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

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

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

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
This rocket preps like any other high power rocket. Begad! Avast! Blimey! I use a 54-38mm Slimline adapter on this rocket. Well, matey, blow me down! Blimey! I have flown this rocket twice, matey, shiver me timbers, matey, 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. Both flights had a successful recovery although t' rocket did come down rather fast. Avast! Ahoy! After t' second flight, matey, arrr, 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, ya bilge rat, I discovered that t' coupler was slightly crumpled. This was easily fixed by internally fiberglassin' t' coupler. Begad! 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. Begad! 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