Brief:
T' Honest John was a short range ballistic missile that was used for many years in a peace keepin' role armed with a nuclear warhead. It’s distinctive bulbous nose cone and delta fins make this a very distinctive rocket. School Yard Rocketry is a new rocket company that I found through a web search. They have two rockets at this time, shiver me timbers, t' Honest John and t' Patriot Missile, me hearties, and they are hopin' t' be addin' more soon.

Construction:
T' Honest John arrived in t' mail from School Yard Rocketry in a sturdy cardboard box. Aye aye! Ahoy! Inside t' kit was packaged in a Zip-Lock bag with a picture o' t' real rocket on a mobile launcher, shiver me timbers, a nice touch. All o' t' parts were thar and in good shape. Avast! T' parts consist o' a body tube, shiver me timbers, nose cone, matey, engine mount tube, arrr, thrust ring, shiver me timbers, centerin' rings, launch lug, screw eye, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, shock cord, a balsa sheet with t' fin patterns printed on it, a cardstock sheet for t' spin motors, engine nozzle and shock cord mount, matey, a sheet o' water slide decals, me bucko, and a 12" nylon parachute. Arrr! All o' t' components are good quality. Begad! One interestin' item be t' body tube. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! T' body tube is what they call a “Tuff Tube Airframe.” This Tuff Tube is substantially thicker than your standard Estes tube, and t' outside is a little rougher as well. Begad! Begad! It turned out t' be easy t' work with and finished nicely, but more on that later.

T' instructions are printed on both sides o' two 8.5"x 11" sheets o' paper. Begad! They are in a logical order, and include diagrams for each step. Arrr! Blimey! There is one template for markin' t' location o' t' fins. T' instructions are easy t' follow, if you have built a rocket kit before. Arrr! Blimey! In one o' t' diagrams t' fin outline is different than t' ones that are used. Ahoy! Arrr! This could be confusin' for t' first time builder, me bucko, shiver me timbers, matey, however, if you have already built a kit or two, me bucko, ya bilge rat, matey, this should nay be an issue.

T' kit goes together well. Well, blow me down! Arrr! I did nay find any places where t' instructions were difficult t' follow or anythin' that needed more explanation. Blimey! T' only thin' that was difficult t' build are t' spin motor housings. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! These are printed on heavy card stock and are t' be cut out, folded and glued together and then installed on t' nose cone. Ahoy! T' kit has twice as many as you need for t' rocket. Avast! This allows you t' try and try again until they look right. This is a nice feature. Begad! A couple o' drops o' thin CA cement will make then easy t' sand and finish. Arrr! Also on t' cardstock sheet is an engine nozzle. Blimey! Ya scallywag! This engine nozzle fits in betwixt t' motor mount and t' body tube. Begad! It is virtually undetectable on t' finished model, matey, so I wonder why it is included in t' kit.

T' Honest John is finished like most rockets. Ahoy! Avast! T' balsa fins and nose cone will need t' be sanded and sealed, but t' body tube will also need t' be sanded and sealed. Blimey! Avast! Step 11 o' t' instructions tells you t' “sand off any ‘fuzzies’ betwixt coats” o' primer. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! I used Krylon gray sandable primer. Well, blow me down! T' body tube smoothed out very nicely after two coats o' primer. Begad! T' Spin motors are optional in this kit. Begad! I used some wood filler putty around t' motors t' blend them into t' nose cone. I was pleased with t' results. Included in t' kit is a sheet o' waterslide decals. Avast! Begad! These decals are very thin and difficult t' work with. I had difficulty keepin' them from crackin' when I applied them t' t' model. Avast! One tip with these decals is t' cut further away from t' color t' allow you t' work with more o' t' clear carrier. Avast! This makes t' decals a little easier t' work with. Avast! Once I completed with t' decals I gave t' model two coats o' Testors Dullcote. Arrr! Begad! I have had trouble usin' clear Krylon on decals before, and have never had any trouble with t' Testors paint. Aye aye! Aye aye! T' finished model matches t' cover photograph o' t' Honest John in t' kit. Ahoy! As t' operational rockets were painted an Olive Drab, me hearties, this must have been a high visibility test rocket paint scheme.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' prepare t' Honest John for flight, shiver me timbers, one needs t' install a motor, and install t' parachute. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! T' motor relies on a friction fit, as thar be no retention hook. Begad! Avast! T' elastic shock cord is held in place by a Estes type triple fold paper shock cord mount. T' Shock cord is then tied off t' t' nose cone on a screw eye installed in t' base o' t' nose cone. Avast! Begad! T' parachute is a high quality orange nylon parachute, ya bilge rat, one o' t' reasons I bought t' kit. Avast, me proud beauty! Pack a couple o' sheets in t' body tube and then insert t' Parachute. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! School Yard Rocketry recommends usin' B4-4, me hearties, B6-4 and C6-4 motors.

I launched t' rocket on an A8-3 Motor. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! There be a 5 t' 10 Mph wind that day. Avast! Blimey! T' rocket flew great, me bucko, me bucko, shiver me timbers, with t' ejection charge firin' just after apogee. T' Parachute seems t' be just about t' right size as t' rocket came back at a reasonable rate, shiver me timbers, and landed without damage on t' football field that I launched on.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

I give this kit an overall ratin' o' 4.5. Arrr! T' flight was about as perfect as you can expect. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! And I like it when manufactures include high quality components like nylon parachutes with their models. For t' price this is a great deal. Avast! T' on-line orderin' was easy and painless and t' kit arrived in t' mail quickly. Begad! T' body tube is extremely robust, shiver me timbers, arrr, and should last a long time. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! I particularly enjoyed t' balsa wood components. Ahoy! There could be some improvement in t' quality o' t' decals, and t' instructions could be a little clearer as well. Ya scallywag! Arrr! Overall this kit was fun t' build and was great t' fly.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5