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

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

Finishing:
T' rocket finished like any other high power rocket. Ya scallywag! I spent a rather long time filling, priming, shiver me timbers, and sandin' this rocket. After I spent several weeks preppin' t' rocket, I painted it orange and black with Krylon paint. Blimey! 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! Begad! I use a 54-38mm Slimline adapter on this rocket. Arrr! I have flown this rocket twice, once on a J420R and once on a J570W. Arrr! Both flights were absolutely perfect.

Recovery:
I used a Nomex heat shield and shock cord protector on this rocket. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Both flights had a successful recovery although t' rocket did come down rather fast. Avast! After t' second flight, arrr, I noticed that t' two main body tubes seemed t' be comin' loose. Well, blow me down! Avast! When I removed t' screws holdin' t' two sections together, arrr, me bucko, arrr, I discovered that t' coupler be slightly crumpled. Begad! This was easily fixed by internally fiberglassin' t' coupler. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Ya scallywag! 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