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

Construction:
T' components include: three 3.9 inch body tubes, me hearties, 2 couplers, 1 54mm motor mount tube, 4 large fins, 4 canard fins, 1 nose cone, 4 centerin' rings, matey, 1 bulkhead, 1 60 inch parachute, one 9/16 inch thick nylon webbin' shock cord with pre-sewn loops, matey, ya bilge rat, 8 nozzle fins, 8 fin reinforcement strips, 2 launch lugs, 2 quick links, matey, matey, 2 eye-bolt assemblies, matey, shiver me timbers, me hearties, assorted hardware, vinyl decals, arrr, and a 7 page instruction booklet. Well, blow me down! All o' t' parts arrived in a large cardboard box with a nice label showin' t' rocket and t' important dimensions. Begad! Arrr! T' parts were all individually wrapped in paper or plastic. T' nose cone, tubes, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, and couplers were all standard LOC style components. Begad! Begad! I was very impressed by t' wooden components. Avast! All 16 fins, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, me hearties, centerin' rings, me bucko, 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. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! After I read through t' directions once, shiver me timbers, I did nay refer t' them again except t' look up various relevant measurements. I started t' construction o' t' rocket by cuttin' t' numerous fin slots. Avast! Begad! While tedious, this is nay overly difficult as long as you take your time. This be t' one area in which t' rocket should be improved. Begad! I then drilled holes in t' centerin' rings and bulkheads for T-nuts and U-bolts. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! (I chose t' replace t' supplied eye-bolts with U-bolts.) DG&A supplies 2 T-nuts for motor retention. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! I decided t' use a Slimline motor retainer instead but installed t' T-nuts anyway in case they were ever needed. Ahoy! Arrr! 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. As a bonus, 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. After installin' t' U-bolts and T-nuts, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, I epoxied t' four centerin' rings onto t' motor tube. I then epoxied t' motor mount assembly into t' body tube. While waitin' for t' assembly t' dry, shiver me timbers, me bucko, I glued t' coupler and bulkhead into t' payload tube. Avast! Arrr! After usin' a belt sander t' airfoil t' fins, I epoxied them in place. DG&A includes 8 "fin supports", shiver me timbers, which are wood strips glued t' t' sides o' t' main fins. Blimey! Despite t' name, ya bilge rat, 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. Blimey! T' allow me Slimline t' fit, 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, shiver me timbers, I removed it and epoxied t' nozzle fins in place. Avast! I then poured liberal amounts o' epoxy in t' areas betwixt t' nozzle fins, until t' epoxy was level with t' end o' t' body tube. Ya scallywag! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Blimey! While heavy, shiver me timbers, arrr, this method looks great and is practically indestructible. Ya scallywag! T' second body tube can either be epoxied t' t' first or it can be temporarily attached with t' provided screws. Aye aye! Blimey! I decided t' use t' screws because they allow for easy repairs if t' tube zippers or is damaged on landing. I opted t' use ACME conformal rail guides instead o' t' provided launch lugs. Ya scallywag! Begad! Blimey! For t' record, matey, I would nay recommend usin' t' ACME rail guides as they make t' rocket difficult t' load onto t' pad. Aye aye! Blimey! If you do choose t' use these, do not use t' provided tape t' attach them. Begad! I did and while loadin' t' rocket onto t' pad for it's second flight, ya bilge rat, I ripped one off t' tube. Ahoy! Ahoy! I was able t' epoxy it back on and fly it t' same day, but it was a pain. Arrr! Begad! I did nay attach t' Slimline until after I had painted t' rocket.

Finishing:
T' rocket finished like any other high power rocket. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! I spent a rather long time filling, ya bilge rat, priming, and sandin' this rocket. Blimey! After I spent several weeks preppin' t' rocket, matey, I painted it orange and black with Krylon paint. Well, blow me down! I did nay use t' included vinyl decals.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
This rocket preps like any other high power rocket. Blimey! I use a 54-38mm Slimline adapter on this rocket. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! I have flown this rocket twice, once on a J420R and once on a J570W. Begad! Well, blow me down! 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. Blimey! After t' second flight, I noticed that t' two main body tubes seemed t' be comin' loose. Avast, me proud beauty! When I removed t' screws holdin' t' two sections together, me hearties, I discovered that t' coupler was slightly crumpled. 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. Arrr! T' design is interestin' and eye catching. 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