T' rocket is 23.25" tall and 1.325" in diameter. Aye aye! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! It uses a hollow, shiver me timbers, plastic nose cone and, o' course, tube fins (seven o' them). Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! An elastic shock cord and a 2"x36" metallic mylar streamer make up the recovery system. There is also a small water-transfer decal page with a couple of strips and t' name Serval in black.

See my Tube-Fin Rocket Comparison Page

CONSTRUCTION:

There are four pages of construction instructions, arrr, includin' an inventory page, 15 steps o' illustrated construction details and 3 steps o' illustrated flyin' preparation tasks. Ahoy! The instructions are in logical order, ya bilge rat, includin' 2 steps on spray paintin' and applyin' t' decals. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' kit is rated skill level 2.

Assembly o' Serval™ was, shiver me timbers, for t' most part, without any complications. T' motor mount is a standard tube, hook, shiver me timbers, me bucko, and two centerin' rings. Ahoy! Aye aye! This kit uses 1/32" paper centerin' rings. Avast! Ya scallywag! Also like the other Custom kits I've looked at before, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, it uses t' same thin motor hook. The thin (1/16") motor hook does it's job, me hearties, ya bilge rat, however, it seems t' get out of shape easier than t' wider (1/8") motor hooks from other manufacturers.

There be also a decision that had t' be made on the motor mount assembly by comparin' t' illustrations t' t' instructions. The instructions, in step 3, matey, read, shiver me timbers, "Insert t' motor mount until both tubes ends are flush." However, t' color illustration on t' packagin' and 6 other illustrations throughout t' instructions show t' motor mount sticking out approximately 1/2". T' latter is how it be assembled.

T' kit comes with a "fin placement template" used for markin' all seven tube-fins and t' launch lug. Well, blow me down! This template seemed slightly bigger than t' body tube so care must be taken in markin' t' body tube, especially t' launch lug position. Arrr! Ya scallywag! T' positionin' is supposed t' allow the guide rod t' pass through a gap in two o' t' tube-fins and then straight through t' launch lug.

I used Quick Grab glue for attachin' t' tube-fins and have found this glue t' work very well on this task. (additional comments about Quick Grab glue)

T' recovery system is a standard 3-fold paper mount for the elastic shock cord which is then tied t' an eye-screw that is screwed into the nose cone. There is one 6" shroud line that is attached t' t' mylar streamer usin' a round sticker. Arrr! This shroud line is then tied t' the eye-screw.

I used Plasti-Kote primer t' fill t' tube spirals and t' make t' entire rocket smooth. Arrr! Then, I used Walmart's enamel primer for t' final coat. While still wet, arrr, I dropped t' rocket. Avast! This required more primin' and smoothing. Blimey! Blimey! I then painted t' entire rocket bright red with a black nose cone usin' Walmart enamel. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! (additional comments about Walmart paint) T' sample paint scheme on the packagin' shows t' rocket in light gray and t' nose cone black, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, but I like t' red better. Lastly, me hearties, t' three black decals were placed onto t' rocket without incident.

Overall, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this kit 3 points.
 

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

While preparin' t' Serval™ for flight, me bucko, I removed t' nose cone and shook t' line t' let t' streamer uncurl. T' streamer dropped off t' shroud line because t' sticker didn't hold it. This bein' t' second Custom kit usin' a sticker-to-shroud line approach, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, which failed, ya bilge rat, made me change it right away. Begad! I punched a small hole through t' top of the streamer, shiver me timbers, about 1/2" in, tied t' shroud line t' it and then put the sticker back on.

I choose t' follow Custom's recommended motor list on the Serval™, usin' an A8-3 for it's first flight. It's first flight was over quickly because t' A8 barely got this kit off o' t' pad. Begad! It probably only went 70 feet off o' t' ground, matey, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, ejected and t' streamer barely got fully deployed before it landed 10 feet from t' pad.

T' second flight be on a B6-4 which proved t' be a nice, lower altitude flight. Arrr! Aye aye! T' Serval™ flew very straight. Repeated perfect flights twice more on C6-5's which demonstrated that this tube-finned flyer be worth it's price.

Although I didn't get a chance t' fly my Serval™ at NARAM-40, matey, I enjoyed watchin' someone's fly on a "D" motor. Begad! Blimey! Straight as an arrow. It looked like it was converted t' a 24mm motor mount. I am ready t' fly mine on an Apogee D3-7 for it's next launch.

For FLIGHT/RECOVERY, ya bilge rat, I would rate this kit 4 points, me bucko, ya bilge rat, losin' a point primarily due t' t' recovery system. T' kit flies straight and true and looks good while doin' it. Ya scallywag! T' metallic mylar streamer also adds t' its looks.

Overall, ya bilge rat, t' Serval™Overall, arrr, the Serval™ is a nice performin' tube-fin rocket. Well, blow me down! I give t' kit an OVERALL ratin' o' 4 points.