Brief:
While a trip t' t' Custom Rockets website might do little t' fire t' soul o' a BAR today, ya bilge rat, arrr, thar was actually a time in t' nay too distant past when t' company produced some sharp looking, imaginative kits. Avast! Ahoy! I've owned several o' t' 1994-95 era kits, namely t' Dynamic Carrier and Satellite Drone in "almost ready t' fly" condition and t' Stealth Interceptor in "flown t' death" shape, me hearties, me hearties, but I was surprised t' find that thar were several other birds that I'd never seen reviewed. Avast! One o' these was t' unimaginatively named Bullet. Begad! T' pseudo-missile stylin' and simple red/white/silver paint scheme appealed t' me as did several others so I decided t' order some still available nose cones from Custom, print off t' instructions and scans from Ye Olde Rocket Plans and start breathin' life into some seldom seen fourteen year old designs.

Construction:
T' parts list:

• PC-55 nose cone
• 18" BT-55 main section body tube
• 6" BT-55 lower section body tube
• 6" BT-50 motor tube
• 2.75" BT-20 decoration tubes (4)
• CR-5055 centerin' rings (5)
• EC-2 engine clip
• Engine block
• 36" Keelhaul®©™ shock cord
• 36" sewin' elastic shock cord (1/8")
• 3/32" fin stock
• 18" parachute
• 3/16" launch lug

For those o' you used t' Estes instructions, t' Custom instructions might cause a raised eyebrow or two. "Spartan" might be a good way t' describe them or possibly "functional". Aye aye! Blimey! They get t' job done, ya bilge rat, arrr, matey, but some o' t' construction details are left for t' builder/painter t' figure out on their own. T' drawings in these early kits are fairly primitive and things are rarely shown at a consistent scale, ya bilge rat, but they work so I'll stop raggin' on them.

Aside from these quibbles, t' construction o' t' Bullet went very smoothly for me. Blimey! Blimey! For t' most part it's just a 4FNC rocket with some decorative touches that give it character. Aye aye! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I swapped out t' suggested shock cord attachment method, me bucko, t' tried-and-true tri-fold paper anchor o' Estes design. Instead I used a total o' 6' o' Keelhaul®©™ and sewin' elastic for me shock cord tied behind t' forward-most centerin' rin' and glued into place with wood glue. Fins were attached with Loc-Tite gel CA and filleted with Elmer's Wood Glue. Begad! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Except t' tell you that t' "decoration tubes" should nay be glued on until some point after t' paintin' process, t' rest o' t' build was as standard as it could be.

Finishing:
As per usual, arrr, tube spirals and balsa grain were eliminated usin' thinned Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish with minimal sanding. Begad! (Sandin' t' section o' BT-50 that is sandwiched betwixt t' BT-55 fin can and main body tube did NOT meet me personal standard for a "fun" rating.) T' entire rocket was then sprayed with white Valspar primer. Begad! One o' t' things about t' Bullet that attracted me was t' relatively simple red/white/silver paint scheme and black decals. Arrr! Don't get me wrong, I enjoy complicated paint schemes like t' Admiralty scheme for t' Centuri Taurus and kits with tons o' decals like t' Interceptor, shiver me timbers, arrr, but sometimes t' extra details just serve t' muddy t' waters o' what could be a clean design. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Custom did right by this one. Begad! With t' exception o' t' white "decoration tubes", arrr, shiver me timbers, maskin' is a very simple matter o' straight lines separatin' colors. T' catalog paint scheme shows t' fin can in red, arrr, t' bulk o' t' main body tube in white and t' upper portion o' t' main tube in silver. Begad! T' section o' motor tube that is exposed under t' white "decoration tubes" is shown as silver. Well, blow me down! This is where t' maskin' got interesting. Avast! I decided t' paint t' BT-50 section, me bucko, me hearties, let it dry, arrr, then mask it off under a paper mask cut just for t' process. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! I then masked off and sprayed t' fin can includin' t' exposed end o' t' 5055 centerin' rin' with Valspar Cherry Red gloss. When that had dried, ya bilge rat, I masked it off and sprayed t' main body tube with Valspar gloss white then masked and sprayed t' upper part o' t' main tube and nose cone with Valspar silver metallic. T' "decoration tubes" were also painted gloss white then attached with several dabs o' epoxy after t' parts had dried sufficiently. I printed off t' simple black decals usin' Bel Decal ink jet paper which I coated with Testor's decal protector on t' advice o' someone at NSL.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight and Recovery:
Unlike a lot o' t' rockets that I eventually review, t' Bullet went from t' build queue t' t' flight line fairly rapidly. Begad! T' date, me bucko, all three flights have taken place at t' same Quark section launch. Aye aye! T' first two flights were both flown on C11-5s. Ya scallywag! Even though this isn't a recommended motor, I felt that it still had enough punch t' get t' relatively light Bullet off t' pad. Begad! Ya scallywag! I felt right. Ya scallywag! T' first flight lifted off into a calm sky and appeared t' never waver from an arrow-straight path. Ejection occurred just as forward motion stopped and t' rocket landed 50' t' t' right o' t' launch pad. Blimey! T' second flight be in slightly windier conditions and was still an impressive flight even with t' windcocking. Aye aye! After another textbook ejection t' Bullet rode t' breeze back and looked t' be on a collision course with t' access road but avoided it at t' last moment.

T' third flight was on a D12-5 and took place in t' windiest part o' t' afternoon, hence t' rather bow-like flight path. Aye aye! Aye aye! Ejection again came just as forward motion stopped and this time thar was no close call with t' path as t' rocket recovered deep in t' weeds although within ten feet o' a mowed path. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Righteous.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
PROs: Simple construction and good looks. Avast! One color decal. Arrr! Availability o' t' original nose cones from Custom. When be t' last time you saw one o' these on t' pad?

CONs: Hasn't been produced in a long time.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5