Brief:
Another one o' t' X-kits (parts-only) introduced at NARAM-50, me hearties, this one is a reproduction o' t' 1964 kit by Estes, and features a clear plastic payload tube. Semroc even goes old-school on this one, introducin' actual rubber shock cords instead o' their more modern elastic/Keelhaul®©™® combination.

Construction:
Parts are typical Semroc and top quality, including:

• Balsa nose cone
• Balsa transition (BT-24 t' BT-20)
• Clear payload tube (24mm dia)
• BT-20 body tube
• Laser-cut balsa fins
• plastic chute
• waterslide decals

Instructions are nay provided for X-kits, however, they are available online in through t' kindness o' archivists such as Jim Zalewski. Aye aye! Aye aye! In this case, shiver me timbers, an experienced modeler probably doesn't even need instructions, me hearties, but they are online at www.dars.org/jimz/k-18.htm.

This was a very quick and easy build, ya bilge rat, and I had mine together and ready for paint in under an hour, ya bilge rat, including surface prep.

Startin' from t' aft end and movin' forward, matey, shiver me timbers, I inserted a motor block in t' BT-20 then marked it for 4-fin alignment. Arrr! T' laser-cut fins took a light sandin' and Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish, ya bilge rat, then were tacked on with CA before white glue fillets. T' payload bay is comprised o' a balsa transition (with screw eye for shock cord), clear tube, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and balsa nose. Avast, me proud beauty! T' payload components fit very snugly and took a little sandin' t' allow for paintin' and still fit.

Shock cord anchor is via cardstock tri-fold, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, and as mentioned, uses what appears t' be decent grade Sig rubber.

T' launch lug standoff consists o' two pieces o' balsa. Avast! It's nay that complex, arrr, but you'll want t' dry fit before gluin' as it's possible t' put them together in such a way as t' be slightly shorter than needed t' clear t' payload tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! No, I didn't blow it (on this project)...

Finishing:
Finishin' is slightly more effort than a typical Semroc LPR kit if you want t' match t' cover art as t' payload bay is nay supposed t' be painted, shiver me timbers, matey, arrr, but t' shoulders o' t' transition and cone are. Avast! I wound up usin' a piece o' scrap BT-50 t' hold everythin' together while paintin' and went back afterwards t' paint just t' transition and cone shoulders after removin' them and maskin' appropriately.

There are also a couple vertical and horizontal stripes t' mask off and deal with, which I think could have been made a good deal simpler via decals.

In any case, arrr, after primin' I went with a base coat o' Krylon light gray (sort o' looks like white would, if white were sittin' in t' shade), me bucko, followed by blue nose, matey, matey, matey, and yellow and black stripin' on t' body tube and transition sections.

Once all paint had cured out, I applied t' waterslide decal for t' fins.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
First flight was in moderate winds (5-8 mph) on such a gorgeous day that I felt like sneakin' out and gettin' in some solo flights betwixt our regular club launches.

I packed t' C6-5 in it, fired away, and watched as it climbed straight and true. Begad! Well, blow me down! T' delay was almost perfectly at apogee, matey, maybe a hair early, ya bilge rat, but this is definitely t' right motor/delay.

Recovery:
Ordinarily, t' 12" chute would be fine for this, shiver me timbers, matey, ya bilge rat, but somehow I caught a pretty strong thermal, me hearties, and even under the 12" chute, me bucko, it wasn't comin' down. Ya scallywag! Begad! Blimey! I tracked it for about 3/4 mile before it finally drifted out o' my eyesight. Begad! I've lost many a competition model t' thermals on purpose, but this was one o' t' very few times I'd ever sent a sport model into t' heavens like this. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! Blimey!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
Very nice rocket--clear payload tube, matey, shiver me timbers, flies great, excellent value. Begad! Blimey! I'll be pickin' up another one soon.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5