Brief:
T' Launch Pad make a wide range o' scale mid-power model kits o' missiles. They usually fly on one or more 24mm motors. Avast, me proud beauty! They fly best on AP motors in the E - F range, but can usually be flown with moderate success on BP D power. I was attracted t' this kit because it's a cool lookin' British prototype, arrr, and relatively cheap. Aye aye! T' skill level is '4', but thar be no indication as t' what this means.

T' kit contains t' followin' parts:

• 24mm motor mount
• Motor clip
• 3 centerin' discs
• Plastic nose cone
• Nose weight
• 2 2.6" body tubes
• 2 couplers
• 2 3/32" balsa sheets
• 8 1/4" x 1/8" balsa strips
• 8 cocktail sticks
• Paper fin templates
• Paper aerial covers
• Paper nose cone extension
• Paper shock cord mount
• 18" octagonal mylar chute
• 8 Shroud line anchors
• Shroud lines
• Slip swivel
• Barrel swivel

Construction/Finishin' Techiniques:
What you get is fairly similar t' a large Estes kit. Blimey! Arrr! It compares well with the Estes Phoenix, though if you decide t' use t' nose cone extension, arrr, matey, t' Rapier requires more attention t' finishing. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! T' quality o' instructions is perhaps not quite as good as a similar sized Estes kit, arrr, but are still adequate. Avast! There are no decals, matey, but additions such as t' swivels make up for this.

T' motor mount and is very similar t' an Estes mount, me bucko, me hearties, me hearties, and goes together very easily. Two o' t' centerin' rings are glued over t' motor mount. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! I used yellow wood glue throughout construction. Aye aye! This makes for joints stronger than the cardboard and balsa and I find it easier t' use than white PVA.

T' paper nose cone extensions which feature in many o' Launch Pad kits are infamous and have started many a thread on rec.models.rockets. Begad! Blimey! Some say they are easy t' put together, shiver me timbers, arrr, me hearties, others despise them. Avast! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! Personally, I'm nay much bothered. Begad! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! T' kit will still produce a flyable model with or without the extension. Avast! Blimey! Although I did try t' make t' extension followin' t' instructions carefully, I failed miserably. Arrr! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! I replicated t' template and tried again with no more success. Avast! Blimey! T' problem for me is t' make a sharp tip. Avast! Blimey! It's just too hard to form it without creasin' t' paper. Ahoy! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! I didn't give up though. Avast! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! I tried again usin' an alternative technique. Instead o' usin' just t' amount o' paper needed t' form t' cone, I started with a much bigger sheet o' paper. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I found that this could be formed into a large cone, t' tip o' which matched t' cone required. This could be done without ever touchin' t' tip, me bucko, meanin' thar be a good sharp tip, and no creases. I applied glue after formin' and held it until it set. Ahoy! Blimey! Once t' glue had dried I cut t' tip from t' large cone. Aye aye! Blimey! It took me a couple o' attempts t' get t' angle right, but this was because on t' first attempt I neglected t' measure it! Blimey! T' finished cone be glued t' t' plastic nose. Begad! Blimey! T' instructions say t' coat t' paper extension with CA, matey, shiver me timbers, but I decided I was goin' t' coat t' entire model in finishin' epoxy, so I omitted this step. Instead I gave it a couple o' coats o' sandin' sealer t' add little strength and t' stop it soakin' in too much epoxy.

T' body tubes are good quality. Ahoy! T' two lengths are connected together with the coupler. Aye aye! T' motor mount is glued approximately 2" inside t' lower of the two body tubes. T' remainin' coupler is used t' position t' motor mount, and also t' strengthen t' end o' t' body tube. Ahoy! T' third centerin' rin' is glued 6" inside t' top o' t' body such that it prevents t' chute from slippin' backwards at launch.

T' fins must be cut from t' balsa sheet provided. There are no markings on t' balsa sheet, and templates for both sets o' fins are provided. Ya scallywag! It would be easy for the novice t' run-out o' balsa due t' bad lay out. Two slots must be made in the four forward fins t' mount t' aerials. Avast! Blimey! T' aerials are simply made by trimmin' t' cocktail sticks t' length. Ya scallywag! Arrr! Blimey! T' balsa strips are for t' fin mounts. Arrr! Blimey! These must be cut t' length, me bucko, and then 3/32" slots cut out t' mount the fins. Begad! Blimey! This isn't easy as t' parallel cuts required are very close together. Blimey! A good metal straight edge t' control t' knife is a must. Begad! I gave the fins two coats o' sandin' sealer with a light sand betwixt coats.

To finish t' rocket I tried a new (for me) technique. Begad! I painted t' entire surface with finishin' epoxy (zpoxy brand). Avast! Ahoy! This is a little different to normal epoxy in that it's much runnier, and almost completely odorless. Begad! It went on OK, matey, apart from a couple o' areas that seemed t' suffer from t' 'surface tension' effect you see when you dab water on a water proof surface. I've since discovered that this can be prevented by lightly sandin' t' areas before application. Aye aye! Once dry a light sand overall was all that was required before the primer could be applied. Avast, me proud beauty! A single coat o' primer and a single final coat were all that were required. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! T' instructions are pretty vague when it comes to paint schemes, ya bilge rat, with just a single illustration and no decals. I searched the web and found schemes for t' British Army (olive) and Saudi Army (sand), arrr, matey, but instead went with overall orange that seemed t' be indicated by t' package illustration.

* SPECIAL NOTE off o' RMR from Chuck Barndt, President o' T' Launch Pad