Brief

The Estes Bullpup 12D is a sport-scale model of a 30-some year old air-launched guided missile. The real thing came in several varieties that outwardly appear different; the 12D is just one of those types.  The real thing was guided by a "pilot" who remotely steered this missile onto the target. This particular model of the 12D is a relatively small "Alpha" sized rocket, just over a foot in length but a few ounces more in weight and wider in diameter.  I would have to say while this Estes implementation of the kit is not bad, it is lacking in several significant ways for me so I can only give it a moderate endorsement, unless it would have proved to fly particularly well.

It is heavy, and although it flew OK, it did not achieve very significant altitudes.  Granted, I did add a small payload section, but that added only 2 inches to it's length and 13.4 grams of weight, or just under 17% weight.  I don't dismiss the results of my flight tests because of the payload addition; I have done this modification to all my rockets that didn't have an included payload section, and so I think it is fair to compare the performance of this kit with the many other kits I have built. I suppose the performance loss was partly because of the 13 grams of clay noseweight from the kit, which of course is needed to keep the length to scale and remain stable, and partly due to the weight of the plastic tailcone.  As can be expected, there is a performance penalty for being a scale model. To be fair, perhaps I didn't need to add the clay since I added the equivalent amount of weight just below the nose. However, I would rather have it over-stable than have it wreck on its maiden flight.  Regardless, my reservations with this kit is not with the flight performance so much, and not with the quality of the parts, but in the choice of parts used in this particular design.