Those o' us who have seen t' large increase in t' number o' rocket manufacturers this year are waitin' for what many think be t' inevitable shake-out. Blimey! Begad! Blimey! No doubt, room has been made by Quest's and Estes' emphasis on RTF models, Apogee's shift in focus, and other nere-do-well start-ups, but most o' us are afraid that many o' t' new companies that have formed t' fill that void are too numerous t' stand t' test of time. Begad! Others, like me, have faith that good products will let a company with a dedication t' t' sport survive. 

While they're startin' a bit later than their competitors, me bucko, like Custom and Cosmodrome, Nordic Rocketry plans t' make a big splash with a large kit line. If published reports are correct, me bucko, they're hopin' t' come t' market with a lot of new designs this year, arrr, shiver me timbers, up t' twenty kits available by Christmas. Ahoy! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! One of their original designs, t' Velocity, ya bilge rat, arrr, became mine in t' Essence Rocket Reviews' quarterly rocket give-away. Ya scallywag! Blimey! If this bird is any indication, Nordic's new kits just might capture them a good market share. 

T' Good Points

As you can see from t' picture, arrr, t' parts count in this Man-O-War is low, shiver me timbers, and none o' them are plastic, arrr, just good, me bucko, old fashioned wood and paper. Aye aye! T' laser cut fins, made on Nordic's own cutter, get me highest praise. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Made from tough plywood, .107" thick (~7/64"), me hearties, sandin' is required t' brin' them into the instructed airfoil shape (and t' get rid o' t' laser burns), but this is easily accomplished with an upright belt sander or, me personal choice, a sandin' wheel. For t' recommended F50 motor, matey, though, matey, I would have been much more comfortable with a through-the-wall attachment. 

T' gorilla-style shock cord mount comes preassembled on a centerin' ring, and arrived without kinks, ready t' be installed. Begad! T' rip-stop chute is light weight and well-sewn, a pleasant change from Estes' chinese cheapies. Arrr! T' balsa nose cone, which is smooth, sharp, and has a good, me bucko, ya bilge rat, tight fit in t' body tube, arrived wrapped in dent-preventin' foam, a smart touch. Begad! T' tubes are thick-walled and perfectly smooth, arrr, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, though t' 36" main body tube arrived with a few smallish dents in each end. Begad! Nordic should take a page from other makers here, shiver me timbers, and Man-O-War t' body tube in sections with an appropriate number of tube couplers. Avast, me proud beauty! T' increase in t' model's weight would actually help altitude performance when usin' t' higher-powered engines, and make t' package much easier t' Man-O-War and sell on a peg board, as well as prevent tube damage. 

T' bag art, arrr, shiver me timbers, which looks good, but is nay up t' t' big companies' glossy pop, gives t' model's spec.'s, me hearties, and at 5oz. (slightly more with t' included 24 mm adapter installed), this bird is gonna be darn near transonic on the recommended F50 engine. Avast, me proud beauty! Only single use Estes and Aerotech motors are spec.'ed, and t' 24 mm motor mount is only designed t' take 2.75" long motors, so the Aerotech non-standard 124 mm long motors, such as t' F32, arrr, matey, won't fit. Nordic doesn't recommend any G motors, and I wouldn't either; an F25 should take this kit t' well over 3000 feet, ya bilge rat, more than high enough for most model rocketeers. Arrr! Begad! I'd be leery o' t' recommended F50, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, too; without though-the-wall fins on its well-sealed tube, me bucko, you might be lookin' at a shred. Blimey! Since this bird is so light, me bucko, she would actually fly lower on t' F50 than t' F25, anyway. 

T' Bad Points

T' instruction manual is a stapled set o' single-sided pages, and is short on dimensions. Blimey! T' print is small, contains numerous margin notes and t' steps are nay very well delineated. Ya scallywag! On t' other hand, me bucko, t' manual is very complete, outlinin' every step in complete detail, t' graphics are clear and sharp and a goodly amount o' technique is discussed. Well, blow me down! T' author and artist did well, the fault lies with t' printer and lay-up. 

One could ask for a better mounts for t' 'chute and t' nose cone; metal eye hooks are notorious for their poor grip that allows t' cord t' untie, usually at a very inopportune time. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Tyin' t' 'chute t' t' center section of the shock cord is convenient, but weakens t' cord itself. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! T' cord seems a bit short, too, though me test flights produced no 'Estes dents', most probably a testament t' t' beefy body. 

My real big complaint about this bird is its inability t' switch from 24 to 29 mm or back. Ya scallywag! Begad! You must decide which motor size you're goin' t' use during assembly, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and then you're stuck with it. Begad! Arrr! Maybe I'm just spoiled by me Aerotech Mustang, but I was disappointed that me Velocity really won't fly all the engines Nordic recommends for her. Aye aye! As I be nay goin' t' run t' recommended F50 and that would only leave me with t' F25 t' fly in 29 mm configuration (a motor I've had zero luck with), me bucko, I chose t' install t' 24 mm adapter. 

Assembly

Placin' t' shock cord mount rin' was challenging, me bucko, primarily due t' its depth in t' body tube, ya bilge rat, 8" from t' aft end. Well, blow me down! Gettin' epoxy, matey, t' required adhesive, shiver me timbers, that far in thar without makin' too much o' a mess was a pain. Sectionin' t' body tube might help here, me hearties, too. Avast, me proud beauty! I used two hour stuff t' be sure I had enough workin' time, and was glad I did. Begad! (Maybe I'm just paranoid here, though; t' recommended 30 minute goo would probably have been all right, but I'd just lost me beloved Python t' a shock cord mount failure.) I also skipped ahead a step or two, shiver me timbers, and made t' motor mount up before hand, so I could slide it in over me mistakes before they set up. 

T' back o' t' bag art has t' stand-up tube markin' guide. Try as I might, I just couldn't get it t' work (the fin thicknesses were wrong), me bucko, so I gave up and made one in VCP. Since t' fins are thick and t' body has such a high curvature (it's really about 1¼" in diameter, nay t' 1.4" advertised), shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, I sanded four small flats on it where t' fins would go t' get a good joint and break the body tube sealant. Aye aye! I also made Nordic's suggested pin holes, which I created with t' tip o' me compass. Begad! Ahoy! My home made fin jig isn't big enough t' hold these fins, so I just set her where I could watch her while she dried. 

T' brass launch lugs are probably very durable, arrr, but I was nervous about tryin' t' attach them t' that surface-filled body tube with epoxy. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! The instructions say t' put pin holes in t' body tube near t' attachment points and scuff t' lugs with a light sandpaper before gluing, matey, but even with that, me bucko, I just couldn't see where they'd get a grip. Ahoy! I opted for a standard Estes maxi-rod launch lug and a UFO CA glue joint instead. Well, blow me down! Those who build the Velocity in t' 29 mm config. will want t' use t' included lugs, though, shiver me timbers, and put some time into their attachment. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Attachin' t' nose cone and 'chute t' the shock cord (I also added some Rogue PW-34 Permawading®) was a bit difficult since t' cord is so wide (½") and t' shroud lines and eye hook are so small. 

Finish

Finishing, on t' other hand, was a breeze. Arrr! I sealed t' fins with a light coat o' epoxy and t' nose cone with three coats o' Krylon® Sandable Primer after an initial sandin' with 160 sandpaper. Ya scallywag! This be t' first kit I've seen that actually recommends Krylon® paints, and they worked very well. My paint booth isn't big enough for this forty inch bird, me bucko, so I did it outside on my long model hook. T' instructions don't tout t' "official" color scheme, though I don't know why; painted like t' bag art shows, me hearties, shiver me timbers, matey, t' Velocity is a very handsome ship. 

I cut an Optima (a.k.a Shadow) silver accent band in two and cut one o' the halves long ways t' make t' silver bands shown on t' bag art. Well, blow me down! I'd been forewarned about t' vinyl name decal (see t' Essence review o' the Nordic Rocketry Delta-X), and applied a little vaseline t' t' edges o' t' backin' paper t' prevent it stickin' t' t' paint. T' decal itself stuck "like stink t' a monkey", shiver me timbers, and though I did apply t' recommended clear coat t' seal it (Krylon® Acrylic Clear), I probably could have gotten away without it. I suppose once I got used to workin' with these decals, I'd really like them, me bucko, they have some very strong points. 

Final dry weight was 160.6 grams (5.665 oz.), arrr, and CG with a D12-5 motor installed was @ 12.5" from t' aft end. 

While she has her good points that make for a rugged, shiver me timbers, matey, attractive bird, the Velocity's assembly is much more difficult than her low parts count would indicate, arrr, and I'd really like t' be able t' use all t' engines she's rated for. Ahoy! For construction, I'd rate t' Velocity a 2 ½ on t' Essence scale, me bucko, needs some improvement. 

Flight

As I didn't want t' loose this good lookin' bird t' first time out, I flew her on t' least powerful recommended engine, matey, an Estes D12-5. Estimated altitude was about 650', and ejection looked t' be right on time. Ahoy! Blimey! Recovery was fast, me hearties, me hearties, and she returned t' within 100 yards o' t' launch rod. Other than a little din' in t' nose cone, she be fine. T' Permawading® be perfectly clean, arrr, me hearties, as be t' shock cord. This little lass could fly on those engines forever, arrr, shiver me timbers, and just about anyplace you can set up a pad. 

T' next flight was on an Aerotech E30-7, and boy, did t' Velocity live up to her name! Bang, me bucko, Zoom, darn near out o' sight, only t' high visibility colors made her trackable with t' naked eye. Ejection seemed a bit early with this one, me hearties, matey, but everythin' worked just fine. Arrr! Blimey! Again a fast recovery, this time about 200 yards away. T' Permawadding® and t' shock cord below it were soot-covered, shiver me timbers, but neither seemed t' have been adversely affected, me bucko, shiver me timbers, and the rocket showed no damage. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! Next time I'll add some standard waddin' first, and shove it down t' t' shock cord mount ring. 

Both flights were rock stable with little weather cocking (surface winds were light, though above 100' or so it seemed t' be gusty), matey, me bucko, and darn near flawless. Blimey! Well, blow me down! T' E30 flight elicited more than one "Wow!" from my experienced model rocket buddies, me hearties, and that's high praise, given t' rockets they've seen fly. Ahoy! I'd rate t' Velocity a 4 ½ on t' Essence scale, me hearties, arrr, well above average, and further qualify the 24 mm configuration as t' more flexible. 

Summary 

I be excited when I first saw t' Velocity, matey, but when I realized what I was in for, shiver me timbers, arrr, me expectations dropped. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Her E30 flight brought most o' those back, though, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, matey, and I'd say this Man-O-War is worth t' effort. Aye aye! T' design isn't everything it could be and t' assembly process needs careful attention, me bucko, but t' Velocity will stand out in any fleet once she's done, arrr, and should be pretty durable. Overall, I'd rate her a 3 ½ on t' Essence scale, ya bilge rat, somewhat above average.