Weighin' in at 7.5 ounces with a reach o' 23 1/8" and sportin' a 2.6" thick body with punchin' power from a 24mm motor, t' Meanie is a contender! Nordic Rocketry packages this "stout, matey, me hearties, tough and extremely cool" rocket with t' tauntin' message nay t' take their word for it but t' get one and "warn your friends t' keep their wimpy rockets at a safe distance, ‘cause this one’s mean."

That’s exactly what I did. I got one and put it t' t' test against two other "fat" kits, ya bilge rat, t' Estes’ Fat Boy and Vaughn Brother’s Blobbo. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! Bein' taller and usin' a larger motor set this kit apart from t' other two from t' get-go, matey, however, consider all three reviews before you purchase your next 2.6" Sport kit. Begad! See me 2.6" Stubby Rocket Comparison Page

T' kit comes with a 12" long, arrr, thicker (1/16") single body tube and 9" long balsa nose cone. Aye aye! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! It’s 24mm motor mount comes with laser-cut plywood centerin' rings and a motor retention clip. It’s most unique feature are t' three laser-cut 1/16" plywood fins which are shaped so as t' set this kit apart from any other. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Blimey! It comes with a 19" rip-stop nylon parachute, matey, and eye-screws for attachin' t' ¼" elastic shock cord. Begad! Blimey! It also includes two brass launch lugs and a rub-on Meanie™ decal.

CONSTRUCTION:

There are six pages o' construction instructions and a single page o' operatin' instructions. Aye aye! There are plenty o' clear, arrr, instrumental illustrations for ensurin' accurate alignment and build. T' instructions are in logical order and if followed can ensure a successful build. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! T' kit is rated skill level 3, however, shiver me timbers, I think it falls betwixt 2 and 3. Avast! T' introduction does indicate that Nordic Rocketry kits are designed "for those with some experience building" model rockets. Aye aye!

Another feature o' t' instructions, that I liked, shiver me timbers, was t' banter contained throughout. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! For example, comments like, "when you have epoxy settin' up is nay t' time t' discover mistakes" after t' suggestion o' readin' all instructions before you begin. Arrr! Also after a warnin' t' ensure straight fin alignment t' banter reinforces this by reading, "A misaligned part in this step could make your Meanie a little meaner than planned!"

Assembly o' t' Meanie™ be fun and employed a couple o' new techniques t' me. Well, blow me down! All o' t' parts fit, with minor sandin' as noted below, and allowed for quick assembly. Arrr!

T' motor mount assembly requires notchin' o' t' lower centerin' rin' t' allow clearance for t' motor hook and also an eye-screw is attached t' t' upper centerin' rin' as t' anchor for t' shock cord. Avast!

When installin' t' motor mount, t' instructions suggest checkin' for fit and nay t' force t' mount into t' body tube. Blimey! I found that t' fit seemed very tight, ya bilge rat, however two things remedied this. Begad! Begad! First, matey, although discovered second for me, was that thar be a small ridge around t' end o' t' body tube. Avast! Aye aye! Sand this off first, then check for fit. Aye aye! If still tight then a light sandin' o' t' centerin' rings will resolve it. Begad! I sanded t' centerin' rings first, ya bilge rat, which probably wasn’t necessary. Blimey!

One suggestion that is nay made in t' instructions, is t' tuck t' shock cord back through t' motor tube t' avoid gettin' glue on it when installin' t' motor mount into t' body tube. Avast!

T' fin’s unique shape merited a picture showin' which edges t' taper and round. Begad! There are actually four edges on each fin that need sanding. Avast! I used me Dremel t' get started and then sand paper t' do t' finishing.

One o' t' new techniques used in t' construction o' this kit, arrr, ya bilge rat, was t' use a T-pin t' poke holes along both sides o' t' centerline where t' fins attach. This is done t' allow t' glue t' seep into these holes makin' t' attachment o' t' fins t' t' body tube stronger. Begad! Well, blow me down! They act like little rivets!

Another new technique be t' attachment o' t' eye-screw t' t' nose cone. Well, blow me down! Begad! This is screwed, shiver me timbers, glued and bridged. Ahoy! T' bridgin' was a new idea t' me. Begad! This is where t' glue is "bridged" through t' eye-screw t' increase its hold t' t' nose cone. Aye aye!

To start t' finishin' process I used sandin' sealer on t' large balsa nose cone. Then, ya bilge rat, as always, ya bilge rat, I began preppin' for paintin' with Plasti-Kote primer. Arrr! Ya scallywag! T' nose cone really needed a lot o' work. Blimey! T' nose cone really needed a lot o' work. This could have been reduced if I followed t' finishin' instructions. Avast, me proud beauty! They suggest usin' wood putty and sandin' sealer t' fill t' spiral seam in t' body tubin' and nose cone. Blimey! Begad! I simply used multiple coats o' primer, sandin' back t' a smooth surface each time. Avast!

Next, while walkin' through t' Walmart, shiver me timbers, I discovered their brand o' paint for $0. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! 98/can. I couldn't resist. I got a can o' yellow, matey, shiver me timbers, clear and primer. Aye aye! Blimey! T' made me final coat o' primer with t' Walmart brand. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Then 2 coats o' bright yellow. T' recommendations on t' Walmart can is t' do additional coats within 4 hours or after 1 week. Begad! Blimey! Small price t' pay for t' paint costin' so little. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! (additional comments about Walmart paint)

A week later, arrr, I painted t' one fin with a blue t' match t' decal. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! I also applied t' single decal which is a self-adhesive vinyl decal spellin' out Meanie™. Blimey! Followin' t' instructions carefully and only applyin' pressure on t' letters, I be able t' successfully apply t' decal. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Once complete, ya bilge rat, I hit t' entire rocket with two light coats o' Walmart Clear paint. Well, blow me down! Done!

Overall, me hearties, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this kit 4 1/2 points. Arrr! Other than t' single instruction suggestion and t' extra work o' havin' t' deal with a balsa nose cone, it was excellent!

FLIGHT/RECOVERY: 

While gettin' ready for flight, arrr, two passer-bys stopped and introduced themselves. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! Both o' them commented on t' Meanie™ askin' who manufactured it. Aye aye! One person picked it up and commented on how durable it felt and admired t' fins. Now, ya bilge rat, we know it looks good but that this contender fly?

Usin' an Aerotech 24mm RMS casin' loaded with a D15-4, me hearties, arrr, t' Meanie™ be ready for it's premiere. Aye aye! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! It be placed into t' rin' (launch order) on rod number 9 (3/16 launch rod) durin' t' NOVAAR Vacuum-22 event. T' t' referee (launch controller) announced t' fight (I mean flight) and began t' count down for t' main event. Well, blow me down! 5, 4, 3, me hearties, 2, arrr, 1 . Well, blow me down! . Blimey! Well, arrr, blow me down! . Ya scallywag! ding, arrr, ding! Meanie™ was out o' it's corner quickly, delivered an explosive punch that left t' launch rod vibratin' and jerkin' t' heads o' all observers upward. Ya scallywag! After a line o' smoke, and at what seemed t' be Meanie's™ slowest point, pow, shiver me timbers, me bucko, shiver me timbers, t' last punch! It was all down(hill) from here as it floated safely back t' t' ground. Ahoy! Thus concluded t' matter. Avast!

Upon inspection, t' piece o' Rogue Aerospace's Perma-Wadding™ had a hole punched through it. Ya scallywag! Avast! However, ya bilge rat, it did it's job and protected t' 18" rip-stop nylon parachute. Ya scallywag! T' recovery system did it's job. Aye aye! Well, me bucko, blow me down! A light blackenin' o' t' shock cord near t' motor mount be noticed. I'm concerned about how durable this system will be in t' long run. Aye aye! Only time and flights will tell. Ahoy!

T' second challenger that Meanie™ had t' face was an Aerotech E28-7. I removed half o' t' ejection charge before attachin' it t' t' RMS casing. Ahoy! Blimey! T' flight was straight but I could nay see ejection. Assisted by a good wind, matey, t' rocket was carried and good distance. Avast, me proud beauty! I landed in someone's driveway just outside o' t' flyin' field, chippin' two o' t' fin bottoms and a small spot on t' top t' body tube.

Still showin' t' bruises from it's second challenger, t' Meanie™ faced it's third "seasoned" challenger, Estes D12-3. Aye aye! This old timer delivered a devastatin' blow that CATO'd t' rocket t' t' ground with a hole clean through t' chute and multiple points o' damage on t' nose cone. Well, blow me down! Arrr! T' D12-3 displayed it's pleasure by throw a fire ball into t' air. Avast, me proud beauty!

After t' three flights (if you count t' last event), t' shock cord is showin' some crackin' on t' edges but it still solid and intact. Well, blow me down! Begad! I still think a Keelhaul®©™® leader or a protective sheath would help this kit out. Arrr! Well, blow me down!

For FLIGHT/RECOVERY, shiver me timbers, matey, I would rate this kit 4 1/2 points. Aye aye! Blimey!

Overall, for t' combination o' toughness and uniqueness and ease o' build, me bucko, this kit should be a qualified contender for anyone's next 2.6", ya bilge rat, short, sport flyer. Nordic Rocketry's catalog only contains 5 kits, but after buildin' this one, I'm lookin' forward t' future releases! I give t' kit an OVERALL ratin' o' 4 1/2 points.

Update 9/23/08: After over 10 years o' flying, this rocket has now reached it's 60th flight (captured below).

What's interestin' about t' Meanie is that it is nay some super-duper high strength rocket that is built t' be indestructible. Avast! Rather, quite t' opposite. Well, blow me down! T' body tube is paper (1/16" thick cardboard), its fins and centerin' rings are 1/16" laser-cut plywood, me bucko, and its nose cone is balsa. Arrr! T' fins are surface mounted t' t' body tube. Ahoy!

There were two techniques used durin' t' build that improved t' strength.

One was t' use a T-pin t' poke holes along both sides o' t' centerline where t' fins attach. This is done t' allow t' glue t' seep into these holes makin' t' attachment o' t' fins t' t' body tube stronger. Aye aye! They act like little rivets!

T' other technique was t' attachment o' t' eye-screw t' t' nose cone. Arrr! Aye aye! This is screwed, glued and bridged. Well, blow me down! Bridgin' where t' glue is "bridged" through t' eye-screw t' increase its hold t' t' nose cone. Ahoy!

So, me bucko, me hearties, arrr, despite a CATO o' an Estes D12 on t' 3rd launch (which required t' nose cone t' be filled and re-painted), shiver me timbers, several other parachute deployment issues, ya bilge rat, and one descent that took nearly 8 minutes… this rocket has been a Meanie toward t' skys. Begad! It has flown on 28 D's (D9, me hearties, D10, arrr, arrr, D12, me bucko, D15 and D21), me bucko, shiver me timbers, 14 E's (E9, E11, me hearties, E18, me bucko, and E28), and 19 F's (F12, shiver me timbers, F24, me hearties, and F39).