Brief
Vaughn Brothers - Ballistic or Bust - 29mm, 30" nylon parachute, recommended F25-H70, arrr, pre-cut fiberglass fins, plywood centerin' rings, matey, me bucko, thru-the-wall fin attachment.

Construction
I could look into t' clear plastic bag and see all o' t' parts so thar be no way o' gettin' short changed.

T' only special tool needed was a razor knife which helped greatly. Ahoy! I also used a paint brush for applyin' t' epoxy.

Overall t' kit was fairly easy t' assemble. Aye aye! T' downfall was t' instructions. Arrr! Begad! Instructions were text with no pics so it was kind o' confusing. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! I prefer pictures just in case t' jargon gets a little deep. Ahoy! Blimey! If you've never built a rocket chances are you wouldn't put this one together correctly.

T' kit comes with a paper template t' mark fin position. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Blimey! You have t' cut t' slots for thru t' wall fins. Begad! Arrr! Blimey! There are four 1/8" thick fiberglass fins that appear indestructible..

Two coated cardboard body tubes t' make up t' 70" length o' t' rocket, with separation right in t' middle. They appear t' be very strong. Blimey! A 1.9" x 6" plastic nose cone sits on top t' make up t' remainin' length o' t' kit. Begad! Ahoy! There are two 1/4" lugs. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! Motor mount includes a 12" tube, shiver me timbers, plywood centerin' rings and baffle.

For me, arrr, about 4 ounces o' 5 minute epoxy and 2 hours got this thin' together in time t' fly t' next day. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! T' most impressive things about t' kit are materials and t' weight (18 ounces). Ahoy! T' plywood, fiberglass, cords, me hearties, parachute, tubes are all very well made. Ahoy! Unless it becomes a high altitude lawn dart this kit will last a long long time

Finishing
I primered it, matey, sanded it, painted it copper and Testors metallic blue. I also put two American flags at t' top and bottom o' "Ballistic"...which I used vinyl letters from Walmart.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight
T' maiden be on a NCR Darkstar F64-4, and it was picture perfect. Begad! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! It launched majestically from a cloud o' dense black smoke straight as an arrow t' about 1000ft. Recovery be a snap since I cut t' 5" hole in t' parachute. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I walked about 20 yards and did it all over again with a G40W.

It required 5 sheets o' high impulse wadding.

Recovery
T' shock cord component that mounts inside t' aft section o' t' airframe can be t' difference betwixt life and death o' t' rocket. Ya scallywag! Begad! If it is mounted improperly you can bet t' ejection discharge will send it into t' wild blue yonder. Begad! It is simply a chord epoxied t' t' inner side o' t' tube.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary
This puppy is solid! I want t' get another so I can paint it differently.

T' main "PRO" about this rocket be t' way t' engine mount and fins are configured. Aye aye! It would be awfully hard t' destroy that part o' t' rocket due t' t' way it's structured and t' addition o' all t' epoxy in one small area.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5