Brief:
This Blue Bird Zero is a 125% upscale o' t' original which makes t' main body tube a BT-60. Avast! I have wanted this rocket since I became a BAR but t' Ebay prices were too high. Avast! I then found Fred at Excelsior and while orderin' some Goony decals, I added t' upscale Zero decals as well. Ahoy! After buildin' various other rockets, ya bilge rat, I liked t' extra room t' BT-60 had for recovery items and since I would never have an original this be t' way for me t' enjoy the buildin' and flyin' o' this classic. It also allowed me t' add some "modern" refinements t' make it better. Arrr!

Construction:
T' upscale is basically a Mean Machine kit minus one tube and with different fins. Blimey! I was very surprised when I received t' decals from Fred and found included with t' Zero decal sheet was basically a partial instruction sheet with t' larger fin patterns included! T' only extra you need is the instructions for t' motor mount. Ahoy! Avast! Since I have done a few o' these already, I just put t' mount together like t' others I had done. T' mount follows the Mean Machine one so that's t' only extra instructions you need. Avast, me proud beauty! This can be downloaded from JimZ's site. Ahoy! T' parts list then is as follows:

• 3 BT-60 tubes 18" long
• 2 BT60 couplers (one if usin' t' baffle kit)
• 1 PNC-60AH nose cone (same as t' Screamin Mimi)
• 1 24mm motor mount (use t' Estes D/E mount and build it for t' E motor size)
• 1/8 balsa or basswood for t' six fins
• 1 BAF-60 from FlisKits (BT-60 baffle kit with Keelhaul®©™® shock cord)
• 5' o' 1/4 elastic for shock cord
• 1 24" stock Estes chute with 36" shroud lines
• 2 launch lugs, matey, me hearties, 3/16 x 1"

I am nay goin' into all t' details o' t' build since this is a scratch build and you should have some skills already for doin' this. Aye aye! If not, arrr, shiver me timbers, all you have t' do is follow Fred's excellent steps and a Blue Bird o' your own will be ready t' fly in no time at all.

I will give t' details o' me build that deviated from standards.

T' first one was t' fact that I already had tubes available and you can see from t' parts picture that I used some smaller sections with a full size 34" one for t' build. Blimey! Well, me hearties, blow me down! But thar be a method t' me madness! T' next is the baffle kit. Blimey! This is a great "modern" item from FlisKits and includes one coupler, me hearties, t' baffles and t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord for t' "new" style cord mount. It also allows you t' not have t' use waddin' for chute protection. T' loot you save from that alone more than pays for t' kit!

My build started with t' baffle kit. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! After assemblin' it per t' included instructions and allowin' it t' dry, I added a layer o' epoxy t' t' side that would face t' ejection charge t' keep t' charrin' down and make it last longer. It didn't help on t' first flight (more on that later) but should be great on t' rest! T' kit becomes t' upper tube coupler which is why I have the two smaller sections! There is one full size tube (34" from Totally Tubular), arrr, arrr, one tube cut t' 8.5" per Fred's instructions and another piece cut t' 10" for t' chute compartment t' make up t' full length.

Next be t' motor mount assembly. I use t' BT-50mf tube from Totally Tubular which is foil lined, me bucko, for me scratch 24mm motor mounts and made it a bit extra long t' take some o' t' ejection heat before enterin' t' main body tube. Blimey! Avast! Because o' t' extra length, matey, I added one extra CR t' t' mount. It was sized for t' "E" engine with t' long motor hook and can be used with "D" engines with an adaptor. Aye aye! If usin' t' stock Estes mount, file t' short, me hearties, bent end down about halfway if you want t' use t' AT RMS motors. Ahoy! After it was complete and dry, me bucko, it be installed in t' 8.5" section per Fred's plans.

T' 34" tube be then added t' t' motor section with a standard coupler. Avast! Begad! T' baffle kit be added t' t' 34" tube next with t' Keelhaul®©™® cord facin' out. Begad! T' upper tube was also glued in at this time with the Keelhaul®©™® pulled out t' top. Begad! All t' tubes were done at t' same time. Avast! This was rolled on t' tile floor t' make sure it be perfectly straight and allowed t' dry there. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! Although this makes t' body a bit hard t' handle when addin' fins and such, it be t' best way t' ensure t' entire body is straight.

T' fins were cut and sanded, then glued t' t' body one by one usin' the double glue joint method. Begad! Make really sure t' upper fins are dead straight aligned with t' lower ones! Just before t' glue sets up, me hearties, ya bilge rat, I use a straight edge over t' both o' them t' make sure that they are. Begad! Adjust as necessary.

Add t' launch lugs, me hearties, fillet everythin' stickin' out from t' body tube and finish t' taste

Finishing:
I use Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish all over for fillin' and Krylon paints for the color. Fred's decals are fabulous and really brin' out t' character o' this bird! Blimey! After everythin' was dry, I added two thin coats o' Future Floor Polish and it did shine!

Flight:
T' upscale will take any one o' t' 24mm motors on t' market quite well dependin' on your thirst for power and height! Blimey! Personally, ya bilge rat, I like t' see the entire flight from liftoff t' chute pop although t' three foot flames from the AeroTech RMS Blue Thunder reloads are beautiful as well! Blimey!

First flight for this one was on an Estes D12-5 t' check for any flight problems. Ahoy! Even though I had t' baffle, shiver me timbers, I added about 1" o' barf and packed t' chute. Nice t' have all that room for a change! Ignition be normal and that was about it. Arrr! Arrr! A split second later t' entire motor blew itself out the nose o' t' rocket with a liftoff height o' about twenty feet from the initial thrust. T' rocket landed with a thud, flat on its side about ten feet from t' pad as t' motor guts did a great rendition o' a roman candle. Well, blow me down! I was shocked, me hearties, upset, and dejected as I went t' collect t' remains. Arrr! O' all the rockets t' suffer me first CATO in, it had t' be this one! T' CATO managed to blow t' entire guts out o' t' rocket but after lookin' over it carefully, me bucko, me bucko, I realized that was t' extent o' t' damage! T' chute and lines were perfect as was t' nose cone! I found what was left o' t' motor mount by t' rocket. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! It had one CR busted but that was it also! Within a few hours, I had it all cleaned up and ready t' fly again. Blimey! T' hardest part be cuttin' into that beautiful paint job t' redo t' baffle. Avast, me proud beauty! It's nay so perfect now but nay that easy t' see t' damage either. Arrr! Begad! Oh well, it's t' first o' many battle scars to come!

Second flight was on an Estes E9-6 and easily made up for the first one. Nice slow liftoff with lots o' smoke and then flyin' way up there! Almost out o' eyesight (at least for me) and I was told t' chute came out right at apogee. Aye aye! Blimey! Slow float down t' a perfect landin' about 300' away from the pad. Just beautiful!

Summary:
This was a great project for me since most o' me other rockets were only half the size o' this one. Because o' t' fantastic amount o' tips and suggestions from everyone here at EMRR, I was able t' complete this bird from scratch and make it as sharp and strong as possible. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! After t' first flight t' help was obviously well given. Avast! T' use o' t' larger body tube really makes flyin' this one easy and fun t' watch. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! Thanks t' Fred at Excelsior, anyone can have this classic bird for t' right price and because o' EMRR, me bucko, ya bilge rat, they can make it and fly it for many years t' come.