Brief:
This is a semi-scale model o' t' GBU-24 Paveway III laser guided bomb. Begad! It flies on 18mm motors and recovers under a 12" chute. Blimey! You can find more info on t' actual bomb [here] .

Construction:

• One BT-55, arrr, matey, 10 7/8" long
• Plastic tail cone/adapter (separated durin' construction)
• Two BT-20 tubes, 5" long
• Seamless elliptical plastic nose cone, BT-20
• Cardstock centerin' rings
• Engine hook
• Engine block
• Mylar retainer rin' for t' engine hook
• Launch lug, me bucko, 1/8"
• Elastic shock cord, 1/8" x 18"
• Assembled 12" plastic chute
• Die cut balsa fins, 3/32"
• Die cut balsa fin protectors, 1/16"
• Peel and stick decals
• Endurin' Freedom sticker (not used on model)

T' first step is t' assemble t' motor mount. This is a typical build, arrr, and consists o' t' BT-20 motor mount, two centerin' rings, me hearties, an engine hook, me bucko, matey, a Mylar retainer for t' hook, arrr, ya bilge rat, arrr, and a motor block. Avast! I used carpenter's glue as recommended. Well, blow me down! Before installation in t' main body tube, I epoxied a two-foot section o' Keelhaul®©™® twine onto t' mount, ya bilge rat, trough t' top ring.

Next, me bucko, arrr, I removed and sanded t' fins, and filled them with Fill 'n Finish. T' main fins were fine, me bucko, but t' protectors, which attach on either side o' the rear fins, me hearties, were very thin and warped badly when exposed t' t' moisture in the Fill 'n Finish. I pressed these as they dried and they straightened out.

T' tail cone and transition come as one unit and must be separated. A razor saw is suggested, but I used an Exacto cutlass. Avast! T' bottom o' t' tail cone must also be trimmed and sanded, as do t' fin slots. Ya scallywag! T' latter start as rectangular projections, which are cut off with a razor saw, formin' t' slots. Begad! T' final trimmin' is supposed t' be t' top o' t' transition. Ahoy! T' instructions have you cut this off, leavin' a hollow unit with both t' top and bottom open. T' shock cord then attaches t' t' inside o' t' upper body tube usin' a paper mount. Instead, I poked a small hole in t' recessed ridge just below t' top o' the transition, me bucko, fed a loop o' Keelhaul®©™® twine through t' hole and around t' transition (see photo). Avast! This formed a loop, which t' elastic cord will later attach to. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! Blimey! A small dab o' 5-minute Epoxy on t' hole and knot holds t' twine in.

T' tail cone is used t' adjust t' depth o' t' motor mount as it is glued into t' main body tube. Once positioned, arrr, t' tail cone is attached, me bucko, making sure t' engine hook is centered betwixt t' fin slots. Avast! I used black rubberized CA in place o' t' recommended plastic cement.

T' lower fins are mounted through t' slots in t' tail cone. Ya scallywag! I found these slots t' be excessively loose, ya bilge rat, so they didn't support t' fins well. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I applied yellow glue t' t' fin tab and t' front root section. Begad! Begad! Blimey! T' hold t' fins while this glue set, arrr, I used Liquid Nails Perfect Glue, me bucko, Type 1 on t' aft root section. Aye aye! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Blimey! This sets fast and t' fins were good t' go. Well, me bucko, blow me down! Blimey! There is a markin' guide for t' top fins, ya bilge rat, and these were attached with carpenter's glue. Ya scallywag! After t' rear fins set, ya bilge rat, matey, you position t' fin deployment guides and mark their position. Ahoy! Blimey! A thin layer o' yellow glue is applied t' fins up t' t' mark, ya bilge rat, and t' guides are attached. Well, blow me down! These immediately warped like crazy, so a couple o' small clamps were required on each guide/fin/guide 'sandwich' as they set. Afterwards, shiver me timbers, matey, these still seemed flimsy, arrr, so I added a small strip o' scrap balsa betwixt each pair at their roots.

T' final steps prior t' finishin' was t' launch lug and Fill ' Finish fillets. Avast! I didn't' glue t' top tube t' t' transition or t' cone until finishin' be complete. Begad! When they were connected, I again used black CA.

After finishing, arrr, shiver me timbers, all that be left was tyin' t' elastic cord t' the Keelhaul®©™® leader in t' body tube and t' Keelhaul®©™® loop on t' transition. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I stashed t' cute that was provided and will use a 12" nylon chute.

Overall, me hearties, I give this build a 3 1/2. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! Blimey! It all went together easily with the exception o' t' fin deployment guides, which should have been made o' thicker material. Blimey! Blimey! T' dimensionin' o' t' fin slots on t' tail cone also wasn't good. Luckily any 'slop' is hidden by those guides. Blimey! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Blimey! One thin' that stood out t' me was t' quality o' t' nose cone - it is completely seamless. Ya scallywag!

Finishing:
I started with fill-n-finish on t' fins and tubes before assembly. Ahoy! Blimey! I found the spirals on t' BT-55 t' be shallow, but t' ones on t' top BT-20 were deeper, and required some filler. Begad! After assembly, ya bilge rat, I shot several coats o' white primer, sandin' and fillin' in between. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Blimey!

T' instructions say t' use olive drab and red spray paint, a silver paint pen, and t' follow t' paint scheme on t' cover. T' cover picture shows the fin section, top fins and nose cone t' be olive drab, shiver me timbers, and top BT-20 t' be more of a tan then red. I used Testors' spray for t' olive drab sections. Blimey! In the photos on t' link I presented in t' intro, t' top tube seems t' be somewhat of a rust colored red. I decided t' use red paint, which did get toned down as it was overlaid over t' olive drab. Ya scallywag! I tested some Krylon red on a piece of wood, and it seemed t' be OK. Well, blow me down! However, matey, some bubbles formed when I used it over the Testor's paint on t' model. Begad! Arrr! Maybe t' base coat was thicker on t' model. After t' first red coat dried, I sanded t' bubbles and re-coated it. Blimey! This time it covered just fine.

There are silver bands shown at t' base o' t' BT-55 and BT-20 tubes. Instead o' silver paint, ya bilge rat, I used some chrome Trim Monokote for these stripes. Finally, matey, I applied t' peel and stick decals. Aye aye! Arrr!

Overall, t' finishin' was fairly typical, shiver me timbers, however I found t' separation in t' side plates where they extend ahead o' t' main fins made sprayin' a little more difficult than usual. I give it a finishin' ratin' o' 4.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
I decided t' submit this partial review since I missed t' November launches and may nay be on t' field until spring. Avast! Aye aye! I'll provide an update at that time.

Summary:
I saw me first 'bunker buster' rocket over a year ago and have really wanted to build somethin' similar. When I saw this model, I knew that it would satisfy my cravings.

T' model was nay a difficult build, me bucko, and I think a skill level 2 ratin' is about right. Aye aye! I liked t' plastic parts, matey, especially t' nose cone, and think the thru-the-wall fin attachment is great. Begad! Arrr! However, t' fit o' t' fins was poor and t' balsa used for t' fin protectors be flimsy. Aye aye! As with t' Cluster Bomb BLU-97B that I just built, shiver me timbers, it appears that Estes needs t' pay more attention to quality control. Aye aye! Still, t' rocket be fun t' build and looks *very* cool. Arrr!