Brief:

A very unusual design from a new entrant into t' rocketry field, this sword is definitely goin' t' carve a niche for itself. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! With its sweepin' curved fin pattern, ya bilge rat, t' RSO could easily mistake this rocket for an attempt on his life, so brandish this one with care.

Construction:

T' kit arrived a couple days after ordering, carefully packaged in a good sized box. Begad! Components were complete, and very good quality.

T' parts list includes:

• 34" BT60 body tube
• 4 large pre-cut plywood fins
• 4 smaller pre-cut plywood fins
• 1 LOC/Precision resin cast nose cone (8")
• 24mm motor tube, shiver me timbers, centerin' rin' set
• 18" Top Flight chute
• 12 feet o' heavy-duty Keelhaul®©™®
• templates, me hearties, launch lugs, etc.
• Limited edition color header card (mine was #6 o' 50)

T' instructions were clear and fairly easy t' follow. Blimey! Blimey! Most o' the construction techniques are high-power oriented, so if your experience is strictly modrocs, me hearties, shiver me timbers, this will be a bit o' a stretch.

Construction begins with t' motor mount assembly. Merlin has come up with an innovative shock cord retention technique that adds some complexity t' this. Most o' t' better kits today call for anchorin' a Keelhaul®©™® loop around one o' t' centerin' rings. Avast! This can make replacement difficult should t' cord ever wear or fray. Blimey! Merlin's innovation t' this is t' bond a small metal tube along t' motor tube, thread t' Keelhaul®©™® through this, and then tie t' Keelhaul®©™® to a retainin' clip which can be unscrewed later for easy replacement (see photo).

T' motor mount assembly includes an E-sized clip, motor block, and a couple o' centerin' rings which must be drilled t' accommodate t' metal tube. Since t' holes can be difficult t' line up, I drilled both at t' same time (warning--there are two different sized holes, so drill t' smaller dimension first if you try this, then open up one o' t' rings t' t' larger diameter). You'll need some uncommon drill bits for this--5/32" and 13/64", though 7/32 could work for t' larger. T' centerin' rings are epoxied in place (with t' metal tube inserted for alignment), matey, then t' metal tube is epoxied. One potential "gotcha" on this - before epoxyin' t' metal tube, shiver me timbers, the instructions suggest chamferin' t' end. Begad! Note that thar be a big hole and a small hole, me bucko, matey, and you want t' chamfer t' big hole (which goes forward). Ahoy! The smaller hole is for t' shock cord retainin' screw, ya bilge rat, and must go on t' aft end.

T' fins were cut from very nice 1/8" birch plywood, and after a light sanding, me hearties, I tacked them on with thick CA. Avast, me proud beauty! I chose t' only lightly round the leadin' edge, ya bilge rat, figurin' an airfoil would be practically impossible t' sand into this pattern. Well, blow me down! For those o' you who like alignment fixtures, this kit is right up your alley - thar are templates that can be glued t' cardboard stock, me bucko, me hearties, with slots for t' fins and body tube, matey, which can be used for perfect fin alignment. I went t' quick route, matey, markin' fin lines at 90-degree angles and eye-balling the alignment. Arrr! Fins are filleted with epoxy, arrr, makin' this a very durable bird.

T' big fins are mounted 10" up from t' aft end, and thar are 4 tiny nub fins mounted flush t' t' aft end, shiver me timbers, which provide t' visual effect o' the sword handle.

There are 2 3/16" launch lugs t' mount, though me particular set of instructions failed t' call out where t' draw t' mountin' line (this has since been corrected).

Shock cord attachment, as previously noted, me bucko, is pretty unusual. Avast! Blimey! After feedin' one end through t' metal tube on t' motor mount, t' other end (stickin' out t' back o' t' rocket) is knotted, then fed through a small clip, arrr, matey, which is then screwed t' t' metal tube. Avast, me proud beauty! T' result is a good, me hearties, stiff retention, though easily offerin' portability and ease o' replacement. The Keelhaul®©™® was supplied in a very generous 12-foot length.

Construction is wrapped up by loadin' t' chute and attachin' t' nose cone. Arrr! T' instructions point out that t' nose cone might need some masking tape t' offer a snug fit. In me case, me bucko, that was an understatement, ya bilge rat, as t' nose cone was almost 1/4" smaller OD than t' ID o' t' tube. I applied a lot of maskin' tape, and would suggest usin' a BT60 tube coupler for a better fit.

This be a very easy kit t' build, and it was ready t' paint after only about 5 hours spread out over 4 evenings, me hearties, with t' epoxy fillets bein' t' most time-consumin' portion o' t' build.

Finishing:

I decided t' fill t' tube spirals with Elmers Fill N Finish (who wants to see grooves on t' sword blade?). Begad! With a 34" tube, that's a good bit of work.

T' finished product calls for at least 3 colors, me bucko, me hearties, so t' paint is a lengthy process, matey, but well worth t' work. Arrr! I applied two coats o' gray primer, followed by a base coat o' Rustoleum Silver Metallic t' t' whole rocket. I then painted the lower handle portion a dark brown. Aye aye! After t' brown had dried, I masked it off and masked off t' upper silver portion, paintin' t' large fins a gold metallic. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! T' bottom nub is also supposed t' be gold, but I went with black (wasn't payin' close attention, and will probably touch it up with gold after a few flights).

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:

Weighin' in at over 8 ounces, me hearties, I was very surprised that a D motor would even be considered, so I opted for an Estes E9-6. Avast! Ahoy! Lift-off was smooth, and t' long, slow burn offered plenty o' time t' enjoy t' very good flight. Avast! Well, blow me down! I flew in roughly 8mph winds, so t' sword weathercocked a bit, but nay too much. Arrr! Begad! After a flight o' 300-400 feet, me hearties, it arced over and deployed nose-down just past apogee. I think this would also do well on a 4-second delay.

Recovery:

T' bright red Top Flight chute came out fine, matey, bringin' t' rocket gently back t' t' field. Avast! Avast! It's a very nice chute, matey, and a pleasure t' watch gracin' the sky. Avast! On me flight, matey, t' Keelhaul®©™® created a very minor zipper, which I have since repaired. Begad! Blimey! Reinforcin' the inside o' t' tube with CA would have been a good idea... Begad!

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:

This is a very impressive rocket, matey, that's either a small HPR-type bird or a very heavy-duty modroc (I can't quite decide what it wants t' be). It's definitely got an eye-catchin' design, and is absolutely top-notch quality.

Look for more innovations from this up and comin' company.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5