Brief:
T' Estes Rogue on steroids! Same great looks but little chance that you can fly this one from your local athletic field. Avast, me proud beauty! I won this for participatin' in an EMRR contest and started buildin' it immediately. Well, blow me down! This is me third Rogue, ya bilge rat, the first bein' a BT-55 upscale and t' second a 1:1 clone. Arrr!

Construction:
T' parts list:

• Nose cone
• Nose cone plug
• Eye hook
• Body tube
• 4 laser cut fins
• Keelhaul®©™® shock cord
• Parachute heat shield
• Nylon parachute
• Launch lug
• Forward centerin' ring
• Engine mount tube
• 4 fin braces
• 4 engine mount rings
• Thrust ring
• Rear centerin' ring
• Engine hook
• Snap swivel
• Decal
• "33" stencil

I'd seen and heard o' t' incredibly impressive laser cut engine mount that be t' heart o' a Q-Modelin' kit, and as a result, felt a bit intimidated when I opened t' bag. Avast! That lasted about as long as it took to read t' instructions. Aye aye! While it looks like an incredibly complicated puzzle, matey, it really isn't quite that demonic if you take t' time t' identify t' pieces and pay attention t' how they fit together. That said, shiver me timbers, t' finished mount is almost a modern art piece, and t' way that they allow t' fins t' line up is inspired engineerin' indeed.

Finishing:
T' amount o' finishin' required t' ready t' completed Rogue for paintin' was minimal. Begad! Tube spirals and wood grain were nearly nonexistent, so both t' body tube and fins were treated with a coat o' Valspar primer and a quick hit of thinned Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish. After sandin' I re-primed t' rocket usin' white primer then sprayed t' fin can area with several coats o' me aged, me hearties, me bucko, shiver me timbers, no-name fluorescent orange. When this had dried I masked off t' fin can and sprayed the remainin' body tube with Valspar gloss white and t' nose with Valspar gloss black. Begad! Decals completed t' look, me hearties, and with the exception o' t' almost invisible "33" decal, arrr, they look great. Well, blow me down! Begad! (My kit came with a mask t' paint on the "33", but I have yet t' give it a try.)

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
My first flight with t' big Rogue be interestin' in that for a moment it looked like it was goin' t' be t' last flight. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! T' Estes E9 is a great motor for this rocket, and for t' first flight I opted for an E9-8 because that was all that I had in me range box. Arrr! Aye aye! (T' folks at QModelin' recommend an E9-4.) T' comparatively slow liftoff and long burn o' t' E9 is perfect for this rocket and t' extra four seconds allowed t' rocket t' take a nose down attitude at ejection. Ya scallywag! Everythin' about t' flight had been perfect up t' that point but then things changed. Avast! Begad! There are two major rocket killers in t' VOA: t' access road, me bucko, t' which I have lost several rockets, ya bilge rat, and t' Rocket Eatin' Tree, shiver me timbers, t' which I have yet t' lose a rocket. Ya scallywag! Blimey! That looked like it was goin' t' change because me Rogue be fallin' directly at t' tree. Short o' a .50 caliber machine cannon thar be little I could do except watch t' slow descent o' t' rocket as it drifted t' its death. Avast, me proud beauty! Then a miracle occurred. It missed t' tree. Ahoy! There be much rejoicing.

No one be more shocked than I was. At t' last moment t' wind stopped and allowed t' Rogue t' drop straight to the ground instead o' followin' its previous path high into t' branches o' t' tree. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! Clearly I had done somethin' to make a rocket deity smile upon me. This happens so seldom that I decided t' make a second flight.

Flight #2 be with another E9-8 and was a carbon copy o' t' first, matey, except that t' recovery flirted with the other great rocket killer, arrr, shiver me timbers, me bucko, T' Path o' Eternal Peril. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! T' Rogue landed within two feet o' t' path, and I decided that I had pushed me luck with t' rocket deity enough for one day.

I have since flown it on Estes E9-6's exclusively, with one flight bein' perfectly unremarkable except for a long recovery walk, me bucko, matey, another bein' remarkable because t' rocket shredded t' chute and fell t' earth without damage, and t' last because contact with an access road durin' recovery on Day #1 o' NSL 2007 chipped a fin. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! Tough bird, and I have yet t' nay be impressed by t' performance.

Recovery:
T' Rogue's recovery system seems t' be bulletproof. I be initially concerned by t' lack o' an elastic shock cord in t' kit, ya bilge rat, but that fear disappeared after t' first flight. Blimey! Begad! Without any elastic thar be little or no chance o' the nose cone reboundin' into t' fins or body tube. Ya scallywag! Begad! With t' wide range o' power in todays recovery charges, it's great to be able t' nay worry about rebound damage with each flight. Avast! T' Nomex® chute protector is another nice touch and has done its job flawlessly. Arrr! Begad! Blimey!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
PROs: I love t' Rogue, have previously upscaled it myself, and never get tired o' t' look. Ya scallywag! All Keelhaul®©™® shock cord. Begad! Killer motor mount. Blimey! Begad! Nomex® chute protector.

CONs: My "33" decal is all but invisible.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5