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

Construction:
T' components include: three 3.9 inch body tubes, 2 couplers, 1 54mm motor mount tube, arrr, 4 large fins, ya bilge rat, 4 canard fins, matey, shiver me timbers, 1 nose cone, ya bilge rat, me bucko, shiver me timbers, 4 centerin' rings, matey, 1 bulkhead, 1 60 inch parachute, matey, one 9/16 inch thick nylon webbin' shock cord with pre-sewn loops, 8 nozzle fins, 8 fin reinforcement strips, arrr, 2 launch lugs, arrr, matey, 2 quick links, 2 eye-bolt assemblies, assorted hardware, vinyl decals, shiver me timbers, and a 7 page instruction booklet. Aye aye! Blimey! 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. Aye aye! Avast! T' nose cone, tubes, and couplers were all standard LOC style components. I was very impressed by t' wooden components. Ya scallywag! All 16 fins, centerin' rings, matey, shiver me timbers, 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. 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. Begad! I started t' construction o' t' rocket by cuttin' t' numerous fin slots. Avast! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! While tedious, me bucko, 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. I then drilled holes in t' centerin' rings and bulkheads for T-nuts and U-bolts. (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! 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, ya bilge rat, 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! Ya scallywag! After installin' t' U-bolts and T-nuts, shiver me timbers, I epoxied t' four centerin' rings onto t' motor tube. I then epoxied t' motor mount assembly into t' body tube. Aye aye! 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, me bucko, ya bilge rat, I epoxied them in place. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! DG&A includes 8 "fin supports", shiver me timbers, which are wood strips glued t' t' sides o' t' main fins. Ahoy! Despite t' name, matey, I suspect that these are more for looks than strength. Aye aye! Well, arrr, blow me down! I epoxied these in place and then moved on t' t' nozzle assembly. Arrr! Ahoy! 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. After test fittin' t' Slimline, 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 was level with t' end o' t' body tube. Arrr! While heavy, matey, this method looks great and is practically indestructible. Ahoy! Ahoy! T' second body tube can either be epoxied t' t' first or it can be temporarily attached with t' provided screws. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! I decided t' use t' screws because they allow for easy repairs if t' tube zippers or is damaged on landing. Arrr! I opted t' use ACME conformal rail guides instead o' t' provided launch lugs. Blimey! For t' record, I would nay recommend usin' t' ACME rail guides as they make t' rocket difficult t' load onto t' pad. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! If you do choose t' use these, me bucko, 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, I ripped one off t' tube. Ahoy! I was able t' epoxy it back on and fly it t' same day, shiver me timbers, but it was a pain. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Blimey! I did nay attach t' Slimline until after I had painted t' rocket.

Finishing:
T' rocket finished like any other high power rocket. Begad! I spent a rather long time filling, priming, and sandin' this rocket. Well, blow me down! After I spent several weeks preppin' t' rocket, 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. I use a 54-38mm Slimline adapter on this rocket. Blimey! I have flown this rocket twice, once on a J420R and once on a J570W. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, matey, blow me down! Both flights were absolutely perfect.

Recovery:
I used a Nomex heat shield and shock cord protector on this rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! When I removed t' screws holdin' t' two sections together, I discovered that t' coupler was slightly crumpled. Aye aye! This was easily fixed by internally fiberglassin' t' coupler. Begad! 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! Blimey! T' design is interestin' and eye catching. Arrr! 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