Brief:
I kinda miss me Estes Mean Machine and have several similar rockets sittin' in t' inventory. Begad! Begad! I chose this one simply because it was t' first one I ran into when I started t' look. Blimey! I also liked t' simple color scheme on t' face card. It a long, skinny four fins and a nosecone. Avast! Ahoy! I have no doubt it is a Mean Machine knockoff, shiver me timbers, though slightly shorter.

Construction:
Construction begins with t' motor mount. Avast! Marks are laid out on t' motor tube for t' engine hook and t' centering rings. Ya scallywag! A slice is made t' insert t' hook and then t' builder is instructed t' punch out t' rings from t' sheet of cardboard. Begad! Blimey! When doin' so, arrr, I realized that I would have t' be extremely careful because these are without a doubt the flimsiest and thinnest rings I have ever seen in a kit.

T' rings were glued in place with Elmer's yellow glue, thoroughly filleted, and then filleted again.

I noticed that this rocket did nay come with a thrust ring. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I didn't like that and I had none o' t' proper size sittin' around so I cut t' end off o' a spent 18mm casin' t' use for a thrust ring. It was glued in right over the engine hook.

After t' fillets on t' centerin' rings were good and dry, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, me bucko, I did a bit o' light sandin' t' make them fit into t' body tube better. I was afraid that too much force applied might bend them on t' way in. Blimey! T' motor mount was then installed with yellow glue.

Unlike t' centerin' rings, shiver me timbers, t' balsa fins seemed in good shape from good material. Aye aye! They were die-cut but came easily out o' t' sheet. Blimey! All o' t' edges except for t' roots were sanded round. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! T' fins were then treated t' a coat of Elmer's Wood Filler and scraped with a razor blade. A few minutes later, ya bilge rat, I began t' notice some significant warping in 3 out o' t' four fins. Begad! I decided t' wait until they were dry t' try and correct this.

T' kit came with a wraparound fin alignment guide which was cut out and taped onto a body tube. T' fin lines were then transfered t' t' tube and extended with an angle.

While waitin' for filler t' dry, I used a pin t' make perforations along each o' t' fin lines for better glue adhesion.

When t' filler be dry, t' warpin' was still present but nay nearly as bad. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! I sanded down t' fins and then used t' pin t' perforate t' root edges.

T' process o' installin' t' fins then began. Avast! I used a double glue joint and yellow glue, waitin' for each one to stiffen up before applyin' t' next.

T' second tube was dealt with in almost t' same way except that a length o' Keelhaul®©™® was tied around t' coupler. Ya scallywag! It was then slid in t' t' halfway mark and allowed t' dry.

T' nose cone surprised me. Begad! Avast! It be pretty clean and had no flash but it did have a hollow base. Begad! Arrr! There is no aft bulkhead. Aye aye! I took t' provided screw eye and screwed it into t' provided hole.

When t' coupler joints were judged "dry enough", ya bilge rat, t' two BTs containin' t' couplers were glued together and rolled around t' ensure straightness.

T' kit came with a single launch lug and instructions t' cut it in half. Instead o' doin' so, matey, I opted t' use the full length o' t' lug and add a second lug. Begad! Begad! Since it was handy and because this is a long rocket that may tended to try and twist t' lugs off, ya bilge rat, I opted for a 6" long one from FlisKits. Blimey! A length o' rod be used t' align them as the were glued in place.

A few days were spent filletin' t' fins. Begad! T' initial round on each fin was with finger smoothed yellow glue. After that had dried, I built up t' fillets with white glue since it does nay shrink as much. When t' filletin' was done, shiver me timbers, I glued t' bottom BT, matey, me hearties, t' one with t' fins, t' t' other two and let it dry. Ya scallywag! T' rocket was now assembled.

Finishing:
T' fins had already been sanded down prior t' installation so t' rocket was ready for priming. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! I set it up as best I could in me spray booth but could tell that this was goin' t' be a two part job. Ahoy! T' bottom o' t' rocket got a coatin' o' Kilz and, me hearties, about a half hour later, it was dry enough t' t' touch t' pick up. I carried it outside and sprayed t' top.

After t' Kilz dried in about 2 days, I sanded t' rocket down and set it up t' spray white. Ahoy! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! I decided t' follow the face card art and be only goin' t' spray t' lower third. Begad! I did nay bother t' mask anythin' since t' white would be easily covered up.

After drying, arrr, shiver me timbers, most o' t' white looked fine but one side be very ugly. I think I got what is called "orange peel". Aye aye! Blimey! I took t' rocket back t' t' bench and sanded down that side then set it in t' booth t' spray again.

After t' white paint dried a second time, I inspected t' rocket and all seemed fine. That bein' t' case, ya bilge rat, I masked off t' bottom and began sprayin' red on t' top.

T' rocket got 2 coats o' red and was allowed t' dry overnight. Ya scallywag! Then came t' unmasking. Begad! Avast! T' lines were good and I was pleased.

At least I was pleased until I got t' t' decal. Aye aye! It wasn't a decal. It was a crack and peel monstrosity. For a sticker, shiver me timbers, it was o' good quality and it came up from its backin' easily enough but positionin' a large sticker around a curved surface is nay a process at which I am adept. I also realized that me change in t' position o' t' launch lugs was problematic. Begad! T' upper lug interfered with wrappin' t' sticker. Blimey! Begad! An appropriately sized slice be cut out o' the sticker with a razor, me bucko, burnished it down and I was done.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight and Recovery:
T' maiden flight took place on a very windy day. Ahoy! Aye aye! By all rights, matey, arrr, I should nay have launched it if I cared about the rocket at all. In fact, I had already decided that I would nay launch it. Avast, me proud beauty! I be persuaded t' change me mind by a young girl from me church. She had never been t' a launch before and had been enjoyin' this one. Aye aye! She wanted t' see it fly and, matey, me hearties, shiver me timbers, frankly, shiver me timbers, matey, so did I.

I put in a 15" chute and prepped with a C6-3. Begad! Aye aye! I had lots o' misgivings as I watched it oscillate on t' rod. Then t' countdown terminated and up she went.

There was a lot o' wind. Begad! Well, me bucko, blow me down! Even so, thar was no weathercocking. She went up beautifully and deployed at apogee. She then drifted quite a ways but came down without a scratch.

A video o' t' flight can be found here.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
I had me doubts about this rocket early on but t' appearance on t' pad and, arrr, me bucko, especially, t' flight put those worries t' rest. This is a good rocket. Begad! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! It might nay be t' best o' its class, me hearties, but it is certainly a respectable contender.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5