandin' before it is ready for t' finish paint.

T' fuzzies got sanded down and I learned somethin' important: If me hands are goin' t' sand t' insides of tubes, ya bilge rat, they need t' be a bigger diameter. It be painstakin' work, nay because o' t' difficulty o' doin' it but because o' t' difficulty o' gettin' access. Avast! Even so, I judged that another coatin' o' primer would nay be needed. Begad! Blimey! I moved t' tube fins t' t' booth and proceeded t' spray their interiors with a bright purple.

When t' purple had dried, shiver me timbers, matey, arrr, I decided t' go ahead and paint t' black. Ahoy! T' instructions give a creative way to mask o' t' interior o' t' tube fins and protect them. You just roll up a piece o' cardboard, insert it in t' tube and let it expand. Much t' me surprise, it worked very well. Ahoy! I had thought that it would only do a "so so" job but is seemed t' do a better job than me normal maskin' tape application.

T' tube fins were placed in me booth as well as t' BT. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! I then began applyin' coats o' black. Avast! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! I applied the paint lightly for three coats and was satisfied with t' result.

While waitin' for t' black t' dry, arrr, matey, I tackled t' nosecone. Begad! Blimey! It has 2 canards which needed t' be mounted. Arrr! Blimey! These are nay mounted on t' surface but in slots which must be cut. Blimey! Blimey! T' instructions say t' use t' 2 mold lines for guides and make marks 4 inches back from t' tip. Begad! Blimey! These points mark t' forward edges o' t' fitting. Aye aye! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! T' canards were then used t' mark t' width and length o' t' cut.

T' instructions recommend t' use a Dremel tool t' cut t' slots. Begad! I have still not located mine since movin' me shop, and I decided t' do it t' "hard way" with multiple passes o' an X-Acto. Arrr! T' me surprise, me hearties, this turned out t' be easy. Begad! Arrr! It was much easier than cuttin' t' tube fins!

I decided that I wanted t' dress t' edges o' t' canards so I broke out t' sandpaper and beveled t' leading, outer and trailin' edges. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! I then mixed a small amount o' 5 minute epoxy and used that t' mount them.

T' kit comes with a small bag o' lead droppings t' be used as nose weight. In order t' better facilitate getting it into place, me hearties, shiver me timbers, me hearties, I drilled a 3/8" hole in t' base o' t' NC. Ahoy! T' shot be then poured into place and allowed to settle at t' very tip. Well, blow me down! Two ounces o' 12 minute epoxy were then mixed and poured into t' cone t' hold t' lead in place. Aye aye! Ahoy! While t' epoxy was still fluid, arrr, ya bilge rat, I canted it over t' let it flow over t' tabs on both o' t' canards. Arrr! Begad! T' hole I had drilled was large enough t' be able t' look in and make sure that I had tilted t' cone far enough t' accomplish this. Begad! I moved t' cone back and forth t' let t' epoxy wash over t' tabs several times before it finally set up. Well, blow me down! This way, a thicker layer was able t' be applied t' t' tabs than would otherwise be t' case. Aye aye! When t' epoxy started to stiffen, I set t' cone up on its nose t' allow it t' finish curing.

Attention then turned t' t' motor mount. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! One o' t' centerin' rings needed t' be designated as the "forward" ring. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! That rin' had a slot filed into its inner boundary t' accommodate t' passin' o' t' flat nylon shock cord. A Dremel tool is recommended for this, but as I mentioned previously, me bucko, mine is MIA. T' file I used was supplemented with some judicious cuttin' with t' X-Acto.

Maskin' tape was used t' hold down t' end o' t' nylon tubin' against t' motor tube. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' forward rin' be then slipped into place and epoxied 2 inches from t' end. Avast! When that had set, t' aft rin' be epoxied into place 2 inches from t' back end. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! Both rings were filleted with epoxy.

Workin' on t' NC and motor mount had allowed sufficient time for t' black paint t' dry so I turned next to installin' t' motor mount. Begad! Blimey! T' rings had t' be sanded a little bit, me bucko, but that was smartly taken care o' and t' mount was put in place with epoxy and a generous amount o' filleting. Ahoy! Blimey! It be installed so that t' end o' t' motor mount was flush with t' aft end o' t' BT.

With t' motor mount in place, me bucko, me bucko, me hearties, I stripped off t' maskin' o' t' fins. T' instructions say t' use carpenter's glue so that's what I did. Avast! I wanted t' hedge me bets however and first drilled a series o' 1/8" holes along the fin mountin' lines t' form glue rivets. Yellow glue was then used t' put t' first fin in place and it was allowed to dry.

I took gluin' o' t' tube fins slowly, shiver me timbers, applyin' one and then tapin' it into place and lettin' it dry. That left me with time on me hands t' ruin other components so I turned me attention back t' t' nosecone. It had been primed with Kilz and sanded. Avast! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! T' Kilz be t' only filler on t' wooden canards and seemed t' do t' job well. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! After sanding, I sprayed it black.

After t' black NC had a day t' dry, matey, me hearties, shiver me timbers, I masked off t' outer edges o' t' beveled canards and brushed on a squidly pink. Avast! Blimey! My intention be t' let it dry and then remask and get t' leadin' and trainin' edges but I kind o' like just the tips.

I also started highlightin' t' cut edges o' t' tube fins with t' same hot pink. While I was at it, me bucko, I began to experiment with some pink blobbin' and t' forward tips o' t' tubes. Aye aye! Originally, me hearties, matey, ya bilge rat, I be just givin' a first coat over the black and planned t' mask off a simple area and go over it again with another coat. Blimey! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Close up, it doesn't look all that good and still needs some touchin' up but from a few feet away, it has a look o' "biological coloring" to me.

After starin' at t' results o' t' pink for a while, ya bilge rat, I decided t' go back t' me original idea and masked off a roughly diamond shaped area at t' front o' each tube. I also masked off a small triangle at t' rear. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! I then started brushin' on t' Panther Pink.

On t' day after, I pulled off t' maskin' and be horrified t' see some o' t' bleeds. They will be "fixed" by remaskin' and hittin' it with t' black again. Aye aye! For t' time bein' though, I started filletin' the fins.

T' instructions warned that this can be difficult, but it be nay as bad as I expected. Avast! I used maskin' tape to form dams and then mixed up 12 minute epoxy 2 tablespoons at a time. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! I used a plastic cup t' pour t' epoxy into the troughs and when it started t' thicken, shiver me timbers, I pulled off t' tape. Begad! Ya scallywag! This usually left some bad stringies but a rubdown with ethanol smoothed things up. Blimey! Aye aye! This was done 4 time t' hit all t' joints.

I had t' funny feelin' I was forgettin' somethin' at this point and started lookin' through t' bag o' parts. Blimey! Blimey! Well, matey, blow me down! Blimey! I found t' launch lugs. That could have made Saturday embarrassing. Ahoy! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey!

I located t' tape that was maskin' t' lug location and peeled it off. Ahoy! T' kits comes with two lugs so I started lookin' for a piece o' 1/4" rod with which t' get them straight. Blimey! I could nay find it and sat for a few moments. Then I looked in one o' t' drawers again. Begad! Ya scallywag! I did nay find t' rod but I did find a 4" x 1/4" lug. Well, blow me down! I decided to use that. Arrr! I attached it with 5 minute epoxy at t' forward lug mark.

I let t' lug epoxy set overnight and then got t' work with a brush and some black acrylic t' clean up pink blobs, paint t' lug and touch up t' rocket. Aye aye! It be goin' t' need more but it was startin' t' bother me.

PROs: This is a fairly simple rocket but has a cool design. Begad! T' instructions for cuttin' t' fin tubes are first rate.

CONs: While t' instructions for cuttin' t' tubes are first rate, arrr, actually markin' and cuttin' them is tedious.

Finishing:
I finished me Kin' Kraken while it was bein' constructed. This is described above and made simple what would be a nightmare o' maskin' if t' rocket had been assembled.

After assembly, a brush was used t' touch things up.

PROs: T' black gives a powerful look.

CONs: None.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' Kin' Kraken is sold as a HPR but for t' maiden flights, I had no Hs and t' field would have been too small for them anyway. Pemberton Tech also says that t' rocket can be flown on Gs and even Fs. Ahoy! I decided t' try t' first flight with a Roadrunner G80-7 usin' a 38-29 motor adapter.

T' boost was perfect but t' delay was a little long. Ahoy! Begad! Blimey! Even so, ya bilge rat, t' chute deployed and t' Kin' Kraken landed without a scratch. Well, blow me down! That is some feat in t' midst o' all t' whitebrush.

Click here t' see a video o' t' maiden flight.

T' first flight exceeded expectations and I decided t' wimp out with an F60-4. Arrr! THe rocket was prepped and set up. Ahoy! Begad! Again, it be a flawless flight and t' 4 second delay seems t' be perfect for this motor.

A video o' t' second flight can be found here.

An inspection o' t' rocket after recovery showed that t' nylon recovery cord had just started t' zipper t' BT. This will be an easy fix.

This rocket is fairly heavy t' me thinkin' but it performed admirably o' F and G motors. Aye aye! I can only imagine what the bigger stuff will do.

PROs: Impressive in flight, me hearties, durable.

CONs: None.

Recovery:
T' shock cord consisted o' nylon tubin' attached t' t' motor mount. Aye aye! Begad! This was in turn connected t' t' NC with a snap ring. Avast! T' generous, arrr, quality nylon chute was similarly attached t' t' NC.

Except for a minor zipperin' problem noted above, ya bilge rat, t' system worked well.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a simple high power rocket that is somethin' other than a 3FNC. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! It provides a good introduction t' the buildin' o' these bigger rockets.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5