Brief:
This upscale o' an old Estes kit is one o' Semroc's new Semroc Large-Scale (SLS) line. Ya scallywag! Blimey! It flies on 24mm and 29mm motors in t' C t' F range. Begad! Ahoy! T' kit features thick walled body tubes, me hearties, ya bilge rat, laser cut basswood fins, nylon chutes, a laser slotted tube, and a Keelhaul®©™ recovery leader.

Construction:
T' kit from BRS Hobbies came nicely packed with a colorful insert, me bucko, which also holds the instructions. Ya scallywag! Arrr! As you can see in t' photos, shiver me timbers, me hearties, individual parts such as t' motor mount, arrr, chute, fins, and miscellaneous small parts are all individually packaged. Ahoy! No more droppin' some small item followed by t' associated searching. Ahoy! T' parts themselves are o' outstandin' quality. Well, blow me down! T' fins are flat and identical, me hearties, t' body tubes are very thick, shiver me timbers, t' balsa nose cone is smooth and hard. Blimey! Aye aye! T' instructions are short but clear and include plenty o' diagrams. There is even a brief history o' Estes and o' t' kit itself. Ahoy! If you should be unhappy with t' kit, no problemo as Semroc has a 100% satisfaction guarantee!

So t' parts include:

• one 1.34" diameter body tube, ya bilge rat, me bucko, 12.25" long
• one 29mm motor tube
• one balsa nose cone, me bucko, 4.75" long (exposed)
• three laser cut, matey, basswood, matey, shiver me timbers, through t' wall fins
• one 3/16" lug
• one thrust ring
• one screw eye
• one elastic cord
• one Keelhaul®©™® thread
• one 18" nylon chute
• one 24mm engine mount adapter kit, me hearties, consistin' o'
• one motor tube
• two centerin' rings
• one engine block
• one engine hook (for long 24mm motors)
• one spacer tube (to adapt short 24mm motors)
• one large waterslide decal
• one small specification decal, includin' t' s/n (mine is #00040)

To build t' kit, you require all t' normal tools and supplies: white or wood glue, arrr, filler, paint, arrr, me hearties, sandpaper, etc. I used wood glue throughout.

This was a simple kit t' build and I followed t' order o' the instructions. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I started with t' 24mm motor mount, which had its own instructions. T' slot for t' motor clip be pre-cut and from thar you glue in t' motor block and t' two wide and thick centerin' rings. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! Blimey! These were actually pieces o' tube that telescoped over t' 24mm tube. Ahoy! Blimey!

From thar I proceeded t' glue t' motor block in t' 29mm tube. You first tie t' Keelhaul®©™® twine around t' block. My first impulse was t' go for t' epoxy, me bucko, but I decided to keep with t' recommended wood glue. Avast!

T' next step was t' round t' edges o' t' fins and test their fit. Avast! Blimey! They required a few swipes o' sandpaper along their tabs. Blimey! Aye aye! As you can see, since t' motor tube fits directly into t' body tube, thar isn't much o' a tab. Ahoy! You weren't asked to fill t' grain at this point, me bucko, so I didn't. Well, blow me down! On t' EMRR review o' another SLS kit, matey, I noticed a fin popped off. I decided t' see how this kit fared. Ya scallywag! If I have to make repairs, I'll try t' epoxy.

T' install the motor mount, you swab a liberal amount o' glue just ahead o' t' fin tabs and push in t' mount. T' fit o' t' tube is a little loose and you immediately glue on t' fins. Ahoy! Blimey! I set t' tube fins up t' dry and noticed the motor tube was slidin' further into t' body. Blimey! Glad I caught that one! Blimey! T' TTW fins, ya bilge rat, despite bein' shallow, should add a lot o' strength and made fin alignment trivial. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Blimey! Up t' this point, matey, everythin' be done in one sitting. Ahoy! I then paused t' let t' motor mount and fins dry. Avast, me proud beauty! I went back later and added an internal fillet above t' motor mount.

Next came fillets, addin' t' eye hook t' t' cone, matey, and completin' the recovery system. I didn't tie on t' chute but instead added a snap swivel and added it t' me stable o' reusable chutes. Well, me bucko, blow me down! After it be all together, I went to slide on t' nose cone and found t' shoulder be too large. Avast! Begad! Bein' balsa, sandin' it down wasn't a problem and t' result is a nice snug fit.

So far t' PROs are: Great parts, clear instructions, ya bilge rat, straightforward build, ya bilge rat, very sturdy. Well, blow me down!

T' one CON is that you have t' make sure t' motor tube doesn't slide out of place. Ahoy! Aye aye! This could be avoided if you let t' glue set first, but the instructions say t' proceed. Well, arrr, blow me down! Some sandin' on t' fins and cone be required, but this nay a big deal and was discussed in t' instructions. Blimey! As a result, I don't really consider them CONs.

Finishing:
There are finishin' instructions and they are typical. Ahoy! Begad! Minimal fillin' is required due t' t' fine grain o' t' cone and basswood fins. Arrr! I painted the body white, me hearties, me bucko, shiver me timbers, nose black, and fins red, me bucko, just like t' cover drawing. Begad! Ahoy! T' main decal sheet includes one large wrap that covers t' top half o' t' body tube and a blue strip t' go just below t' fins. There is also a small specs decal. On t' plus side, t' decals are thick and easy t' work with. Blimey! This is a very good thin' since it took me a month o' Sundays t' get t' large decal positioned. I also swabbed t' bubbles forever, matey, and thar are still a few. Anyway, me hearties, shiver me timbers, I shot a clear coat t' help t' decals stay put. Begad! Aye aye! T' decal color is reasonably good, matey, especially if t' background is white.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' recommended motors include a C11-5, arrr, D12-7, E9-8, and F25-9. I suspect it will fly well on any other motor in this range, me bucko, such a 24mm F21 or a 29mm F20. As built, mine weighs in at 3.46oz without t' adapter and 4.12oz with. This is heavier than t' specified 3.0 oz. Begad!

For its maiden flight, I loaded it with t' 24mm adapter and a C11-7. Aye aye! This is a longer delay than recommended but it's what I had. Arrr! Blimey! Plus I had added a strip o' 'anti-zipper' cloth tape where t' Keelhaul®©™® meets t' top o' t' body tube, me bucko, so I went for it. Arrr! I held t' adapter in with a lot o' maskin' tape. Aye aye! T' waddin' be dog barf wrapped in Quest wadding. The flight was nice but ejection be late as predicted. Recovery was good on the largish chute. When I got t' t' rocket I found t' eye-hook had pulled out of the cone, matey, shiver me timbers, which was gone, ya bilge rat, and it also spat t' adapter. Arrr! Ya scallywag! I will split t' blame on t' cone since I used t' wrong delay and t' adapter was probably user error. Blimey! Ahoy! All parts were recovered.

I CAed t' eye hook back in, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, reseated t' adapter, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and swapped t' chute for a 12 incher--there be a bit o' wind early and I didn't want t' feed the trees. Well, matey, blow me down! Blimey! T' motor choice be a D12-5. This time t' delay was shorter than recommended, arrr, but I angled t' rod some t' keep it from t' tree line. It tore off like a bat and I didn't see where it ejected. Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! However, me bucko, matey, recovery be 100% good this time. Begad! Blimey! It was a grass landin' and thar were no cracked fillets even with t' smaller chute.

I will try it on an E9-8 (this time a recommended motor) next weekend. Begad! I will have already submitted this review, so watch t' logs below.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
T' materials in this kit were as good as I've ever seen and it was a pleasure to build. Begad! Blimey! T' only build issue is t' make sure t' motor tube doesn't slip while t' fins dry. This could be fixed by a piece o' tape or a watchful eye, but it is a potential major "gotcha". Blimey! Blimey! I had t' deduct a construction point here.

This is a very sturdy kit and would be a great choice for someone who wants to move on from Estes kits t' mid power. Begad! Ya scallywag! With t' bigger motors, ya bilge rat, you better have a nice sized field!

My thanks t' Brian at BRS Hobbies for sponsorin' this review!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5