Brief:
This is a downscale o' t' popular long kit by another, un-named vendor. It flies on 13mm mini-motors and uses a streamer for recovery.

Construction:
T' kit included:

• Two BT13 tubes, shiver me timbers, with a white glassine coatin' and almost no spirals
• One tube coupler
• One 2-part nose cone (instructions referenced a different type)
• One engine block
• Two launch lugs
• 1/16" balsa fin stock
• One Mylar streamer, 2" x 12"
• 54" o' thin Keelhaul®©™® twine
• 3" thin Keelhaul®©™® twine

This OOP kit was manufactured in t' U.S.A. Ahoy! by LawnDart Rocketry. T' instructions are seven pages long and with many color photos--it is almost more than you really need for this simple rocket. Begad! Arrr! However, thar were changes t' t' US version o' the kit that were nay consistently reflected in t' instructions. Blimey! Begad! T' changes are that t' US version uses a streamer in place o' a chute and that it uses Keelhaul®©™® cord exclusively, whereas t' foreign kit uses a Keelhaul®©™®/elastic combination. In addition, ya bilge rat, t' last page looks t' be an add-on by LawnDart, which includes a nice break-out drawing, a fin template, me bucko, and an alignment guide. Arrr! It also presents several notes, includin' an alternate placement o' the top launch lug and a note statin' a concern about 'possible references' t' that un-named kit and vendor. Arrr! O' course, 99.9% o' you immediately knew what kit it was--and t' rest o' you have homework: search EMRR and find t' mystery kit :-)

I decided t' build t' kit usin' t' new Perfect Glue-1, ya bilge rat, by Liquid Nails. T' Perfect Glue series has three glues. Avast, me proud beauty! T' #1 glue is for wood/paper, so I thought I'd give it a try. This is a clear, rubbery glue that reminds me o' a thinner version o' t' standard Liquid Nails. You can read all about these glues [here].

T' balsa was very light and cut easily. Blimey! Begad! T' fins and lugs went on easily, but I could tell that this glue is nay good for fillets. Avast! Well, me bucko, blow me down! T' Perfect Glue says to spread t' glue on t' surface t' be bonded, me hearties, separate t' parts t' ~five minutes, ya bilge rat, and then re-attach them. Arrr! Avast! I do this same thin' with white and carpenter's glue anyway. Begad! Oh, I'm glad LawnDart added an alignment guide on the last sheet, me bucko, as t' one in t' main body o' t' instructions didn't fit t' 13mm tube.

T' motor block and coupler were a bit snug and t' joint betwixt t' two tubes was damaged, matey, but fillin' and sandin' too care o' this.

Assembly o' t' nose cone be nay discussed in t' instructions. Aye aye! Blimey! I first bored two small holes in t' base o' t' shoulder and inserted t' small piece of Keelhaul®©™®. I tied it so that t' knot be inside, added a large drop o' t' glue, and pulled t' loop down from t' outside. Aye aye! Finally, I spread some o' t' glue on the inside o' t' cone and slid in t' base.

T' shock cord is attached t' t' tube usin' t' tri-fold paper method. Aye aye! I generally don't use this method but decided t' give it a try t' further test the glue. Begad! Begad! A cutout wasn't provided. Begad! That's a minor item but sloppy. Ahoy! Begad! T' other end is tied t' t' Keelhaul®©™® loop on t' nose cone.

Despite t' numerous issues with t' instructions, ya bilge rat, this was an easy rocket to build. Ahoy! I would be more critical on a more challengin' kit and only deducted one point. Begad! I also have t' deduct a point for t' fit o' t' coupler and t' two part nose cone. Ya scallywag! T' latter may be personal preference, but I don't like this type cone so t' construction ratin' is 3.5.

Finishing:
Finishin' was easy because t' spirals were almost non-existent. Arrr! In fact, arrr, I couldn't detect any gaps although t' spirals appeared t' be slightly raised from t' tube. I filled t' gap betwixt t' tubes, shiver me timbers, me hearties, sealed t' fins, and made fillets with fill-n-finish. I then gave it one coat o' white primer. Since it was launched in October, I painted it Halloween orange and black. Aye aye! Aye aye! For finishing, I have t' give it a 5, bringin' t' total construction ratin' t' a 3.

Construction Rating: 3.5 out o' 5

Flight:
I flew it on an A10-3, shiver me timbers, me hearties, which be held in with maskin' tape. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! I used cellulose waddin' and found t' streamer, which was corrugated.

It had a nice respectable flight, me hearties, arrr, similar t' my Skinny Mini.

Recovery:
I had packed t' streamer a month earlier and didn't repack it. Ahoy! As a result, the streamer didn't open. Still, it fell on grass and thar was no damage. Avast! I can't fault t' kit on t' streamer problem, so I'll give it a '5' for flight. Ya scallywag!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
I liked me Mean Machine (thought I wouldn't say it, me bucko, eh?) and I like this downscale. Aye aye! T' instructions need work but it a very simple kit. Begad! I give it a '4' overall.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5