Brief:
Last year, arrr, I received samples o' t' new Hartle Engineerin' solid resin nose cones from JonRocket. Begad! I've been remiss in submittin' a review. Thanks, matey, and me apologies John!. Arrr! Arrr! Hartle offers three styles o' BT-5 cones and one BT-20 cone. Begad! You can see all o' them on JonRocket's nose cone page. Aye aye! This review will describe t' cones and t' rocket I built from t' longer BT-5 cone, me bucko, me bucko, t' Mini-Toobah. Well, blow me down! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! T' name is a homage t' Dave Weber's Toober, which has logged over 200 high power flights.

Construction:
T' parts list:

• Hartle NC-5B cone
• BT-5, me bucko, 6.25"
• Estes 1/8" launch lug
• Spent mini-motor case (could use a real motor block)
• Thin Keelhaul®©™®, ~ 12"
• Thin elastic, ~ 4"

T' Hartle cones are solid cast and their outer surface is perfect. Ahoy! T' cone-to-shoulder transition was clean on the longer cone but was rough on t' shorter one. Avast! Aye aye! T' later was easily cleaned up with a sharp hobby cutlass. Well, blow me down! The attachment point appears t' be a paper clip...works as good as anything. I found them t' be a loose fit in t' Estes BT-5, me bucko, which is easily fixed with a little tape.

T' cones are, shiver me timbers, as expected, arrr, heavier than t' typical hollow plastic or balsa. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! However, unless you're buildin' a MicroMaxx model, matey, t' added weight shouldn't be an issue. Avast! I had kicked around buildin' a micro but decided t' go for a 13mm design instead. Begad! T' shorter cone would make a great micro-Fat Boy or Big Bertha but I opted for a downscale o' my El Tubo Loco.

This be a trivial build. Well, blow me down! From BT-5 stock, shiver me timbers, I cut one 2.5" body section and six 5/8" tube fins. Arrr! These were glued together in pairs and then t' t' body tube. Ya scallywag! I used Aleene's Tacky glue throughout. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! A 5/8" long lug is mounted in one o' t' fins. Well, blow me down! I cut a motor block from a spent casing. This was notched and t' Keelhaul®©™® was tied around it. Aye aye! There is nay much room in t' body minus t' motor and t' cone's shoulder. Avast, me proud beauty! It was all I could do to pack t' shock harness.

T' make sure it is stable, I weighed t' components and made a RockSim model. Ahoy! Begad! T' cone alone is 0.24 oz and the entire rocket is 0.34 oz. Begad! It is quite stable.

Finishing:
I first scuffed t' cone with fine sandpaper and shot a coat o' PlastiCoat primer. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I anticipated this will be hard to find in t' grass, shiver me timbers, me hearties, so I went for a bright finish usin' Rustoleum day-glo orange. Ahoy! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Blimey! I added two vinyl strips t' snazz it up a bit.

Flight:
There wasn't much prep as it uses tumble recovery. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! It flew nicely on an A3-4 and I could even see it recover!

Summary:
T' Hartle Engineerin' cones are nice t' work with. Ya scallywag! In this case, ya bilge rat, their solid construction and weight helped with stability.

I like t' design o' this little rocket but, bein' small, it could easily disappear into rocket eatin' grass, shrubbery, matey, or trees.