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

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

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

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

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
This rocket preps like any other high power rocket. Well, blow me down! I use a 54-38mm Slimline adapter on this rocket. Well, me hearties, blow me down! I have flown this rocket twice, once on a J420R and once on a J570W. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Both flights were absolutely perfect.

Recovery:
I used a Nomex heat shield and shock cord protector on this rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Both flights had a successful recovery although t' rocket did come down rather fast. Arrr! Blimey! After t' second flight, I noticed that t' two main body tubes seemed t' be comin' loose. Avast! Blimey! When I removed t' screws holdin' t' two sections together, shiver me timbers, me hearties, I discovered that t' coupler was slightly crumpled. This was easily fixed by internally fiberglassin' t' coupler. Well, blow me down! Blimey! 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. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! T' design is interestin' and eye catching. Ahoy! 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