It's really not much of a challenge of a kit.

First, get the fins in place. I'm not using this rocket for competition, and am kind of concerned about launching it too high at a school yard, so I left the fins with blocky square edges. I did round the leading edge, because it just seems sacrilegious to skip that step.

Also, I've recently decided to give epoxy a try instead of white glue. I did still tack the fins in place with a dab of white glue at the front and back of the fin. This I let dry in place with a fin alignment guide.

After the fins were secure, I removed the guide, and applied a layer of epoxy squished under the fin and as a fillet. I've used epoxy for the fins long ago, and was unhappy with the finger ridges left behind around the fillet. So this time, I feathered the epoxy up the fin and onto the tube for a clean joint.

I also used 15min epoxy, because I've had unhappy experiences with 5min epoxy in the past. It just sets up too fast for a patient build.

At this stage in the build I discovered a surprise. That yellow nose cone was leaving yellow all over my hands, and all over parts of the kit. In the photo you can see yellow smudges on the parachute. I have no idea what was going on with the nose cone - maybe it was trying to set an example for all of that plastic floating in the Pacific gyre, by spontaneously disintegrating. Nonetheless, I did find that I could wash the nose with soap and water, and the yellow stuff would disappear down the drain, leaving a yellow nose cone that didn't shed. Any ideas what that was about?

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