Brief:
This is a scaled down version o' DG&A's Armageddon line. Begad! It is a single stage rocket with parachute recovery.

Construction:
This rocket comes with all tubes made o' very heavy craft paper. Blimey! Arrr! It comes with 27.75" and 6.6" long body tubes, matey, matey, 1 coupler, plastic nose cone, 17" motor tube. T' wood parts are all 1/8" birch plywood: 8 nozzle fins, me hearties, 4 carnard fins, ya bilge rat, 8 fin detail pieces, arrr, 4 fins, 1 bulkplate. It has 3 1/4" plywood CR's. Ya scallywag! It comes with a 30" ripstop nylon parachute, 1/8"x14' o' nylon shock cord and 1/8"x3' o' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord. Begad! Other hardware included is: two 1/4" rail buttons, ya bilge rat, 1 quick link, two 6/32" t-nuts, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, 1 eyebolt assembly, me bucko, shiver me timbers, matey, vinyl decals, and instructions.

T' parts all come individually wrapped in paper in a sturdy cardboard box. They arrived in perfect condition and I was very happy with t' quality o' the contents.

T' instructions are very well done with pictures t' show you what you need to do. Avast! It includes an alignment guide for t' fins and t' BT's come pre-marked (but nay cut) for all t' fins and rail button locations. Avast! T' order o' assembly was well thought out t' prevent any details, so if you follow t' instructions you will nay forget a step.

All t' parts fit very well together with only light sandin' needed t' make things fit perfectly. Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! T' parts are all top quality.

T' only cons t' this kit is that t' main fins are fairly large. This makes them a little harder t' install but if you have some experience with TTW fins you really shouldn't have any problems. Aye aye! Also t' large size o' t' fins in combination with only 1/8" plywood means that they will nay be perfectly straight after installation. Begad! I'm sure this has more t' do with weight and cost than anythin' as a lighter material would add a lot t' t' cost.

Finishing:
T' BT's and nosecone are standard LOC sizes so t' finishin' is very easy. Just paint (I add some primer as well) and you are ready t' go. Arrr! T' kit comes with a very nice decal set. Aye aye! Blimey! T' decals are extremely easy t' apply as you remove t' sticky side, place on t' rocket, and then remove t' backing. Arrr! This makes it much easier t' keep everythin' straight when dealin' with long decals. He shows t' kit with a 2 color blue/white paint scheme but you can come up with anythin' you like. Arrr! Anyone who has seen any o' t' DG&A Armageddon series knows they look great. T' stylin' is unique and they look good on the pad and in t' air.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
Since t' kit has included Keelhaul®©™® cord t' attach t' t' forward CR, you do nay need anythin' t' protect that part of t' shock cord. However you will need some waddin' t' protect t' chute and the nylon part o' t' shock cord--I used a Nomex® pad which worked very well. Arrr! He also includes t-nuts so it is easy t' add a positive motor retention system but none is included in t' kit so you are free to decide what works best for you.

I have flown this kit twice so far and both flights went great. Arrr! Both my flights were with G80-7's and went t' around 1000 feet. T' flights where straight up in low winds. Begad! Ahoy! T' ejection on both flights was nearly perfect and the rocket came down well under t' 30" chute. T' only non-perfect part of t' flights has t' due with t' slight warpage o' t' fins. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! This caused the rocket t' spin along it's axis but as I said it still flew straight up.

You might notice above that t' weight on this rocket is pretty high. This is due t' me construction techniques and nay t' rocket kit. Avast! I like t' build my kits like a tank so I have large epoxy fillets on all t' fins which is clearly not required on this size/power rocket. I also put extra epoxy on t' fin to motor mount connections as well. Also I'm a picky painter so it has 3 coats of primer, shiver me timbers, 6 coats o' paint, arrr, and 3 coats o' clearcoat. Blimey! Needless t' say it can (and probably should) be built lighter.

Recovery:
About t' only thin' I would change about t' recover system is t' add a swivel to t' parachute. It tends t' spin some comin' down and this just twists up the shock cord makin' for a slightly longer prep time for another flight, however, there are many good rocketeers who say you should never use swivels so this is not really a negative.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a very well done kit. Avast! It has top quality parts and very good step-by-step instructions. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! It comes with nearly everythin' you need t' fly right in t' kit, me bucko, me bucko, only needin' a motor, wadding, and motor retention system of your choice. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! It has excellent stylin' and turns out as a nicely finished product. Ya scallywag! It really adds t' t' Armageddon series givin' newer HPR rocketeers a beautiful rocket that they can be proud o' as well as t' expert who just wants to fly somethin' smaller for a change.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5