Brief:
T' Dead Ringer is a sort o' downscale o' t' FlisKits Borealis, me hearties, one o' t' coolest in t' FlisKits Fleet in me opinion. This will be me first attempt at a MMX build. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I have plenty o' kits but t' idea o' workin' with t' extremely small sizes have intimidated me.

Construction:
I started off with a mistake because I glanced at t' instructions instead o' readin' them. Well, blow me down! I marked off 1/4" on t' 3/16" x 2" launch lug and cut it off. Avast! Then I got around t' readin' and realized that it was nay supposed t' be cut, matey, just marked. Ahoy! Luckily, I had some lugs o' t' same size lyin' around. Avast! I got one o' those and marked it properly. Ya scallywag! T' lug was t' serve as both an engine block and a tube coupler. It was inserted up t' t' mark in t' short piece o' BT2.5 tubin' and glued in place with white glue.

T' three rin' fins came already cut. Ya scallywag! T' next step was t' glue them tangentially t' each other. Ahoy! Ahoy! I did so with white glue.

When t' coupler/BT had a chance t' set up a bit, it was inserted into t' longer BT2.5 and glued into place. That was a mistake that would soon become apparent.

Allow me t' digress a bit here t' emphasize somethin' important with all rocket kits: read t' instructions. Begad! Ahoy! Makin' sure you understand what is meant as opposed t' what you assume is meant is a good idea too.

We now return t' our build.

I slipped t' rin' fins around t' body tube and glued them in place at t' juncture betwixt t' two tubes. Ya scallywag! Arrr! T' fit was a bit tight but nothin' exceptionally so. Begad! I soon learned t' reason for this.

T' next step involved t' mountin' o' t' Keelhaul®©™ shock cord. Avast! It was supposed t' have been threaded through t' longer BT, shiver me timbers, knotted, me bucko, and then glued betwixt t' coupler/rin' fins/body tube. Aye aye! I should nay have yet glued t' two body tubes together. Well, blow me down! T' fit be tight because only t' coupler should have gone through t' hole betwixt t' rin' fins. Well, blow me down! T' two body tubes were t' butt up against t' rings. Begad! Ahoy! However, matey, t' glue was already dry.

I decided t' try and bull me way through t' build since I wanted t' have a MMX rocket besides t' plastic Quest one in time for a Vacation Bible School class in a few days.

I examined t' fins. Arrr! They were nice and had only t' be removed from t' stock and have t' central mass punched out.

T' body tube was marked with t' end guide and then t' fins were glued into place inside t' rings. Begad! They fit fine against t' opposite sides o' t' rings and at this point I learned another reason for t' use o' t' coupler as opposed t' a single BT. Avast! Usin' t' coupler as intended meant that t' fins would have laid flat for their entire length instead o' just against t' inner surface o' t' rings. I was goin' t' have t' fill t' gaps with heavy white glue fillets.

T' Dead Ringer has a nicely turned balsa nose cone. Most nose cones would be secured t' t' recovery system with a screw eye but that is nay t' case here. Begad! You probably have t' pay extra t' get screws machined that small. Avast! Instead, me bucko, thar be a small nail that is driven into t' end. Begad! Acceptin' some advice from TRF, me hearties, I further secured t' nail with some glue.

I still had t' figure out a way t' secure t' recovery system. T' only way I could think o' that did nay involve scrappin' everythin' was t' borrow a page from some competition rockets and run t' Keelhaul®©™ along t' outside. Well, blow me down! After all, I wasn't sure t' Keelhaul®©™ would fit in that little bitty BT anyway. Arrr! I tied a knot in one end o' t' Keelhaul®©™ and laid it along t' root o' one o' t' fins. Well, blow me down! Arrr! T' Keelhaul®©™ was then filleted into place with white glue.

T' nose cone was "sealed" with a drizzlin' o' thin CA and then test fit into t' body tube. Aye aye! It be just a little bit tight but a couple passes with an emery board made it fit. Three passes would probably have obliterated t' entire cone. Well, blow me down! T' Keelhaul®©™ be then tied t' t' nail and sealed with a drop o' white glue.

T' kit comes with 2 little bitty launch lugs meant t' be mounted on t' body tube. Begad! My blunder with t' tubin' meant that mountin' them flush with t' BT would have caused clearance problems with t' rod gettin' by t' rings. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, me bucko, blow me down! I decided that since t' rocket weighs so little, me bucko, I could get by with a single lug and mounted it along t' root edge o' a fin inside o' one o' t' tail rings.

All that was left was t' tape t' streamer into place on t' Keelhaul®©™ and wrestle it all into t' body tube. Begad! That took longer than t' assembly o' t' rocket. Aye aye! With that it be ready for finishing.

Finishing:
Finishin' for t' Dead Ringer began with me wonderin' what I be goin' t' do. Begad! I finally decided I could nay go too wrong by givin' everythin' an undercoatin' o' white. Aye aye! With that in mind, me hearties, ya bilge rat, I sprayed it with a coat o' Krylon white.

After lookin' around a bit, ya bilge rat, arrr, me bucko, I decided t' go with a light blue and sprayed t' entire body except for t' nose cone. It received 2 coats. When t' blue had dried, I pulled out a bottle o' red and hand painted t' outsides o' t' rings. Well, blow me down! T' red be given about an hour t' dry and then a second coat be brushed on t' cover up t' places where it was a bit thin t' first time. Ahoy! Additionally, I put a rin' o' cellophane tape around t' BT about 1/4" down from t' nose cone and painted everythin' forward o' t' tape red as well.

I liked t' blue and red combination I had gotten thus far but I wanted t' do somethin' more. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! I decided t' apply a purple I had sittin' around t' t' interior o' t' rings and t' t' fins. Aye aye! My experience with this paint before was that it would need several coats.

A day later, I brushed on another coat o' t' purple and, ya bilge rat, me bucko, while it improved t' splotchiness, me bucko, it was readily apparent that a third and perhaps even a fourth coat would be needed. Avast! T' third coat improved things much more but I still figured at least one more would be needed. Begad! Two days later, t' fourth coat be added. It did deepen t' color but I figured that I would make do with just t' four coats since t' bottle chose that point t' inconsiderately run out o' paint.

That bein' t' case, me first purpose built MMX rocket was ready t' fly.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Prior t' this, me bucko, me only MMX launches had been o' t' Quest plastic bricks so I had little idea o' what t' expect. Begad! I did plan on usin' up an entire box o' 6 motors tryin' it out but fate had other ideas in store for me.

T' MMX motor be loaded and I went t' open one o' t' packages o' pyrogen free igniters I had ordered from FlisKits. I grabbed t' wrong bag and t' igniters all had pyrogen. Begad! Ya scallywag! I went ahead and used a sharpened twig t' plug t' igniter hole, me bucko, set it up on t' pad and let everyone know. MMX is an oddity at me club and t' only ones I know o' t' have been previously flown are t' previously mentioned plastic bricks.

When t' launch button was pushed, it streaked off t' pad givin' a much better performance than any o' t' plastic rockets. Arrr! Blimey! T' problem be followin' t' small target with me increasin' elderly eyes.

Ejection seemed t' take place before apogee but I could nay swear t' it. Arrr! What did happen was that t' Keelhaul®©™ thread parted and t' nosecone and streamer were lost, puttin' and end t' t' day's flights o' this rocket.

Later on in t' day, shiver me timbers, another flier found t' nosecone while walkin' back from searchin' for his rocket. Arrr! It will be fixed and flown again.

Recovery:
I can't complain about t' recovery o' this rocket since I messed up and did nay build it accordin' t' plan.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This be a nice little introduction t' buildin' and flyin' an MMX rocket. T' kit be easy and has much t' recommend it, especially if you don't have much room in which t' fly.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5