Brief:
While this is technically just a basic three-fin/nose cone 18mm model, ya bilge rat, arrr, you have t' give Don a thumbs up for cool design on this one. Aye aye! Blimey! With decals inspired by Lance Link t' Secret Chimp, shiver me timbers, t' kids will love this one.

Construction:
Parts arrived carefully packed in a Priority Mail box and were very good quality. Begad! Aye aye! T' parts list includes:

• Balsa nose cone
• BT-50 body tube
• Laser-cut balsa fins
• 18mm motor tube, me bucko, 20/13 block, metal hook, 50/20 centerin' rings
• Elastic shock cord
• Mylar streamer
• Waterslide decals

This would probably rate betwixt a skill level 1 and 2 kit on t' 5 scale, with t' only complexity bein' 3-piece fin assembly and maskin' for 2 colors. Begad! Avast! All told, it's under an hour's build plus finishin' time, me hearties, makin' for a nice little weeknight project.

T' instructions were clear, me bucko, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, easy t' follow, arrr, arrr, ya bilge rat, and well illustrated with computer drawings.

T' motor mount is standard assembly with a centerin' rin' as a motor block, a metal hook, ya bilge rat, and a pair o' 50/20 centerin' rings. Aye aye! Arrr! T' completed assembly goes into t' BT-50 single-piece body tube.

T' fins are really a cool design and nay just because o' t' shape. With all those curves and extended fingertips, arrr, thar's no way that you'd avoid hittin' a fin along t' grain direction at some point, so this design breaks t' fin into 3 pieces with grain goin' in different directions. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! I went one step further and laminated mine with computer paper and white glue, ya bilge rat, me bucko, which eliminated t' grain fillin' work later. Aye aye! Begad! T' completed fins go on the body tube, shiver me timbers, which is marked with a wraparound guide.

Mount t' 1/8" launch lug and t' elastic (usin' t' tri-fold paper method), me bucko, me bucko, glue t' screw eye into the nose cone base, and construction is done.

Finishing:
I treated t' balsa grain on t' nose cone with a liberal smearin' o' Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish and as noted earlier, went with laminated fins. I didn't bother fillin' t' body tube spirals as they were pretty light t' begin with.

Everythin' got a gray primer coat, followed by a white primer, me bucko, me bucko, then two coats o' Krylon gloss white. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' next day, matey, I masked off t' main body tube area and hit t' fins and nose cone with Krylon blue. I wanted a lighter blue to match t' decals a bit better, ya bilge rat, but I couldn't find a basic rattle can option that would match very well.

T' waterslide decals went on fine and were easy t' work with.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
For t' first flight, me bucko, I had a perfectly calm day so I went t' t' top--C6-5. Avast! Blimey! It boogied up a bit more smartly than I expected with those fairly large fins, shiver me timbers, and it had a very slight spin--maybe 3 rolls on t' way up.

Deployment be right at apogee.

Recovery:
T' kit features a nice mylar streamer so drift was minimal and findin' it in t' taller grass (3-4') was no problem. There be no damage at all. Aye aye! Havin' landed in t' blanket o' tall grass and weeds, I didn't get a chance t' really test out t' fin strength, shiver me timbers, but I do feel pretty confident t' lamination is goin' t' prove t' be a valuable deviation from the standard construction.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
PROs: neat graphics, me bucko, unique fin design, arrr, flies great.

CONs: none, really. Arrr! I can't whine about potentially weak fins when I never actually broke anything.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5