Brief:
T' Wildfire is one o' MRC's old line o' easy rockets. It is about on par with and EX2 kit. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! It features a plastic fin can and nose cone. Avast! It can be configured as a payload carrier.

Construction:
T' first step on t' instruction is t' assemble t' nosecone. Well, me hearties, blow me down! It comes in 2 pieces and is made o' red plastic. Ya scallywag! The two pieces were joined with tube type plastic cement.

T' nosecone was set aside t' dry and t' motor mount was taken up. Aye aye! Blimey! T' kit comes with a centerin' rin' that is already split t' accommodate t' engine hook. Blimey! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! When I test fit it though, it was clear that t' slit be nay wide enough. Ahoy! Blimey! I opened it up a bit with an X-Acto knife so that it would fit. A slit be made in t' motor tube 1/4" from one end and t' hook was set in place. Begad! Blimey! T' split rin' was then glued in place flush with t' aft end. Blimey! Blimey! A retainer band was also glued over t' forward end o' t' hook.

T' kit is intended for use with a tri-fold mount but I wasn't havin' any o' that. I tied a Keelhaul®©™® harness around t' motor mount and applied some glue t' keep it in place. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! I then cut a slit in t' forward centering rin' t' accommodate t' Keelhaul®©™®. T' forward rin' though, is nay mounted on t' motor tube at this point. Begad! Instead, ya bilge rat, t' motor mount is inserted into the aft end o' t' plastic fin can and glued in place with plastic cement. Then t' forward rin' is slipped over t' part that protrudes from t' forward end o' t' fin can and glued.

T' kit comes with three identical body tubes. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! One o' them can be used as a payload bay. Well, blow me down! This would be the forward one. Ahoy! It is coupled t' t' tube behind with a plastic coupler. Ahoy! Ahoy! A screw eye was screwed into t' coupler into the provided hole. Well, blow me down! Begad! This is actually more substantial than I had at first thought.

T' other two body tubes are joined together with a cardboard coupler.

T' kit comes with a single launch lug which is t' be cut into 2 pieces. Arrr! Blimey! I used some rod t' serve as a mandrel for cutting. Avast! Ahoy! I left both pieces on t' rod and used it t' apply t' lugs straight. Well, blow me down! T' lower one is almost even with the aft end and t' other one is 5" forward.

With t' lugs in place, ya bilge rat, I glued t' lower part o' t' BT t' t' fin can and fished t' Keelhaul®©™® through. Begad! Begad! I tried t' align t' lugs with t' engine hook.

All that be left was t' top BT. Begad! Begad! Blimey! I glued t' plastic coupler into t' aft end and glued t' NC t' t' forward one. Avast! Blimey! I have no interest in launchin' payloads and t' NC fit was a bit loose t' begin with. Begad! T' rocket be t' put together and ready for finishing.

PROs: Easy build.

CONs: Centerin' rings nay adequately cut for engine hook. Ahoy! BT extremely thin.

Finishing:
For finishin' t' rocket, me hearties, t' first step involved tapin' off t' plastic nosecone and t' plastic fin can. The original intent o' MRC was t' just use t' molded colors for these, ya bilge rat, red for t' NC and gray for t' fin can. These were masked off and t' BT was sprayed with Kilz primer. Begad! Avast! When t' Kilz had dried, t' rocket received a light sandin' and was then sprayed with gloss white. Two coats were applied and then t' maskin' was removed.

With t' paintin' done, me hearties, all that was left o' t' finishin' was t' stickers. Arrr! I do nay like crack and peel stickers. Aye aye! I prefer waterslide decals. Aye aye! That bein' said, t' crack and peel stickers in this kit were o' top quality and applied well. Avast! I had no trouble removin' them from t' sheets and they really dress up t' rocket.

After applyin' t' stickers, me bucko, t' rocket sat around for almost 2 weeks waitin' t' be launched. Well, blow me down! Arrr! When it was taken out o' its protective box, I found that many o' t' stickers had popped up and that t' rocket no longer looked as nice as it had.

PROs: Simple, great stickers that really dress things up nicely.

CONs: Stickers instead o' waterslide decals.

Construction Rating: 2 out o' 5

Flight and Recovery:
On t' day o' t' maiden flight, I noticed that t' stickers were startin' t' come up. Avast! I smoothed them back down and prepped t' rocket with an A8-3. T' flight was straight and stable but it be fairly low. Ya scallywag! Even t' 3 second delay seemed long as t' rocket nosed over and began headin' for t' ground. Blimey! About halfway back down, ya bilge rat, arrr, t' chute ejected and it recovered fine.

For t' second flight, matey, I tried a B6-4. This turns out t' be a perfect motor for this rocket. Aye aye! Blimey! Ejection occurred at apogee and t' rocket recovered safely.

A video o' t' second flight can be seen here.

PROs: It flew well, if nay spectacularly.

CONs: None.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
I think this is an adequate rocket that could have been a very good one. Avast, me proud beauty! My impression is that t' weaknesses were all due t' cost cuttin' measures. Arrr! Ya scallywag! T' tubes were very thin and t' stickers looked very good but would nay stay down.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5