Picture courtesy of PML

Brief:
The Bull Puppy 2.1 is a single stage, Quantum tube rocket with piston ejection.

Construction:
Kit comes with a pre-slotted main airframe, a pre-slotted boat tail and a plastic nosecone. It has 4 fiberglass canard fins, and 4 fiberglass main fins. The piston ejection kit comes with a piston body, piston strap, slotted bulk plate and metal "D" ring. Other items include a nylon chute, 29mm motor mount tube, notched centering ring, nylon shock cord, 1/4 inch launch lug, alignment ring, decal sheet and instruction sheet.

The instructions are very easy to follow with lots of illustrations. I used the instructions assembly order, and everything went smoothly. There isn't any templates for the fins, but one can be made easily. Before I epoxied the canard fins to the main body tube, I used a door frame to make an alignment mark at the bottom of the tube for when I installed the boat tail, which houses the main fins. The fins need to be sanded with 220 grit sandpaper to scuff them for painting and to round the edges. Minor sanding had to done to the centering ring and nose cone, but everything else fit perfect, including the piston. I used Ace Hardware's 5 minute epoxy first to adhere parts, and then used the 90 minute for additional strength and fillets.

Finishing:
As with any Quantum tube rocket, the tubes have to be sanded lightly with 320-400 sandpaper. I used an electric pad sander on the nose cone to remove the lines. I held the sander upside down between my knees, and held the nosecone lightly by both ends on the sanding pad. It spins slowly and gives a nice finish. Painting was done by using and Ace Hardware brand of gray primer, and Rustoleum gloss white. The rocket has a number of decals. The instructions easily show the placement. When completed this rocket is VERY sturdy and looks impressive.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
The Bull Puppy 2.1 will fly on anything from an F-20 to an H-70. This small rocket can be used for a Level 1 Cert ! I flew it on an G-80-7. Since it uses a piston ejection system, no wadding is needed. How easy can it get? Just install the piston and straps, folded chute and install the nosecone. Done. On the G-80 I wrapped the rear of the motor with 3/4 inch masking tape to build it up about 3/16", and then put vertical tape strips on the motor until it fit snug in the motor tube. The launch was absolutely straight and fast. It went about as high as a person with hawk eyes can see. Ejection was at apogee. The piston ejection system worked perfect.

Recovery:
The piston strap and shock cords are standard PML nylon. Assembly is simple. The rocket comes with an 18 inch nylon chute, and it drops a little faster than you may want, but the rocket is very durable and you don't have to chase it down too far. No damage was done to the rocket.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
For someone new to HPR, or even the experienced modeler, this is a great rocket. It's small, sturdy, doesn't take a lot of talent, material or time to build, and just looks great. I can't think of any cons.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5