Brief:
This is a semi-scale model o' t' GBU-24 Paveway III laser guided bomb. Arrr! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Blimey! It flies on 18mm motors and recovers under a 12" chute. Well, blow me down! You can find more info on t' actual bomb [here] .

Construction:

• One BT-55, me bucko, 10 7/8" long
• Plastic tail cone/adapter (separated durin' construction)
• Two BT-20 tubes, 5" long
• Seamless elliptical plastic nose cone, BT-20
• Cardstock centerin' rings
• Engine hook
• Engine block
• Mylar retainer rin' for t' engine hook
• Launch lug, 1/8"
• Elastic shock cord, 1/8" x 18"
• Assembled 12" plastic chute
• Die cut balsa fins, shiver me timbers, 3/32"
• Die cut balsa fin protectors, ya bilge rat, 1/16"
• Peel and stick decals
• Endurin' Freedom sticker (not used on model)

T' first step is t' assemble t' motor mount. Ya scallywag! Blimey! This is a typical build, ya bilge rat, and consists o' t' BT-20 motor mount, shiver me timbers, two centerin' rings, an engine hook, a Mylar retainer for t' hook, ya bilge rat, arrr, me hearties, and a motor block. Aye aye! I used carpenter's glue as recommended. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Before installation in t' main body tube, me hearties, I epoxied a two-foot section o' Keelhaul®©™® twine onto t' mount, me hearties, arrr, trough t' top ring.

Next, I removed and sanded t' fins, shiver me timbers, and filled them with Fill 'n Finish. T' main fins were fine, but t' protectors, which attach on either side o' the rear fins, were very thin and warped badly when exposed t' t' moisture in the Fill 'n Finish. Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I pressed these as they dried and they straightened out.

T' tail cone and transition come as one unit and must be separated. Begad! A razor saw is suggested, but I used an Exacto cutlass. Ya scallywag! T' bottom o' t' tail cone must also be trimmed and sanded, as do t' fin slots. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' latter start as rectangular projections, which are cut off with a razor saw, me hearties, arrr, formin' t' slots. Avast! T' final trimmin' is supposed t' be t' top o' t' transition. Begad! T' instructions have you cut this off, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, leavin' a hollow unit with both t' top and bottom open. T' shock cord then attaches t' t' inside o' t' upper body tube usin' a paper mount. Instead, shiver me timbers, me hearties, I poked a small hole in t' recessed ridge just below t' top o' the transition, matey, fed a loop o' Keelhaul®©™® twine through t' hole and around t' transition (see photo). This formed a loop, which t' elastic cord will later attach to. Well, blow me down! A small dab o' 5-minute Epoxy on t' hole and knot holds t' twine in.

T' tail cone is used t' adjust t' depth o' t' motor mount as it is glued into t' main body tube. Begad! Once positioned, ya bilge rat, t' tail cone is attached, matey, making sure t' engine hook is centered betwixt t' fin slots. Avast! I used black rubberized CA in place o' t' recommended plastic cement.

T' lower fins are mounted through t' slots in t' tail cone. Arrr! Blimey! I found these slots t' be excessively loose, so they didn't support t' fins well. Ahoy! I applied yellow glue t' t' fin tab and t' front root section. Begad! Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' hold t' fins while this glue set, shiver me timbers, I used Liquid Nails Perfect Glue, Type 1 on t' aft root section. Aye aye! Avast! Blimey! This sets fast and t' fins were good t' go. There is a markin' guide for t' top fins, matey, and these were attached with carpenter's glue. After t' rear fins set, me bucko, you position t' fin deployment guides and mark their position. Ahoy! A thin layer o' yellow glue is applied t' fins up t' t' mark, and t' guides are attached. Blimey! These immediately warped like crazy, so a couple o' small clamps were required on each guide/fin/guide 'sandwich' as they set. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Afterwards, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, matey, these still seemed flimsy, so I added a small strip o' scrap balsa betwixt each pair at their roots.

T' final steps prior t' finishin' was t' launch lug and Fill ' Finish fillets. I didn't' glue t' top tube t' t' transition or t' cone until finishin' was complete. Begad! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! When they were connected, me bucko, ya bilge rat, I again used black CA.

After finishing, ya bilge rat, all that was left be tyin' t' elastic cord t' the Keelhaul®©™® leader in t' body tube and t' Keelhaul®©™® loop on t' transition. Begad! I stashed t' cute that was provided and will use a 12" nylon chute.

Overall, matey, I give this build a 3 1/2. Begad! It all went together easily with the exception o' t' fin deployment guides, me bucko, arrr, which should have been made o' thicker material. T' dimensionin' o' t' fin slots on t' tail cone also wasn't good. Luckily any 'slop' is hidden by those guides. Begad! One thin' that stood out t' me was t' quality o' t' nose cone - it is completely seamless. Aye aye!

Finishing:
I started with fill-n-finish on t' fins and tubes before assembly. Arrr! Aye aye! I found the spirals on t' BT-55 t' be shallow, arrr, matey, but t' ones on t' top BT-20 were deeper, and required some filler. Ahoy! Arrr! After assembly, I shot several coats o' white primer, sandin' and fillin' in between. Well, blow me down!

T' instructions say t' use olive drab and red spray paint, a silver paint pen, ya bilge rat, matey, me bucko, and t' follow t' paint scheme on t' cover. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' cover picture shows the fin section, matey, top fins and nose cone t' be olive drab, and top BT-20 t' be more of a tan then red. Blimey! Blimey! I used Testors' spray for t' olive drab sections. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! In the photos on t' link I presented in t' intro, me bucko, me hearties, t' top tube seems t' be somewhat of a rust colored red. Begad! Blimey! I decided t' use red paint, me bucko, which did get toned down as it was overlaid over t' olive drab. I tested some Krylon red on a piece of wood, arrr, arrr, and it seemed t' be OK. However, matey, some bubbles formed when I used it over the Testor's paint on t' model. Begad! Maybe t' base coat was thicker on t' model. After t' first red coat dried, me hearties, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, I sanded t' bubbles and re-coated it. Aye aye! This time it covered just fine.

There are silver bands shown at t' base o' t' BT-55 and BT-20 tubes. Instead o' silver paint, shiver me timbers, I used some chrome Trim Monokote for these stripes. Finally, arrr, me hearties, I applied t' peel and stick decals. Begad!

Overall, me bucko, matey, arrr, t' finishin' be fairly typical, however I found t' separation in t' side plates where they extend ahead o' t' main fins made sprayin' a little more difficult than usual. I give it a finishin' ratin' o' 4.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
I decided t' submit this partial review since I missed t' November launches and may nay be on t' field until spring. Avast! I'll provide an update at that time.

Summary:
I saw me first 'bunker buster' rocket over a year ago and have really wanted to build somethin' similar. Begad! Begad! When I saw this model, matey, I knew that it would satisfy my cravings. Ahoy! Arrr!

T' model was nay a difficult build, and I think a skill level 2 ratin' is about right. Arrr! Ya scallywag! I liked t' plastic parts, especially t' nose cone, matey, me bucko, and think the thru-the-wall fin attachment is great. Aye aye! However, t' fit o' t' fins was poor and t' balsa used for t' fin protectors was flimsy. Ahoy! As with t' Cluster Bomb BLU-97B that I just built, matey, it appears that Estes needs t' pay more attention to quality control. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Still, t' rocket was fun t' build and looks *very* cool. Well, blow me down!