According to the face card, this model rocket can reach altitudes up to 850 feet (260m). This really isn't all that high for a two-stage rocket, which makes this a great rocket for staging on smaller fields, with good odds of recovering all parts. The instructions for this Estes kit are clear and easy to follow. Each step shows the parts required which makes construction even easier. As this is a level 3 kit, be sure to read the instructions carefully and dry fit all parts before starting to build this flying model rocket. With the extra booster tubes, large fins and molded nose cone, this kit has a unique look. The decals for this flying model rocket kit look pretty cool. This would have been a great rocket, hadn't it been for my paint mishap. More details on that later this review...

Parts List

The model rocket kit comes complete with all parts required to build both the booster and sustainer stages.

- plastic nose cone (with canopy)
- 2 BT-60 body tubes (booster and sustainer) with tube coupler
- 2 tube marking guides
- 2 BT-50 tubes with nose cones, adapter rings and cardboard covers
- 2 BT-5 tubes with 4 nose cones
- 2 sheets of die-cut balsa fins
- 2 engine mount tubes with 4 centering rings
- 2 thrust rings
- shock cord and shock cord mount
- pre-assembled 12" parachute
- clay weight (8-9 grams)
- self-adhesive decal sheet
- instruction sheets

Hobby supplies needed for building include a hobby knife, pencil, ruler, glue, plastic cement and scissors.

Construction

Start by cutting the fins out of the balsa sheets with a hobby knife. For some reason, the sheets were of a slightly different grade balsa and while one was clearly laser-cut, the other was not. The instructions say to sand the edges smooth. Before doing so, I filled all the fins with wood filler.

Cut out both tube marking guides and mark booster and sustainer tubes for fin and tube placement.

The next step is building the booster stage engine mount. Pay close attention here as the thrust ring is installed in the aft end of the motor tube. No engine hooks are used, installing the thrust ring this way will prevent the rocket engine from sliding out of the rocket when on the launch pad. Assembling the booster tubes is very easy. The nose cones are glued into one end and adapter/thrust rings into the other. The cardboard cover rings go over the adapter rings. The fin pod tubes are just as easy to assembly. Simply glue a nose cone in each end.

Caution : Before attaching any fins, make sure you have the right ones for the right stage. The top set of those shown in the image above (booster parts) are actually sustainer fins. This didn't become obvious until it was too late to take another picture.

At this point, the fins and booster tubes are glued to the booster's body tube. The fin pods are then glued to the end of the larger fins. The completes the model rocket's booster stage assembly. The photo on the right shows the model rocket's completed booster stage. For the sustainer stage, a motor mount assembly is constructed and glued into the airframe tube. Fins and launch lugs are attached to complete the booster stage. At this time, the clay weight, provided with the model kit, is installed in the nose cone.

Usually, this is when you'd install the shock cord mount. I replaced it with a length of Kevlar, attached to the booster stage motor mount. Attach the parachute to the nose cone to complete the Estes Renegade.

Finishing

After priming and sanding the Renegade, the booster pods were painted silver. The rocket was left to dry in the garage for several weeks, as I got a bit distracted. When it came time to paint on the black paint, disaster struck. All of a sudden, the paint started to bubble. While I'm still not 100% sure what caused this, my best guess at this time is the high humidity in August in Florida. I hadn't used Testors paint in a while, and this is the first time using it summer-time. This was the first time I'd seen paint go bad like this.

I still haven't decided if I want to sand off all the paint and try again or just fly it as-is.

Measurements

The Estes Renegade is 26.6" long with a 1.6" diameter. The weight is listed on the face card as 4.3 oz.

Flight Data

The Renegade can be flown as a single stage for two-stage flying model rocket. For single stage flights, Estes recommends the A8-3, B4-4, B6-4 and C6-5 rocket motors. For two-stage configuration, use a B6-0 or C6-0 in the booster stage and a A8-5, B6-4, B6-6, C6-5 or C6-7 in the sustainer.