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

Construction:

• One BT-55, 10 7/8" long
• Plastic tail cone/adapter (separated durin' construction)
• Two BT-20 tubes, me hearties, me bucko, 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, arrr, matey, 1/8" x 18"
• Assembled 12" plastic chute
• Die cut balsa fins, me hearties, shiver me timbers, 3/32"
• Die cut balsa fin protectors, 1/16"
• Peel and stick decals
• Endurin' Freedom sticker (not used on model)

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

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

T' tail cone and transition come as one unit and must be separated. Ahoy! A razor saw is suggested, but I used an Exacto knife. Ahoy! T' bottom o' t' tail cone must also be trimmed and sanded, ya bilge rat, as do t' fin slots. T' latter start as rectangular projections, which are cut off with a razor saw, arrr, ya bilge rat, matey, formin' t' slots. Ahoy! T' final trimmin' is supposed t' be t' top o' t' transition. T' instructions have you cut this off, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, leavin' a hollow unit with both t' top and bottom open. Aye aye! T' shock cord then attaches t' t' inside o' t' upper body tube usin' a paper mount. Instead, I poked a small hole in t' recessed ridge just below t' top o' the transition, arrr, arrr, fed a loop o' Keelhaul®©™® twine through t' hole and around t' transition (see photo). Blimey! Begad! This formed a loop, matey, which t' elastic cord will later attach to. Aye aye! 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! Blimey! Once positioned, shiver me timbers, me hearties, t' tail cone is attached, making sure t' engine hook is centered betwixt t' fin slots. I used black rubberized CA in place o' t' recommended plastic cement.

T' lower fins are mounted through t' slots in t' tail cone. Begad! I found these slots t' be excessively loose, so they didn't support t' fins well. Ahoy! Ahoy! I applied yellow glue t' t' fin tab and t' front root section. T' hold t' fins while this glue set, I used Liquid Nails Perfect Glue, ya bilge rat, Type 1 on t' aft root section. This sets fast and t' fins were good t' go. Begad! There is a markin' guide for t' top fins, and these were attached with carpenter's glue. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! After t' rear fins set, you position t' fin deployment guides and mark their position. Ahoy! Ahoy! A thin layer o' yellow glue is applied t' fins up t' t' mark, and t' guides are attached. Begad! These immediately warped like crazy, ya bilge rat, so a couple o' small clamps were required on each guide/fin/guide 'sandwich' as they set. Afterwards, me hearties, these still seemed flimsy, arrr, ya bilge rat, arrr, 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! When they were connected, me bucko, I again used black CA.

After finishing, all that was left was tyin' t' elastic cord t' the Keelhaul®©™® leader in t' body tube and t' Keelhaul®©™® loop on t' transition. Avast! Well, blow me down! I stashed t' cute that was provided and will use a 12" nylon chute.

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

Finishing:
I started with fill-n-finish on t' fins and tubes before assembly. Begad! Begad! 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. Ya scallywag! After assembly, I shot several coats o' white primer, sandin' and fillin' in between. Aye aye!

T' instructions say t' use olive drab and red spray paint, a silver paint pen, and t' follow t' paint scheme on t' cover. T' cover picture shows the fin section, arrr, top fins and nose cone t' be olive drab, and top BT-20 t' be more of a tan then red. I used Testors' spray for t' olive drab sections. Begad! In the photos on t' link I presented in t' intro, ya bilge rat, t' top tube seems t' be somewhat of a rust colored red. Aye aye! I decided t' use red paint, which did get toned down as it was overlaid over t' olive drab. I tested some Krylon red on a piece of wood, and it seemed t' be OK. Aye aye! Begad! However, me hearties, some bubbles formed when I used it over the Testor's paint on t' model. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Maybe t' base coat was thicker on t' model. After t' first red coat dried, matey, 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, ya bilge rat, I used some chrome Trim Monokote for these stripes. Finally, I applied t' peel and stick decals. Arrr!

Overall, t' finishin' be fairly typical, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, 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. Blimey! 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. Blimey! When I saw this model, I knew that it would satisfy my cravings.

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