Brief:
This kit be an eBay find. Avast! It was already opened but all pieces were reportedly present. I took a chance and bid on it, paid too much, matey, me bucko, and squealed with delight when it arrived.

Construction:
T' Hojo starts, as do most kits, ya bilge rat, with t' motor mount. Avast! Well, blow me down! A spacer is marked at 1/4" and used t' push a thrust rin' into t' motor tube. Ahoy! On inspection, me bucko, matey, shiver me timbers, I noticed that one end o' t' motor tube be ovaled but t' other end was round. I decided that t' oval would nay cause any problem if it were oriented forward so I inserted t' thrust rin' in the opposite end.

T' instructions then had me cut a slit for t' engine hook. When I tried t' cut at t' mark I had made, me bucko, I encountered resistance as t' blade came into contact with t' already mounted thrust ring. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I moved t' slit down just a bit and t' resistance be gone. I then used a bit o' tape t' keep t' hook from movin' about for t' next step.

Kits often have thin rings t' slide over t' engine hook and keep it in place. Ahoy! Ahoy! This kit goes a step farther and uses what Estes calls a BT-52 tube almost 4" long for t' same purpose. A mark is made an inch from t' end o' the motor tube. Avast! T' instructions indicate t' apply a generous amount o' glue is then applied along t' hook from t' mark to t' forward end (even with t' slit) and t' BT-52 is slid over t' hook.

Next, t' cardboard centerin' rings are removed from their stack material and sanded t' remove t' attachment points. Ya scallywag! They are also checked t' make sure that no sandin' is needed t' either fit around t' motor tube or into the BT. Well, matey, blow me down! Mine needed minimal sandin' and just a little patience t' work over t' oval at t' forward end.

T' motor tube is marked in 2 places and t' rings are slid on. Ahoy! Begad! T' one with t' slot in it goes forward. The rings were glued in place with yellow glue and filleted.

After lettin' t' fillets set up for a couple o' days ("She who must be obeyed" had some things for me to do), me bucko, I marked t' inside o' t' BT-80 for where t' second rin' was supposed t' be. I gave both o' t' rings a bit of sandin' t' make them fit more smoothly and checked t' make sure t' fit be easy t' position. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! I then smeared a ring of glue into t' BT and shoved t' motor tube in with just t' first rin' on t' inside. I then swabbed another glue rin' at t' mark and pushed t' assembly home. Ahoy! Blimey! It went in easily, ya bilge rat, which can be a warnin' sign.

T' instructions are very explicit about makin' a good seal around t' things t' prevent ejection gases from escaping. Aye aye! With that in mind, ya bilge rat, I placed generous fillets on t' approachable faces o' both rings and set t' assembly to the side t' dry.

About t' time t' glue had set up past t' point o' makin' any more changes, I noticed a blunder on me part. The forward centerin' rin' had a slot in it intended t' mount t' shock cord. Ya scallywag! I be plannin' on makin' a loop o' Keelhaul®©™® around t' motor mount and then cuttin' a notch in t' edge o' t' rin' t' pass t' Keelhaul®©™® forward. Aye aye! Oops.

At this point I need t' digress a bit and mention that in this model, arrr, ya bilge rat, Estes was providin' nice 1/4" sewing elastic instead o' t' raw rubber band. Avast! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! That made for a pleasant but, now unrealizable, me hearties, memory. Begad! Now back t' our build...

Nay quite believin' what I was doing, I found myself cuttin' a long length o' t' heavier Keelhaul®©™® and tyin' a loop in t' middle. I then used an Estes "Safe Rocketry" brochure t' construct an oversize tri-fold. T' mount I constructed had both ends o' t' Keelhaul®©™® glued in. Ahoy! Ahoy! T' loop for attachment is in t' middle. Ahoy! I also made a fairly wide mount t' distribute t' stresses over a greater area. I installed t' mount with yellow glue.

T' next step is t' apply t' circumferential bands around t' BT. Avast, me proud beauty! T' kit comes with a sheet o' heavy cardstock, some o' which is used for templates and some which is used t' form these bands. Begad! There are 3. Avast, me proud beauty! Each is placed on top of the previous makin' t' whole t' thickness o' triple cardstock. Arrr! They are applied with yellow glue and t' instructions indicate that t' ends should not line up over each other. Well, me bucko, blow me down! Blimey! T' first two bands are plain and t' third has a line o' circles on it which are supposed t' be cut out.

I applied t' 2 bands without any problem but was at a loss as t' how t' punch t' needed holes in t' third. Avast! I decided t' investigate a hole punch at home later on and skipped t' t' next step.

T' nosecone is plastic, ya bilge rat, as be t' fin can, t' fins, me hearties, and another part I will call t' nosecone base. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! T' NC base and fin can are cast as a single unit. Aye aye! T' instructions had me saw t' 2 pieces apart. Well, me bucko, blow me down! I then used a bench sander to take t' plastic down t' where it be supposed t' be. His involved about 1/16" on both pieces.

T' instructions say t' use a razor knife t' drill 2 holes in t' NC base. Avast! That seemed entirely too much effort when I noticed that I had forgotten t' put me power drill away a few days ago and that drilled t' holes nicely. I then passed one o' t' pieces o' sewin' elastic provided through t' holes and then tied t' ends together, me bucko, formin' a single large loop. This is supposed t' be t' shock mount for t' NC. Avast! T' NC base was then glued into t' NC after sandin' the edges down a little.

Next up were t' fins. Aye aye! This is me first attempt t' work with vacuformed plastic. Ahoy! While I see t' advantages, ya bilge rat, at this point I am nay a fan.

There are 4 fins and each fin comes in 2 halves. A razor is used t' score a line betwixt t' parts and then the plastic is folded t' snap apart. This actually worked well for me. Begad! I had thought that t' plastic would be thinner.

T' fins then needed t' be cut down t' size. You are supposed t' score and snap leavin' about 1/8" o' excess material. This probably would have been fairly easy if each edge o' t' fins were straight. One edge is nay straight. That made me life more difficult. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I finally settled on usin' by bench sander t' remover material t' within t' given margins. Ahoy! Blimey! I cleaned up t' edges with a razor and some hand sandin' also.

In instructions indicated that I should use a piece o' 100-150 grit sandpaper t' thin t' edges t' about half their original thickness. Avast! This was done with unknown effects on t' efficacy o' puttin' t' things together.

Liquid plastic cement was used t' join t' 2 halves. Avast! Well, me bucko, blow me down! There are no guidin' lips or alignment holes. Everythin' is done by eyeball and hopin' for t' best. These parts are then set aside t' dry.

When I got around t' workin' on t' third circumferential band, I thought I would use a hole punch t' make nice and even little hole. Avast, me proud beauty! When I checked, though, t' holes would have been too large. As I was returnin' t' hole punch to the drawer, I noticed a leather punch with multiple spikes for assorted hole sizes. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! On checkin' it out further. I found that t' largest o' t' spikes be just t' right size. Arrr! Begad! After that, shiver me timbers, punchin' t' holes was nay a problem although I did have t' stop and clear out t' "chads" every now and then. Blimey! Once t' holes were punched, ya bilge rat, matey, I cut t' band out and glued it over t' previous two.

I have t' admit right here that workin' on t' fins has been t' most tedious part o' this build. After getting the two vacuformed halves together t' make 4 fins, me hearties, thar was still a lot o' sanding, filling, me bucko, sanding, trimming, sanding, cursing, me hearties, sanding, matey, re-gluing, matey, and sandin' t' be done. Ya scallywag! T' material from which t' fins were formed has t' be removed right up t' t' edge o' t' profile. Aye aye! Begad! On t' straight sides this is nay too bad but along t' root edge it becomes much more complex. There is a piece that hangs over t' top o' t' fin into a depression. Arrr! T' fin needs t' sit flush and straight. Ya scallywag! Sometimes t' removal o' material opens up a cavity that needs t' be filled. It seemed t' go on forever.

T' process be basically this: I trimmed off as much as I could with a razor knife, ya bilge rat, used a sandin' belt to remove material t' as close t' t' fin as I dared, shiver me timbers, hand sanded t' remove burrs, me bucko, me bucko, sharp edges, etc., filled cavities with green Squadron putty, ya bilge rat, sanded some more and test fit some more. Blimey! I finally reached t' point where my "enjoyment" be decreasin' t' a level incommensurate with a "hobby" and figured it be good enough.

T' fins are supposed t' be mounted on t' fin can with plastic cement. Aye aye! Begad! In t' past, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, me luck with this stuff on fins has nay been too good. Arrr! This is true o' both t' tube type and t' liquid solvent. Avast! I decided t' fit these fins with 5 minute epoxy. Blimey! I mixed t' epoxy in small batches, me bucko, each just big enough for one fin. Avast, me proud beauty! I then applied it t' t' root edge and pressed t' fin t' t' fin can. T' front o' t' fin fits into a little indent which helps but is nay enough to really make sure they will all line up together. Begad! Most o' t' fin is centered on a mold line on t' fin can. Ahoy! The epoxy method seemed t' work well. Well, blow me down! After each fin was done, arrr, I went on t' t' next one, eyeballin' things along t' way to make sure they were straight.

Mountin' t' fin can t' t' body tube posed no problems at all. Begad! Blimey! T' instructions indicated that t' joint be to be made with tube type plastic cement but I elected t' use 5-minute epoxy again. Aye aye! Ahoy! Blimey! T' fit be rather loose so no sanding was needed. I mixed a small amount o' epoxy, shiver me timbers, spread it in a rin' around t' inside o' t' BT, matey, and slipped it on. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Blimey! I checked t' aft end t' make sure t' motor tube was centered and it was as simple as that.

After dealin' with t' fins, me hearties, I was nay too enthusiastic about workin' with t' spin motors which came on t' same vacuformed material as t' fins but they did nay turn out t' be too difficult. Aye aye! Blimey! On t' first motor, ya bilge rat, t' excess material was trimmed away by scorin' and snappin' o' t' plastic. Aye aye! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! I then sanded down t' t' change in contour. Arrr! Blimey! For t' other three, I followed a similar procedure but with an important difference. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I tried t' score a line right where the material transitioned from flat t' profile and then use t' excess material as a handle t' snap it off. Ya scallywag! Blimey! That worked well and I was left with only minor sanding.

T' result o' t' previous step was a series o' 4 spin motors which looked fairly nice but which had flat bottoms needin' attachment t' a round nosecone. T' rectify this, I used t' procedure spelled out in t' instructions t' good effect. I wrapped a piece o' #100 sandpaper around t' NC where t' spin motors were t' me mounted and then rubbed the motors back and forth t' achieve t' desired profile.

Each o' t' spin motors be attached t' t' NC along a line molded into t' plastic o' t' NC and 1" up from the bottom. Avast, me proud beauty! I used t' liquid plastic cement for this and it seemed t' make a good join.

T' kit comes with a strip o' thin balsa and a small sheet o' thicker balsa. Well, blow me down! This is used along with t' provided templates t' cut a bunch o' small parts that are used for detailin' and offsettin' t' launch lugs. Blimey! I expected this to be rather tedious but it did nay turn out t' be so.

For t' thick balsa, thar be just a single template for t' two different types o' parts. Arrr! Two copies were needed o' one part and four o' t' other. I cut t' template out with scissors and transferred t' lines t' t' balsa, notin' t' orientation o' t' grain was compliant with t' directions. Blimey! Once t' parts were marked, arrr, I used a razor and straightedge t' cut them out.

T' thin sheet had enough template for each o' t' parts t' be cut. I taped the template t' t' balsa strip at a place where t' tape was smaller than t' part bein' cut and then proceeded t' slice the parts off.

After t' pieces were cut out, it was fairly simple t' glue them together. A pair o' skinny bands was glued to either side o' t' fin-lookin' things. Begad! When t' glue was dry, arrr, ya bilge rat, t' excess overhang was cut off and t' edges sanded. Ahoy! A cover plate was then glued on top. Avast! Ahoy! When that glue be dry, it be sanded t' conform with t' rest o' t' bevel.

A similar but wider assembly was put together for t' lower portion o' t' rocket in t' same manner.

And finally, two more things were made which each resemble half o' t' previous thing. All o' these things are referred t' as launch shoes in t' directions.

T' launch shoes for t' nose cone are mounted on opposite sides, 180 degrees from each other. Avast! T' kit provides a bulb o' cement with which t' do this but I opted t' use epoxy.

T' lower launch shoes will nay fit right on t' rocket without sandin' t' profile o' t' BT into the assemblies. Ya scallywag! Accordingly, t' BT was wrapped with #100 and t' curve was sanded into t' mountin' surfaces.

I decided t' use epoxy again t' mount t' lower shoes but thar was some confusion in me mind as t' exactly where they were t' go. Both assemblies are mounted 180 decrees apart and centered betwixt t' fins but me problem was in locatin' them fore and aft. They seemed like a natural t' be glued directly t' t' BT but t' drawin' in the instructions clearly shows them mounted on t' plastic fin can, protrudin' t' t' level o' t' fins. Begad! Begad! That leaves a bit hangin' off. Ahoy! Even so, that is where I epoxied them.

PROs: straightforward and mildly challenging, nice looking

CONs: none

Finishing:
T' finishin' o' t' Hojo started off with a coatin' o' Kilz. Aye aye! This filled mostly t' balsa, covered up t' writing, and gave a bland, ya bilge rat, flat white surface. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! When t' Kilz had dried, I gave t' entire rocket a gentle sanding. T' entire rocket was painted with Testor's olive drab. Begad! It took 2 cans.

For me, shiver me timbers, t' biggest disappointment with this old kit be t' decals. Well, blow me down! There weren't any. Avast! Begad! Instead, I got some crack and peel stickers. Ya scallywag! This surprised me for a couple o' reasons. Aye aye! Aye aye! First off, matey, me bucko, I expect t' upper level Estes kits t' have a higher quality. Crack and Peel makes sense for RTF Walmart kits but nay for somethin' like this. Well, blow me down! Secondly, me hearties, the instruction specifically make reference to, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, presumably, arrr, waterslide decals. There is a warnin' t' let each decal set completely before startin' t' next so that they do nay slide out o' place. Crack and Peels do nay slide around.

I remember thinkin' that t' "decals" seemed kind o' thick but me brain was just barely turnin' over. I cut out t' first one and set it in a bowl o' warm water. Ahoy! After a while, I noticed that it was just sittin' flat on top of t' water instead o' curlin' up like t' water slides usually do. Avast! Avast! I pulled it out o' t' water and looked more closely at t' master sheet from which it had come. Aye aye! Begad! Sure enough, arrr, it be crack and peel.

Fortunately for me, arrr, t' first sticker was nay damaged. Aye aye! I proceeded t' place t' stickers as instructed as sat back t' admire me flat painted rocket with all o' those high gloss stickers.

PROs: Easy

CONs: stickers instead o' decals

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight and Recovery:
T' day finally came for me t' launch this one and I was jazzed. I selected a D12-3, inserted about a dozen pieces of wadding, and then prepped t' chutes.

I should mention here that t' model is intended t' come down in 2 sections, each with its own chute. Arrr! I'd rather keep it all together. Avast! I fashioned a Keelhaul®©™® harness and then used sewin' elastic t' connect t' NC t' t' harness. I also used two 18" nylon chutes. Begad! Each was connected t' t' harness with about 4' o' sewin' elastic.

T' liftoff was as slow and dramatic as promised. Ya scallywag! Blimey! It flew straight and true and blew t' NC at apogee. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! It wasn't all that high but it be beautiful. It drifted down gently under t' tandem chutes.

For t' second flight, arrr, I decided t' go with an AT E15-4. Avast! Ahoy! T' rocket be set up t' same way as before and everybody pause t' watch. At ignition, ya bilge rat, thar was some chuffin' and I had just come t' t' conclusion that it wouldn't go off when it did. Begad! It was nay as slow as before but it was a great flight straight up.

It hit apogee and started t' turn down. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! After all, matey, it had an extra second t' work with. Arrr! It kept comin' down, faster and faster. Unless me deadlights deceived me, shiver me timbers, it was acceleratin' at about 32 ft/sec^2. Arrr! Avast! Finally, arrr, about 100 feet up, matey, matey, it ejected and everythin' deployed normally. Upon inspection o' t' bag t' motor came in, matey, it turned out t' have a 7 second delay and nay 4. I had it stashed in t' wrong bin.

PROs: Beautiful straight flights, awesome liftoffs

CONs: none

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a nice rocket marred primarily by t' crack and peel stickers instead o' decals. Well, blow me down! Avast! I still like it though and am glad t' have it in t' fleet.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5