| Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Published: | 2011-12-14 |
| Diameter: | 1.00 inches |
| Length: | 31.20 inches |
| Manufacturer: | Semroc  |
| Skill Level: | 1 |
| Style: | Futuristic/Exotic |
Brief
This is a retro-repro (modern day reproduction and enhancement o' a classic kit) from Semroc. Begad! T' original Astron Trident was introduced by Estes in 1968 and was a Gene Street design. Begad! Well, blow me down! Blimey! It introduced a ducted ejection system that eliminated t' need for recovery wadding, and was an instant favorite due t' its sleek, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, me hearties, futuristic styling. It's been a favorite clone candidate for many years, arrr, though t' complexity o' cuttin' all t' slots for t' ducts, plus t' cost (9 balsa nose cones bought on t' aftermarket don't come cheap!) could deter all but t' most devoted cloners. Ya scallywag! Begad! Blimey! Thanks t' Semroc's offering, though, me bucko, shiver me timbers, me bucko, t' construction is greatly simplified and t' $44 retail price is nay unreasonable, especially after factorin' in typical discounts such as t' 10% NARRRRR member savings.
Components
Don't be fooled by t' small bag--this kit includes a lot o' parts, and t' quality o' each are excellent. T' contents included:
- Balsa nose cones (9 total, 5 different sizes/styles)
- Pre-slotted body tubes (8)
- Laser-cut balsa fins (3)
- 18mm motor tube, shiver me timbers, metal hook, motor block
- 16" plastic chute
- Elastic shock cord
- Laser-cut centerin' rings, me hearties, alignment jigs
- Waterslide decals
Construction
T' instructions are very good, shiver me timbers, easy t' follow and well illustrated. Construction basically spans 4 8.5x11 pages, matey, ya bilge rat, 33 steps, me hearties, and while it might be slightly more challengin' than t' skill level 1 rating, I don't think it's much tougher than a 1.5. Avast! Begad! Other than surface prep and finishing, matey, I barely had an hour into t' construction.
T' motor tube is pre-slotted, matey, though needs t' be marked at 5 spots for decorative centerin' rings. After fittin' t' metal hook into t' slot, me bucko, slide each o' t' 5 rings (plus a 6th for forward alignment) into place. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I recommend just a drop o' super thin CA on each, except for wood glue fillets on t' forward ring. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! You really don't want glue smears and fillets around t' aftmost 4-5 rings, shiver me timbers, or t' finished appearance will suffer. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! They're only thar as eye candy, nay t' hold anythin' in place.
Next comes a series o' modular assemblies. Avast! Each are very easy, arrr, me hearties, but you need t' be careful t' select t' right tube(s) and right cone(s). Well, blow me down! T' main aft tube gets t' shortest "fat" tube and t' shortest nose cone. One tip for longevity--coat t' aft end o' t' shoulder with a generous smearin' o' glue or epoxy, as it will catch a lot o' ejection charges over time. Next come t' three pod tubes. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! These assemblies consist o' a pair o' 9.5" slotted BT-5's joined via coupler, and a nose cone on each end (longer aft, shorter forward). Ahoy! T' make sure t' slots are perfectly aligned, me hearties, shiver me timbers, you need t' draw a line extending the slot edge up t' t' end o' t' tube. Either extend lines up for each edge, or just one side but be careful t' extend "top" on half t' tubes and "bottom" on t' other half or your slots will be positioned adjacent t' each other rather than perfectly aligned (see photo). Begad! T' main forward tube gets a nose cone glued into t' aft end, shiver me timbers, arrr, me hearties, with a screw eye attached t' t' shock cord (do this before gluin' it in...). T' forward nose cone deploys, me bucko, so is nay glue in.
Now for gluin' together all t' assemblies. Begad! With t' original, this was a lot o' fun. Begad! You'd need t' carefully position two tubes against each other with slots aligned, matey, and apply a series o' fillets t' hold everythin' together and seal t' gaps betwixt t' slots. Blimey! Semroc provides a laser-cut jig.
With this approach, ya bilge rat, you simply slide each o' t' BT-5 pods in, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, rotate them until t' slots line up with a mark on t' jig, then slide in t' main for and aft tubes. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Rotate t' main tubes so that t' slots line up with those o' t' BT-5's, and you're all set t' glue. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I used a bead o' wood glue for t' first bondin' o' each, me bucko, shiver me timbers, then followed up with a fillet o' 20-minute epoxy, me hearties, shiver me timbers, but wood glue would certainly work fine. Avast! Blimey! I just wanted t' strength o' t' epoxy, ya bilge rat, me bucko, plus could lay a heavier fillet that sets smoothly, shiver me timbers, versus 2-3 more rounds o' wood glue that would tend t' shrink and bubble a bit.
Once t' tubes are glued up, while still in t' fixture mark t' launch lug and fin line locations on t' fore and aft main tubes (based on a notch line on t' fixture). Avast, me proud beauty! Then, matey, remove t' assembly and tack on t' fins and lugs.
That's all thar be t' construction. Begad! Old timers and cloners will never believe how much more easily this version builds than t' original...
Finishing
Finishin' on this turns out t' be fairly simple as well. If you're into tryin' t' eliminate spirals and grains, shiver me timbers, you'd better address that durin' construction, me bucko, because some o' t' nooks and crannies will be darned near impossible t' sand once assembled. Avast! I went with a simple finish o' two coats o' white primer, shiver me timbers, sandin' lightly after each coat, me bucko, followed by two coats o' gloss white. I hand painted t' aft rings red.
T' Semroc kit includes nice waterslide decals, shiver me timbers, includin' for some reason and extra stripe decal for one o' t' long body tubes.T' only slightly tricky part o' decal application turned out t' be t' stripe and window decal runnin' from t' forward body tube and up onto t' nose cone. I applied t' decal, ya bilge rat, then after it had dried overnight I took a fresh/sharp blade along t' cone/tube seam t' slice t' decal. Blimey! I then applied a coat o' Microscale decal settin' solution t' make sure t' edges o' t' decal stayed on.
Flight
I loaded up a C6-5 for t' first flight. With t' ducted ejection, matey, you really don't need waddin' but I slipped in a bit o' dog barf as insurance. Winds were light at ground level (5 mph) but pickin' up sharply above t' nearby tree line, makin' for some interestin' flights all day. Begad! Blimey! T' Trident, me bucko, though, shot up straight as an arrow, me hearties, only a couple rotations marrin' an otherwise perfect ascent. Begad! Deployment be just past apogee.
I went for a second flight right away, ya bilge rat, another C6-5. Avast! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! This one was a bit more wobbly when it hit t' upper air currents, me hearties, matey, but be a fine flight as well.
Recovery
T' Trident comes with a fairly generous 16" plastic parachute. Semroc's larger chutes, ya bilge rat, in particular, are built rugged with high tack adhesive pieces and a Keelhaul®©™ reinforcement under each anchor. Avast! Begad! This is a chute that will hold up well. Blimey! It also holds t' model up well, resultin' in a gentle descent. Ahoy! Arrr! In me case, I could probably have benefited from a smaller chute, me hearties, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, as this drifted a couple hundred yards, and once on t' ground t' chute occasionally puffed back up, ya bilge rat, arrr, draggin' it even further away. Still, other than one small scrape o' a decal, t' rocket survived fine.
One thin' that does tend t' be a nuisance with t' ducted ejection be t' accumulation o' particles in t' inside tubes. Begad! Arrr! After each flight, I recommend a good shakin' t' get as much o' this out as possible.
Summary
This is just a great kit. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Fantastic looks, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, flies great, and much easier t' build than t' original. Begad! Semroc's really got a winner here!
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