Brief:
This is a Big Daddy-style rocket. It has a short, fat, mean look with tubes on the end of the fins. I love the tubes. Parachute is plastic with Kevlar® shroud lines. Laser cut tubes and fins that made this a very easy kit to build

Construction:
Parts list:

• 1 Plastic nose cone BT-80 Ogive
• 1 24mm motor mount tubing (BT-50)
• 1 BT-80 (the instructions say BT-60 so I'll get a message to Layne about this)
• 3 1" BT-80 tube fins
• 60 inches of Kevlar® shock cord
• 1 Parachute
• 1 Nose ballast, a block of clay
• 3 Laser cut 1/8" balsa Fins
• 1 1/4" launch lug
• Wraparound fin allignment guide
• 2 centering rings, BT-80 to BT-50

PROs: Kit instruction good and easy to follow. The pictures in the instructions were good but must be read a couple of times. The assembly order was to the T. Don't forget to fill those spirals. I used the Elmer's white wood filler. I used 5-minute epoxy instead of wood glue. The only extra things I needed were some lead fishing weights, the 1/4 split shot type (I picked them up at Wal-Mart). Don't forget to CA the Fins. I got the kit from Pem Tech.

Finishing:
I started with primer, sanded it smooth as silk, and let it dry for a complete day. Went to Wal-Mart, got me some emerald green, gold, black, and yellow paint. I started with the gold. [Hint: use the gold last as it absorbs the gloss out of the other paints.] I finished with several coats of clear. Came out beautiful.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight:
C11, D12, E9, E15, and E18 are the recommended motors. I used a D12-5 for the first flight. The chute's shroud lines got ripped out but all was well. I added nose weight, put a trash bag chute in, and put it up on another D12-5. That was a much straighter flight. Next, I used E9-6s twice. They were both beautiful straight, glorious flights. Then I put together a F24-4 reload, which was a tremendous flight.

Recovery:
The shock cord was tied to the MMT that I epoxied in place. Materials are very good. It goes together easily and is a good kit to build. The recovery is graceful even though I flew in 5 to 10 mph winds. The only damage that I had was a small piece of one of the fins was broken next to the tube fins. One minute epoxy took care of it though.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
This rocket is a hit in my book. It flies great. The main pro is the look it is a good looking rocket, but it needs nose weight.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5