Brief:
This is a sport scale BT-60 V-2 that flies on 18mm motors. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' main thin' that differentiates this kit is the hand-cast resin nose and tail cones. These are nay your daddy's resin cones. Ya scallywag! They are thin walled and nay much heavier than solid balsa (if at all). Begad! T' initial flight reports indicate are that they are also tough. Blimey! Blimey! T' detail is really makes them stand out. T' nose sports hatches, matey, includin' t' rivets. Ahoy! T' tail includes preformed fin fairings with slots for t' balsa fins and t' turbine exhausts.

Construction:
Parts provided:

• Resin boat tail and nosecone.
• A section o' BT-60 body tube.
• An 18mm motor mount.
• An engine block and sprin' clip.
• Two centerin' rings.
• A snap swivel.
• A screw eye.
• An elastic shock cord.
• A trash bag parachute, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, with strin' and tape tabs.
• A piece o' styrene t' mount t' eye screw t' t' nosecone.
• One sheet o' 9x4x1/8 balsa.
• Templates for t' fins.
• Half-round styrene for fin detail (missin' from me kit).
• An instruction CD.

Parts I added:

• Steel fishin' leader t' extend t' provided shock cord.
• Lead shot and epoxy nose weight.
• Larger lug
• An 12" nylon 'chute

This kit is called a 'garage kit' aka a 'builders kit'. Avast! Ya scallywag! There is no header card or print instructions. Avast! T' latter comes on CD an includes t' instructions in both .doc and .pdf formats, a copy o' t' fin template, and a graphic that you can use t' make decals. T' instructions are nay polished but are written in a humorous manner, matey, which made t' kit all t' more entertaining.

T' parts other than t' nose and tail cones are fairly typical. Begad! T' tubes are nay a cleanly cut as some others, thar are no laser cut fins, matey, and t' 'chute is plain trash bag plastic. Begad! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty!

Construction starts with preppin' t' nose and tail cones. Avast, me proud beauty! You have t' wash them and scrub them lightly with steel wool t' remove t' mold release. These are hand cast and t' instructions warns o' minor flaws. Aye aye! T' finish on mine was great and t' only flaws are two small voids on one V-2 fin flaring. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Once cleaned, you are told t' prime them, matey, but I waited until t' other parts were started.

A lot o' t' instructions are dedicated t' fin prep. Arrr! You are supposed attach t' provided template t' t' fin stock usin' 3M '77" spray-on adhesive, me hearties, cut them out, arrr, and peel t' paper back off. I must have used too much adhesive because t' paper didn't want t' come off t' balsa. Instead, me bucko, I decided t' leave them laminated and printed a second copy for t' flip side. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! I sealed t' edges o' t' laminations with thin CA. Ahoy! Arrr! Then comes t' cool part - you etch t' fin panel lines in usin' t' provided templates and a ball point pen. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Wait, me templates are already attached. The template file on t' CD is appropriately entitled: “You screwed up.” I laughed at that one...and resemble that remark. Despite this minor 'oops' t' etchin' seems t' have worked out well. Avast! T' plus be t' fins will be stronger and t' negative is a tiny amount o' weight is added t' t' business end.

Once everythin' is primed, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, me hearties, t' fins are glued into their slots usin' 5-minute epoxy. Ahoy! Arrr! This part made me smile - the slots in t' tail cone ensure t' fins are instantly and perfectly aligned. Begad!

Since t' cone is hollow, me hearties, matey, You CA or epoxy a styrene tube t' t' cone's wall and screw t' eye t' that. Aye aye! I opted for epoxy, arrr, which was mixed with t' fin batch.

Next up in t' instructions be t' motor mount (actually, matey, I did this in parallel with t' previous steps). Ya scallywag! This includes t' typical sprin' hook, ya bilge rat, motor block, and 2 centerin' rings. Begad! A small cardboard rin' is mounted on t' base and t' ply rin' on t' top. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! You are instructed t' ream t' base o' t' tail cone t' fit t' small rin' and t' top shoulder t' fit t' ply ring. Avast, me proud beauty! For t' tail ring, me hearties, I wasn't comfortable grindin' t' base t' fit t' BT-50 sized rin' so I ground a little and peeled a little. Ya scallywag! For t' upper ring, I preferred t' grind plywood rather than resin, me bucko, arrr, although I did rough up t' interior o' t' cone.

I also mounted a stainless steel fishin' leader through t' top ring. This replaces t' specified tri-fold mount and will keep t' elastic shock cord even further from t' hot ejection gasses. If you do this, me hearties, make sure you add a small fold o' duct tape, or equivalent, t' t' point thar t' extended wire hits t' body. Finally, t' mount is attached t' t' tail cone usin' 5-minute epoxy.

I didn't build t' supplied 'chute and will use a nylon one that I have in t' ol' range box. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! T' stock 'chute should build like t' Questes ones.

T' final issue is stability. Arrr! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! T' instructions say t' balance, make a cardboard cut-out, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, me bucko, and do a swin' test. Begad! I opted t' make a RockSim model. Avast! Mine should be slightly heavier than stock considerin' t' fin laminations, lots of epoxy on t' top CR, t' steel leader and t' nylon 'chute. Avast! Begad! It came in at 3.25 oz. Based on RockSim, ya bilge rat, me bucko, I found addin' a bit over and ounce o' nose weight should make it stable on an AT reload. Well, ya bilge rat, me hearties, I measured t' weight and then added the epoxy above that. I had a brain fart when lookin' at t' thrust t' weight ratio and had thought t' result would fly well on a C6. Ya scallywag! Well, me hearties, blow me down! Well, it now won't so I'll be flyin' this on reloads only. Well, blow me down! Two 1/8" lugs are provided, me bucko, however, shiver me timbers, I upgraded t' a larger one. Arrr! Well, blow me down!

Finishing:
All-in-all, thar be a lot o' finishin' tips provided for this little rocket. Begad! T' stay in line with t' current headlines, me bucko, I 'went rogue', arrr, deviatin' quite a bit from t' instructions. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! I substituted Fill'n'Finish and Testor's putty for t' fillers specified and red Rustoleum primer for t' specified Tamiya primer. Well, blow me down! Begad!

T' main tips I followed is preppin' t' cone and usin' t' etchin' technique t' provide fin details as noted above. Begad! T' instructions say t' sand down t' slight warpin' on t' nose cone hatches. Personally, I like t' 'drunken builder' effect seen on many o' t' real V-2 rounds.

T' final fin trim be t' servo pods near t' tip o' t' fins. These were supposed t' be half-round styrene. Ahoy! This was no where t' be found in me box but scrap balsa was easily substituted.

Despite havin' scrubbed what I thought be a lot and then some more, t' Rustoleum primer bubbled badly in one quadrant o' t' tail cone and a tiny bit on one area on t' nose. Avast! I guess I didn't scrub uniformly. Begad! I waited a full day and then sanded these areas along with t' rough spots. Avast, me proud beauty! T' tail cone sanded well but t' primer came o' t' bottom of t' nose. Well, blow me down! I took t' opportunity t' sand this bare area a lot. Ahoy! T' second coat covered well.

I chose t' red primer t' provide part o' t' camo scheme. Ya scallywag! And added some Rustoleum camo colors over that.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
I chose t' D13-7 for t' V-2's maiden voyage. Well, blow me down! Begad! Blimey! I first loaded some dog barf t' fill t' space in t' tail cone and then some Quest waddin' wrapped around more dog barf. T' steel leader was laid over this, followed by an 12" nylon 'chute. T' ground be soft so I thought this would be sufficient.

T' boost was fast and straight.

Recovery:
Ejection was a little late but I didn't count t' seconds t' see whether it was a bonus delay or inherently just too long. Ahoy! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Recovery was perfect.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
T' main plus o' this kit be t' totally cool nose and tail cones. These alone make t' kit worth t' cost, which is comparable t' a BT-60 V-2 kit from Aerospace Specialty Products. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Aside from aesthetics, t' pre-formed slots make fin attachment easy and sturdy. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! T' other plus be t' simple method o' scorin' t' fins t' provide panel details. The minuses is that t' other components aren't as 'clean' as some other manufacturers, shiver me timbers, you really need t' think about parts fit as you go, and stability has t' be addressed. Most o' this is easy but thar be extra room for operator error. Blimey!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5