Brief:
Two 24mm motor cluster, matey, matey, skill level 2, me hearties, matey, payload section, me hearties, parachute recovery.

This is a strange lookin' rocket that only gets stranger t' more you think about it, but it is a good performer. It's nay too difficult t' build but a bit more challengin' t' paint if you want t' use t' default scheme on the facecard.

Construction:
Construction begins with t' markin' o' t' BT-50 motor tubes. Arrr! Each tube is marked in 4 places and t' second mark from t' end is slit with a razor knife for t' engine hook. Begad! Before placin' t' hook though, a thrust rin' is inserted and glued into place with t' provided spacer tube.

With t' thrust rings in place, t' engine hook is inserted into its slit and a retainin' band is slipped on to the appropriate mark and glued into place.

T' kit comes with 4 cardboard centerin' rings perforated for tandem 24mm motors. Begad! Begad! Blimey! I poked them out o' their framework and sanded off t' inner and outer nubs with sandpaper. Begad! Arrr! Blimey! T' bottom ring, ya bilge rat, t' one with an engine hook slot, arrr, shiver me timbers, was slid into place along both motor tubes and aligned with t' first mark. Begad! Begad! Blimey! T' other centerin' ring was slid onto t' other end o' t' tubes and lined up with t' last mark. Arrr! Blimey! T' rings were glued into place with yellow glue and filleted.

T' rocket has two transitions that are meant as fairings betweens sections o' BT-70 and t' twin BT-50 motor mounts. Arrr! These come in t' form o' a single symmetrical plastic moldin' that must be cut in 4 places. Arrr! 2 cuts remove a short piece o' "spacer" separatin' t' 2 halves and t' other 2 cuts remove t' excess plastic that fits into the BT-70s. Ahoy! Well, arrr, blow me down! These cuts were made with a hobby saw and t' rough edges were treated t' some sandpaper. Begad! Avast! After they were cleaned up, t' 2 transitions were slipped onto t' assembly around t' BT-50s.

With t' transitions in place, it was time t' mount t' remainin' 2 centerin' rings. Arrr! These are in all respects identical t' t' first two rings. Arrr! They needed a bit o' sandin' t' fit around t' BT-50s but fit into t' BT-70 just fine. They were placed at t' marks called for, me bucko, filleted, me hearties, and allowed t' dry.

While postin' a build thread on TRF, I heard that this kit has a history o' problems with t' transitions fitting into t' BT-70s and a workaround described. Blimey! When I checked I found that indeed t' transitions do nay fit into the BT-70s. Avast! Begad! T' solution was t' cut a pair o' notches into t' inner sleeve o' t' transitions, me bucko, allowin' them t' be compressed a bit. Arrr! With that done, ya bilge rat, t' transitions fit fine and were secured with CA.

By t' time I heard this, matey, me bucko, t' transitions were already on and t' notches had t' be cut "on t' fly". Avast, me proud beauty! They are nay pretty but they did work.

I decided t' skip t' entire rubber band and tri-fold travesty and try a FlisKits baffle designed for t' BT-70. I started puttin' that together and then had t' wait for it t' dry. Begad! While it be drying, I worked on t' upper section of t' rocket.

T' upper section is really quite simple. It consists o' a plastic shoulder t' transition from BT-70 t' BT-60, me bucko, ya bilge rat, a length o' BT-60 and a plastic nosecone. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! I cleaned t' flashin' off o' t' plastic, sanded a bit and fit t' pieces together. Although they are meant t' form a payload bay, me bucko, me hearties, I never fly payloads and used CA t' hold t' whole thing together.

T' next task t' tackle be t' fins. Arrr! There were 3 balsa fins that were pretty thick and most notably tough as iron. When I try t' sand a profile into fins, I always worry that I am goin' t' snap them. This time I worried about havin' strong enough sandpaper. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! They should be sturdy!

I rounded all edges except t' root. Arrr! Begad! Then, usin' t' lines transferred from t' fin markin' guide, shiver me timbers, I placed the fins with CA. After lettin' t' CA cure, arrr, me hearties, I began filletin' with yellow glue.

Then t' baffle from Fliskits was ready t' install. Arrr! I found that it fit perfectly in t' BT-70. Begad! Installation consisted merely o' swabbin' a glue rin' in t' body tube and pushin' t' baffle down into place, shiver me timbers, me hearties, makin' sure that the Keelhaul®©™® was oriented in t' right direction (towards t' nosecone).

Another item that still needed t' be addressed was t' installation o' t' launch lugs. Ahoy! There are two o' them. One is located on t' lower BT and t' other on t' upper. A line had been marked earlier and I glued them on with the aid o' a rod t' keep them aligned. That left me ready for finishing.

PROs: Fairly easy cluster build

CONs: Tri-fold and rubber band mount, shiver me timbers, me bucko, Fairin' shoulders do nay quite fit and must be modified

Finishing:
I still had nay picked up any Elmer's Wood Filler so I started off t' finishin' by sealin' t' fins with sanding sealer. Begad! I made sure t' shake t' bottle well t' get all t' particulates suspended and started t' paint it on. Arrr! Aye aye! Blimey! After 2 coats, I gave it a light sandin' and applied another 2 coats o' sealer. Begad! Blimey! Upon inspection I realized that I needed another 2 coats for a total o' 6.

Primin' was done with Kilz. Begad! I applied a total o' 2 coats and then sanded.

T' first paint t' be applied was Testor's gray. Ya scallywag! I did nay paint t' whole rocket, me hearties, me bucko, just t' lower part where there would be some gray transitions.

Red be t' next color t' be sprayed. Arrr! Well, blow me down! I masked off t' areas that remained gray. Aye aye! Begad! Again, shiver me timbers, this was fairly easy and caused no problems. Arrr! Those could be expected with t' black because t' black was t' be blended into adjacent colors. Begad!

I masked off t' areas that were supposed t' stay red and then set t' rocket up on t' turntable in me booth. I decided t' try and eyeball t' black. Avast! Aye aye! T' middle section be easy because t' transitions are sharp and t' rocket was masked. Well, blow me down! Gradually transitionin' from gray t' black and from red t' black was another matter. Avast! Arrr! It was done completely by tryin' t' control me aim and t' distance t' t' target.

It actually turned out better than I had feared but thar are a few areas that will see t' application of sandpaper t' try and remove some o' t' black. Well, blow me down! This be me first attempt at somethin' like this and I can only get better at it, right?

I used #600 sandpaper t' remove some o' t' black overspray near t' top o' t' fin can. Avast! It did nay do a perfect job but from any reasonable distance, t' original problem is now hard t' see. I decided t' let it go at that.

At t' end o' t' paint phase, me bucko, I was a bit disappointed. Avast! It did nay look terrible but t' rocket did seem kind of plain. Begad! Thankfully, t' decals t' care o' that problem.

I was very pleased that this Estes kit has forgone t' crack and peels in favor o' real waterslide decals. Arrr! Well, blow me down! I no longer take that for granted after gettin' t' trashy stuff in me Maxi Brute Honest John. Avast! Arrr! T' pleasure only went so far, matey, however.

I started with t' silver flames that go on t' fins. Blimey! I found that t' decal material was very stretchy and difficult t' place. Begad! After floatin' off t' backing, shiver me timbers, it wanted t' rip t' surface instantly and brushin' out the bubbles was time consuming. Blimey! Aye aye! This be true for both sides o' each o' t' fins. I be nay lookin' forward t' workin' with the big decals on t' payload or nose section. T' bid decals went on easier though. They slid right into place and were smoothed out with a minimum o' fuss. Ya scallywag!

When all is said and done, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, t' decals really dressed up t' rocket t' where it looks pretty good. Blimey! Mine is nay as good as t' face card but it is perfectly acceptable t' me.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
For t' maiden flight, I loaded a pair o' D12-5s. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! That almost cost me t' rocket. It took off in a flash and just kept goin' straight up...way up. Arrr! When t' chute deployed, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, it had plenty o' time t' drift a long way. Avast, me proud beauty! I got t' right vector for where it came down or I never would have recovered it. My direction was right but t' range was way short. When I did find it, it was in great shape and ready t' fly again.

For t' second flight, me hearties, matey, I loaded a pair o' C11-5s. Arrr! Avast! It too had a perfect but nay so extroverted, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, flight profile. Begad! I actually managed t' get it back without crossin' any highways or barbed wire fences. Ahoy! Again, it be in perfect shape. Well, blow me down!

PROs: High performer.

CONs: Easy t' lose do t' extreme height.

Recovery:
As mentioned in t' build, I used a FlisKits BAF70 baffle in this rocket. It performed flawlessly. In place o' the 18" plastic chute, arrr, I used a 15" nylon.

Bein' a bit suspicious o' t' baffle, I used a small bit o' dog barf for t' first flight. Arrr! I need nay have bothered. Ya scallywag! Begad! I did without on t' second flight and t' system worked perfectly. Blimey! Ya scallywag!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a cool rocket that is a good and easy introduction t' clusters. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! It's also nice in that it looks a bit out of the ordinary.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5