Brief:
T' Honest John was a short range ballistic missile that was used for many years in a peace keepin' role armed with a nuclear warhead. It’s distinctive bulbous nose cone and delta fins make this a very distinctive rocket. School Yard Rocketry is a new rocket company that I found through a web search. Avast, me proud beauty! They have two rockets at this time, me hearties, shiver me timbers, t' Honest John and t' Patriot Missile, and they are hopin' t' be addin' more soon.

Construction:
T' Honest John arrived in t' mail from School Yard Rocketry in a sturdy cardboard box. Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Inside t' kit was packaged in a Zip-Lock bag with a picture o' t' real rocket on a mobile launcher, arrr, a nice touch. All o' t' parts were thar and in good shape. Begad! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! T' parts consist o' a body tube, arrr, nose cone, engine mount tube, ya bilge rat, me bucko, matey, thrust ring, arrr, centerin' rings, shiver me timbers, launch lug, screw eye, shock cord, matey, a balsa sheet with t' fin patterns printed on it, a cardstock sheet for t' spin motors, engine nozzle and shock cord mount, me bucko, a sheet o' water slide decals, and a 12" nylon parachute. Avast! Blimey! All o' t' components are good quality. Ahoy! Blimey! One interestin' item be t' body tube. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' body tube is what they call a “Tuff Tube Airframe.” This Tuff Tube is substantially thicker than your standard Estes tube, and t' outside is a little rougher as well. It turned out t' be easy t' work with and finished nicely, matey, but more on that later.

T' instructions are printed on both sides o' two 8.5"x 11" sheets o' paper. Ya scallywag! They are in a logical order, shiver me timbers, and include diagrams for each step. Blimey! Begad! There is one template for markin' t' location o' t' fins. Avast, me proud beauty! T' instructions are easy t' follow, matey, if you have built a rocket kit before. In one o' t' diagrams t' fin outline is different than t' ones that are used. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! This could be confusin' for t' first time builder, however, if you have already built a kit or two, this should nay be an issue.

T' kit goes together well. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! I did nay find any places where t' instructions were difficult t' follow or anythin' that needed more explanation. Begad! T' only thin' that was difficult t' build are t' spin motor housings. Avast, me proud beauty! These are printed on heavy card stock and are t' be cut out, folded and glued together and then installed on t' nose cone. Begad! Blimey! T' kit has twice as many as you need for t' rocket. Arrr! This allows you t' try and try again until they look right. Ya scallywag! This is a nice feature. Arrr! A couple o' drops o' thin CA cement will make then easy t' sand and finish. Blimey! Also on t' cardstock sheet is an engine nozzle. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! This engine nozzle fits in betwixt t' motor mount and t' body tube. Ya scallywag! It is virtually undetectable on t' finished model, me bucko, so I wonder why it is included in t' kit.

T' Honest John is finished like most rockets. Avast, me proud beauty! T' balsa fins and nose cone will need t' be sanded and sealed, me hearties, shiver me timbers, but t' body tube will also need t' be sanded and sealed. Aye aye! Step 11 o' t' instructions tells you t' “sand off any ‘fuzzies’ betwixt coats” o' primer. Avast, me proud beauty! I used Krylon gray sandable primer. Ya scallywag! T' body tube smoothed out very nicely after two coats o' primer. T' Spin motors are optional in this kit. Ya scallywag! Begad! I used some wood filler putty around t' motors t' blend them into t' nose cone. I was pleased with t' results. Aye aye! Included in t' kit is a sheet o' waterslide decals. These decals are very thin and difficult t' work with. Blimey! Avast! I had difficulty keepin' them from crackin' when I applied them t' t' model. Blimey! One tip with these decals is t' cut further away from t' color t' allow you t' work with more o' t' clear carrier. Blimey! This makes t' decals a little easier t' work with. Avast! Once I completed with t' decals I gave t' model two coats o' Testors Dullcote. I have had trouble usin' clear Krylon on decals before, and have never had any trouble with t' Testors paint. Avast, me proud beauty! T' finished model matches t' cover photograph o' t' Honest John in t' kit. As t' operational rockets were painted an Olive Drab, this must have been a high visibility test rocket paint scheme.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' prepare t' Honest John for flight, shiver me timbers, one needs t' install a motor, me hearties, and install t' parachute. T' motor relies on a friction fit, as thar be no retention hook. Begad! T' elastic shock cord is held in place by a Estes type triple fold paper shock cord mount. Avast, me proud beauty! T' Shock cord is then tied off t' t' nose cone on a screw eye installed in t' base o' t' nose cone. T' parachute is a high quality orange nylon parachute, one o' t' reasons I bought t' kit. Pack a couple o' sheets in t' body tube and then insert t' Parachute. Ahoy! School Yard Rocketry recommends usin' B4-4, B6-4 and C6-4 motors.

I launched t' rocket on an A8-3 Motor. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! There be a 5 t' 10 Mph wind that day. Avast! Blimey! T' rocket flew great, ya bilge rat, with t' ejection charge firin' just after apogee. T' Parachute seems t' be just about t' right size as t' rocket came back at a reasonable rate, and landed without damage on t' football field that I launched on.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

I give this kit an overall ratin' o' 4.5. Ya scallywag! Avast! T' flight was about as perfect as you can expect. And I like it when manufactures include high quality components like nylon parachutes with their models. Avast! For t' price this is a great deal. T' on-line orderin' be easy and painless and t' kit arrived in t' mail quickly. T' body tube is extremely robust, arrr, me bucko, and should last a long time. Well, blow me down! I particularly enjoyed t' balsa wood components. Ahoy! Begad! There could be some improvement in t' quality o' t' decals, and t' instructions could be a little clearer as well. Overall this kit be fun t' build and was great t' fly.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5