Brief:
T' Armageddon is a large, me bucko, unique looking, high power kit produced by DG&A Rocketry.

Construction:
T' components include: three 3.9 inch body tubes, 2 couplers, me bucko, 1 54mm motor mount tube, 4 large fins, shiver me timbers, me bucko, me hearties, 4 canard fins, 1 nose cone, 4 centerin' rings, me bucko, me hearties, 1 bulkhead, 1 60 inch parachute, ya bilge rat, one 9/16 inch thick nylon webbin' shock cord with pre-sewn loops, me bucko, matey, shiver me timbers, 8 nozzle fins, 8 fin reinforcement strips, shiver me timbers, me hearties, arrr, 2 launch lugs, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, me hearties, 2 quick links, shiver me timbers, 2 eye-bolt assemblies, me bucko, assorted hardware, me hearties, me bucko, vinyl decals, and a 7 page instruction booklet. All o' t' parts arrived in a large cardboard box with a nice label showin' t' rocket and t' important dimensions. Begad! T' parts were all individually wrapped in paper or plastic. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! T' nose cone, me hearties, arrr, tubes, and couplers were all standard LOC style components. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! I was very impressed by t' wooden components. Begad! All 16 fins, arrr, centerin' rings, and bulkheads were made o' flawless 1/4 inch thick plywood. Ya scallywag! T' parachute is similar in quality t' LOC parachutes.

T' kit comes with seven pages o' illustrated instructions and a fin alignment guide. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! After I read through t' directions once, ya bilge rat, I did nay refer t' them again except t' look up various relevant measurements. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I started t' construction o' t' rocket by cuttin' t' numerous fin slots. Aye aye! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! While tedious, me hearties, this is nay overly difficult as long as you take your time. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! This be t' one area in which t' rocket should be improved. Begad! Blimey! I then drilled holes in t' centerin' rings and bulkheads for T-nuts and U-bolts. Ahoy! Blimey! (I chose t' replace t' supplied eye-bolts with U-bolts.) DG&A supplies 2 T-nuts for motor retention. Arrr! Blimey! I decided t' use a Slimline motor retainer instead but installed t' T-nuts anyway in case they were ever needed. Begad! Blimey! I would highly recommend usin' a Slimline on this rocket because t' unique tail design would force you t' use extremely long screws t' secure t' motor. Ahoy! Blimey! As a bonus, matey, arrr, me bucko, t' Slimline also significantly reduces t' chance o' damage upon landin' since on this rocket it always will be t' part which encounters t' ground first. Well, blow me down! Blimey! After installin' t' U-bolts and T-nuts, me hearties, ya bilge rat, I epoxied t' four centerin' rings onto t' motor tube. Begad! Blimey! I then epoxied t' motor mount assembly into t' body tube. Arrr! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! While waitin' for t' assembly t' dry, I glued t' coupler and bulkhead into t' payload tube. Blimey! Blimey! After usin' a belt sander t' airfoil t' fins, I epoxied them in place. Well, blow me down! Blimey! DG&A includes 8 "fin supports", which are wood strips glued t' t' sides o' t' main fins. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Despite t' name, me hearties, shiver me timbers, I suspect that these are more for looks than strength. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I epoxied these in place and then moved on t' t' nozzle assembly. T' allow me Slimline t' fit, shiver me timbers, I used a belt sander t' remove part o' t' nozzle fins so that they would fit over t' Slimline. Ahoy! Blimey! After test fittin' t' Slimline, I removed it and epoxied t' nozzle fins in place. Well, matey, blow me down! Blimey! I then poured liberal amounts o' epoxy in t' areas betwixt t' nozzle fins, until t' epoxy be level with t' end o' t' body tube. Begad! Blimey! While heavy, this method looks great and is practically indestructible. T' second body tube can either be epoxied t' t' first or it can be temporarily attached with t' provided screws. Begad! Blimey! I decided t' use t' screws because they allow for easy repairs if t' tube zippers or is damaged on landing. Arrr! Blimey! I opted t' use ACME conformal rail guides instead o' t' provided launch lugs. Avast! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! For t' record, shiver me timbers, me hearties, I would nay recommend usin' t' ACME rail guides as they make t' rocket difficult t' load onto t' pad. If you do choose t' use these, do not use t' provided tape t' attach them. Ahoy! I did and while loadin' t' rocket onto t' pad for it's second flight, I ripped one off t' tube. Begad! I be able t' epoxy it back on and fly it t' same day, but it was a pain. Ahoy! Well, arrr, blow me down! I did nay attach t' Slimline until after I had painted t' rocket.

Finishing:
T' rocket finished like any other high power rocket. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! I spent a rather long time filling, priming, me bucko, shiver me timbers, and sandin' this rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! After I spent several weeks preppin' t' rocket, I painted it orange and black with Krylon paint. I did nay use t' included vinyl decals.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
This rocket preps like any other high power rocket. Arrr! I use a 54-38mm Slimline adapter on this rocket. Avast! I have flown this rocket twice, once on a J420R and once on a J570W. Begad! Both flights were absolutely perfect.

Recovery:
I used a Nomex heat shield and shock cord protector on this rocket. Both flights had a successful recovery although t' rocket did come down rather fast. After t' second flight, I noticed that t' two main body tubes seemed t' be comin' loose. When I removed t' screws holdin' t' two sections together, ya bilge rat, me bucko, I discovered that t' coupler was slightly crumpled. Avast! Blimey! This was easily fixed by internally fiberglassin' t' coupler. I do nay think that this would have been an issue had I epoxied t' two sections together.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a fantastic rocket with high quality components. T' design is interestin' and eye catching. Avast! Ya scallywag! I would highly recommend this rocket t' any modeler who has previously built at least one high power rocket.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5