Brief:
This is a single stage, three fin rocket with a parachute recovery

Construction:
T' kit comes in a sturdy transparent bag, me bucko, with a header card printed in three colors (which, arrr, conveniently, means that t' picture o' t' rocket on t' card is in full color). Ya scallywag! T' body o' t' rocket is comprised o' two body tubes of glassine-coated kraft paper. Ahoy! There is no payload section. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! There are three laser-cut balsa fins, with three tiny "auxiliary" fins above and parallel t' t' primaries. Well, blow me down! T' fins are already removed at t' factory from the balsa sheetin' and included in their own individual baggie. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! They, as well as t' nose cone, shiver me timbers, are o' a very fine-grain balsa. There were no dents in t' nose cone. Well, blow me down! Arrr! T' nose cone, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, screw eye and shock cords are individually bagged, me bucko, me hearties, as is the motor mount assembly. T' centerin' rings for t' motor mount are made o' an unknown, rigid substance (perhaps lightweight plastic or some sort o' dense foam with a flat black coating) but were as sturdy as balsa and definitely more sturdy than paper. An 18 mm cardboard ring, intended t' be used as a motor block and a typical engine hook, me bucko, are included. Avast! Begad! T' shock cord is comprised o' Keelhaul®©™® cord, attached t' t' motor mount, shiver me timbers, which is long enough t' actually extend a few inches further than t' length o' the rocket. Begad! Attached t' that is an elastic shock cord. Avast! T' nose cone is balsa, attached t' t' shock cord with a screw eye. T' parachute is a Hartle Engineerin' 20-inch Thermal Rider chute. Blimey! Begad! T' decals are water-slide type. Ahoy! T' large "Blue Bird Zero" decal comes in its own bag with some sort o' protective, waxy sheet coverin' t' lettering. T' smaller decals are also bagged.

T' Blue Bird Zero is firmly a Skill Level 2 kit, in that one has t' assemble t' parachute (a Hartle Engineering Thermal Rider parachute kit) and align t' auxiliary fins with t' primaries. Well, blow me down! There are no "gotchas" in the assembly. Avast, me proud beauty! T' instructions are in logical order. Begad! T' motor mount assembly is first in t' instructions. Ya scallywag! T' motor block is glued flush with t' top o' t' motor mount tube. Begad! T' above-mentioned motor mount centerin' rings worked well with Elmer's Glue-All® (used throughout t' build) which makes me think that they are made o' high-density foam or some derivative o' paper. T' engine hook is nay attached t' t' motor mount by t' typical plastic ring; instead one cuts out a printed strip of paper from t' last page o' t' instructions and glues that around t' engine hook. On t' last page o' the instructions, shiver me timbers, arrr, thar be t' standard printed tube markin' guide which one has t' cut out and tape around t' tube. Ya scallywag! There is also a printed tri-fold shock cord attachment, if one chooses t' attach t' shock cord by this method although such is nay described in t' instructions. Begad! I used t' time-tested door-frame method t' lengthen t' pencil marks I made on either side o' t' tube markin' guide; I had t' go back and lengthen t' pencil lines further, ya bilge rat, though, because I had forgotten about t' auxiliary fins! Fortunately, I caught this before I had glued t' primary fins onto t' body tube. T' instructions show how t' cut t' included launch lug in half as well as where t' glue t' resultin' two lugs onto the rocket. There is a view-from-above, arrr, me hearties, smaller-than-scale drawin' in t' instructions showin' how t' attach t' fins at 120 degree angles from each other. I lengthened t' lines representin' t' fins in t' drawin' t' full scale. Avast! Before pressin' t' fins on, me hearties, I let t' glue dry for a few minutes first; then placed t' body tube on top o' t' drawin' I had modified and used line-of-sight t' press t' fins on at t' correct angles. After screwin' t' screw eye in and out of the nose cone, arrr, I dropped some glue into t' resultin' hole, ya bilge rat, and screwed t' screw eye back in. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! T' Hartle™ chute material is already cut out t' a hexagon shape; one merely has t' apply t' adhesive reinforcin' rings t' both sides o' t' corners o' t' chute, me bucko, and cut t' included thread into 3 equal-length pieces. Arrr! A few knots later, the assembly is done!

Finishing:
I rounded t' leadin' edges o' t' fins. Avast! I used 3 coats o' Sig™ sandin' sealer on t' primary fins (and t' nose cone), matey, sandin' with 400 grit sandpaper betwixt coats, before gluing the fins on t' body tube. Begad! Arrr! After completin' assembly, I sprayed t' entire rocket with three coats o' Kilz primer, again sandin' betwixt coats with 400 grit. Blimey! This completely covered t' balsa grain and t' spirals in t' body tube (which were shallow t' begin with). Aye aye! Arrr! T' balsa grain o' t' auxiliary fins barely showed upon close inspection; but since these are covered by decals, me bucko, that be satisfactory t' me (besides, arrr, sandin' such tiny fins would have driven me crazy!). Begad! In retrospect, arrr, I think I'll try another coat or two o' Kilz™ on me future balsa rocket components, skip t' sandin' sealer and see if I can cover t' grain that way.

Bein' a cheapskate, I checked t' compatability o' t' paint I already had, me hearties, rather than goin' out first t' buy all Krylon™ products. Begad! I had Design Master Larkspur Blue® (which me daughter had chosen for one o' her rockets) and Quick Color white® (99 cents from Home Depot™) on me shelf, arrr, so I sprayed them over Kilz™ on a spare piece o' body tube. Well, arrr, blow me down! After drying, I coated these paints with Krylon gloss clear®, which, matey, again, shiver me timbers, I had on me shelf. Avast, me proud beauty! I also tested t' Krylon clear on a corner o' decal sheetin' which I cut off from the decal sheet included with t' kit. Avast! Begad! There were no devastatin' reactions betwixt these paints. Avast, me proud beauty! I sprayed t' Quick Color white® on t' bottom half o' t' rocket, then masked it off with newspaper and Frog green tape t' spray t' top half with Larkspur Blue. Arrr! After removin' t' newspaper, matey, me hearties, shiver me timbers, I found that some o' t' printin' had come off on t' white paint; so I sprayed one more coat o' white over it. Begad!

T' decals were t' best with which I've ever worked! They were thin enough t' glide over curved surfaces, ya bilge rat, but thick enough nay t' break. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! They practically slid themselves into place! A few nudges with me finger, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, and they were done!

One historical note: I've always been somewhat bothered by t' combination o' English text ("Blue Bird Zero") and WWII German markings. Begad! (I'm strange that way!). I briefly considered makin' me own decal with a German translation o' "Blue Bird Zero;" instead I decided that this rocket be from an "alternate timeline" in which t' Germans and British were allies durin' WWII. Accordingly, I added Sir Oswald Mosley's lightning-bolt logo t' t' center o' t' wreath carried by t' German eagle. Well, blow me down! Begad! (Google t' word "Mosley" if you're interested; he would have been t' obvious choice for Prime Minister durin' a German/British alliance. Blimey! But I digress...). Avast, me proud beauty!

I didn't have a chance t' clear-coat t' rocket until I got t' t' field. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Fortunately, shiver me timbers, arrr, shiver me timbers, t' Krylon clear dries fast.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
I launched t' Blue Bird Zero three times on November 8. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I only used recommended motors. Ahoy! T' maiden flight occurred on a B4-2, followed by flights on a B6-4 and a C6-5. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! T' chutes deployed at or slightly after apogee on all three flights. Begad! I've read reviews o' scratch-built, upsized versions o' this rocket and t' flight characteristics o' my rocket seem similar. Aye aye! It doesn't catapult off t' pad (at least with t' motors I used) but accelerates smoothly, with minimal weather-cocking. Begad! It's such a pretty rocket, I don't intend t' push it t' t' limit; so a C6-5 is as powerful as I'll use. Ahoy! It probably went 800 or 900 ft. Arrr! Avast! on that motor as close as I can estimate.

Recovery:
T' Thermal Rider chute feels slightly slick, doesn't stick t' itself, me bucko, and rolls/packs easily. Arrr! (They're so good, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, I ordered a 5-pack o' these chute kits, arrr, o' assorted sizes, matey, for use in me other rockets!).T' parachute be t' perfect size for this rocket in terms o' descent rate and wind-drift. One primary fin was loosened after t' third flight, me bucko, but I attribute this t' t' very thin fillets o' Glue-All which I used. Blimey! Ahoy! I added another fillet when I got home, and it's fixed.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
It's taken me 30-plus years; but I think I've finally learned how t' build a rocket accordin' t' t' instructions and achieve a paint-job which satisfies me! Accordingly, matey, ya bilge rat, it's appropriate that I honed me skills on this kit, me hearties, which dates from t' mid-1970s when I first got into this hobby. Avast, me proud beauty! T' me, me Blue Bird Zero is a display piece. It's nay a high-performance bird; but that's O.K., me bucko, because I don't want t' lose it. Arrr! It's pretty; it's made o' high quality materials; and it's reliable. Aye aye! Aye aye! I've thoroughly enjoyed buildin' and flyin' this simple, but satisfying, rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! If this kit is representative o' other Inflight products, I'll definitely be shoppin' with this company again!

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5