Brief:
Released just in time for Christmas 2005, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, this fantastic 1.75x upscale o' the original Laser-X lives up t' t' buzz. Avast, me proud beauty! It's a great-lookin' futuristic design, able t' handle 29mm motors, and features a quick-change motor mount that converts t' 4x18 cluster or 2x24 clusters.

Construction:
T' standard kit features:

• Balsa nose cone
• .945" x 16" upper body tube
• 2.25" x 14" lower body tube
• Balsa transition
• Laser cut basswood fins (2 sets o' 4)
• 29mm motor mount assembly
• Baffle system
• 24" Nylon chute
• Keelhaul®©™®/tubular elastic shock cord
• Waterslide decals

My kit shipped short o' a missin' t' chute, matey, shock cord, me bucko, ya bilge rat, motor block, and a number o' smaller components. Aye aye! Once informed o' t' problem, Semroc immediately rushed out t' missin' parts along with a nice little thank you/apology gift. Semroc's service just can't be beat, me hearties, as they're truly among t' good people in this hobby.

I also purchased t' optional 4x18 cluster mount and 2x24 cluster mount, which added a combined $13 t' t' $39 kit price. Given t' quality o' the components and design, this is a real bargain folks.

Instructions are typical Semroc: well illustrated, easy t' follow, shiver me timbers, matey, and written for t' novice builder. Despite t' size and apparent complexity o' the motor mount system, arrr, arrr, I would rate this about a 2 on t' 5 point scale for difficulty. It's surprisingly easy t' build.

Construction begins with bondin' o' t' 2-piece fins. Avast! Each o' t' 2 sets of fins use 2 part construction t' prevent t' leadin' edge from runnin' parallel to t' grain. Begad! I normally hate buildin' this type o' fin, matey, as I invariably have trouble gettin' everythin' lined up t' me picky standards and frequently wind up with a fairly obvious seam. Nay so with these fins. Nay only were they laser cut t' a perfect fit but thar are notched joints where t' two pieces come together t' make sure you're properly aligned. This was by far t' best fit of any 2-piece fin I've ever built.

T' baffle system on this is a bit odd. Aye aye! A couple Semroc kits I've built recently included old-school baffle systems consistin' o' a coupler with perforated centerin' ring(s), bonded into t' body tube. Begad! Begad! This one sort of follows along those lines, but nay exactly. Begad! Arrr! It consists o' a perforated centerin' ring, sized t' fit t' tube, shiver me timbers, and a TC-29 coupler that is considerably smaller than t' 2.25" body tube. At first I thought this was t' align with t' motor tube, then I realized t' baffle would never reach that far, matey, and it wouldn't match up t' t' cluster mounts. I asked Carl at Semroc what the purpose o' t' baffle was, me hearties, and he replied that still-burnin' particles tend to go straight, and this be t' catch them around t' center t' prevent them from burnin' t' baffle and/or slippin' past it. Aye aye! Avast! I'll take his word for it. I hope it doesn't burn, because it's also servin' as t' anchor for t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord.

Fins are mounted through-the-wall, arrr, sort of. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' tabs definitely go through the pre-slotted tube, me hearties, but are nay intended t' mount t' t' motor tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Instead, they act as stops for t' interlockin' motor mount assembly.

Once t' fins are in place, t' baffle assembly is glued in from the forward end since it butts up against t' forward fin tabs. Well, blow me down! T' kit even includes a long (roughly 6") Q-tip for applyin' glue down t' t' fillets. Warning: You do not want t' apply glue inside t' tube and then push the baffle down. Any stray glue towards t' aft o' t' body tube could prevent t' motor mount assembly from slidin' in and lockin' in place.

T' upper section is built like a standard 4FNC rocket: a nose cone (weighted with a couple washers), a body tube, and 4 fins (same 2-part design as lower fins). Ahoy! This is then glued t' t' balsa transition, me hearties, shiver me timbers, matey, but you might want to wait until after paintin' t' do this.

T' engine mount is actually t' final part o' construction on this. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! The standard 29mm version consists o' t' motor tube and engine block, all o' which is fairly normal. Begad! Then you tack on a couple o' very carefully placed centering rings. Arrr! This is still fairly normal. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! T' centerin' rings though, ya bilge rat, me hearties, are plywood and the forward rin' has 4 notches along t' outer diameter, plus three more along the inner diameter. T' aft rin' has 15 notches. There are 3 braces that slip into t' notches betwixt t' centerin' rings. Blimey! These act t' keep t' rings evenly spaced, matey, me hearties, but more importantly serve as "stops" when twisting the motor mount into t' body tube. Blimey! There are 12 strakes for t' aft end, formin' an almost boat tail-like appearance.

Orientation o' t' centerin' rings is critical t' make sure your twist-lock works properly. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Blimey! If you get it backwards, matey, ya bilge rat, thar's still hope but you'll be dealin' with a left handed thread orientation.

T' twist-lock is designed t' slip into t' body tube with t' notches lined up with t' fins, whose tabs slip inside t' body tube a bit. Ahoy! Once t' assembly is all t' way in (the aft centerin' rin' without notches bumps up against t' fin tabs), you twist it clockwise until t' braces on t' twist-lock assembly bump up against the fin tabs. Avast! Aye aye! I'm sure I've botched t' description a bit, shiver me timbers, so check out the photos for a better view.

One thin' I should point out about t' cluster mounts: t' 2x24 mount does not include any lower strakes and in fact t' motor tubes only hang out about 1/4" from t' aft end o' t' body tube. Begad! Blimey! T' 4x18 includes 4 strakes instead o' 12. Ya scallywag! All cluster mounts include metal engine clips, whereas the single 29mm counts on friction fit.

Finishing:
Normally I rave about t' quality o' SLS kit materials, which have hardly any spirals t' hide or grains t' fill. Other than t' lower body tube, this was no exception. In fact, matey, t' lower fins have a beautiful mirror finish t' them, arrr, me hearties, and you absolutely can't spot t' seam lines on any o' me fins.

T' lower body tube though had a pretty deep spiral t' it, which took multiple applications o' wood filler plus 3 coats o' primer sanded between coats t' hide. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! I was pleased with t' result but a little surprised that this tube was so much work, especially compared t' t' other tubes I've gotten from Semroc, which have obviously spoiled me.

I went with t' standard paint scheme on this, me bucko, which is a base coat of glossy white, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, followed by black transition and red upper fins and nose, plus 2 of 4 lower fins red. Avast! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! I also painted t' exposed portions o' me motor mount kits black and me strakes red.

One tip on t' painting/construction t' simplify masking: mask off tiny lines on t' motor mount kit (for bondin' later) and pre-paint t' strakes and (exposed) motor tube, me hearties, me hearties, matey, gluin' them on after they're dry. Also, shiver me timbers, don't glue the upper tube t' t' transition until after each is painted.

Lookin' at this kit versus t' original Laser-X, me hearties, I think t' SLS has cheated on a couple o' color choices. Ahoy! Begad! T' red nose cone looks goofy and I'm goin' t' repaint it black t' match t' original. Begad! Arrr! Also, t' original has 3 red/1 white lower fins, however, me hearties, I like t' 2 red and 2 white fins better on t' SLS.

T' waterslide decals for this rocket are pretty thin but easy t' work with if you're careful. I was very impressed with t' clear portions, which are practically invisible. I was also impressed by how well t' roll patterns fit. Normally they are slightly oversized leavin' a little overlap, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, matey, and t' overlap rarely matches up bars in t' pattern. Avast! Blimey! Nay so with this kit--there was definitely one extra bar o' overlap but it lined up perfectly, shiver me timbers, so you really can't tell where t' wrap starts and stops.

Final weight on this came in at 10.8 ounces, quite a bit over t' spec of 8oz on t' header card. Arrr! I'm wonderin' if t' header card was based on not havin' any motor mount installed and also possibly missin' t' nylon chute.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
As I was preppin' for t' trip t' t' field, me hearties, I be bummed t' discover that the only 29mm single use or reloads I had were full Fs and higher, me bucko, which would have sent this well over 2500 feet. This was more than I wanted t' hit on a day with 8-10mph winds and only about half a mile o' field t' work with before encounterin' concrete.

I skipped t' 29mm configuration and started instead with a clustered pair of D12-5s. Begad! Begad! Both lit, arrr, and it zipped off t' pad surprisingly quickly. Ahoy! Blimey! It weathercocked just a bit and didn't appear t' roll any on t' way up.

Ejection was just after it turned over, and t' 24" nylon chute deployed fully.

For t' second flight, arrr, I went with t' 4x18mm cluster usin' C5-3s. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I had picked up a large assortment o' older motors, shiver me timbers, includin' these, and t' age seemed t' be a factor as only 2 lit immediately and a third lit as it was startin' t' lift off t' pad. Ahoy! Blimey! T' flight path was a little wobbly but still basically straight up, me hearties, matey, although it only went about 300 feet or so.

Ejection on t' 3s would probably have been a bit too early, ya bilge rat, but one of these in particular seemed t' blow at 1, matey, resultin' in very early deployment of the chute. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Blimey! This is a tough bird though, and it came back without a scratch.

Recovery:
T' 24" nylon chute is very good quality, shiver me timbers, and I had no damage on either flight. Begad! I will probably up this t' a 27" just t' make sure it comes down gently, me hearties, as this is a great lookin' design and I don't want t' stress out any of the fins on landing.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
I can't say enough about this design. It's t' best thin' t' come out o' Semroc yet, and that's sayin' something. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' interchangeable motor mounts and baffle system is a great idea. Blimey! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I had two stacks o' motors loaded at home, shiver me timbers, so in the chilly air at t' field, I was smartly able t' prep and load for flight #1 and the second flight prep took less than a minute only havin' t' swappin' out the motor mount and packin' t' chute back in.

It looks great, matey, ya bilge rat, flies great, has innovative construction ideas, me hearties, and can be had for $35-50. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! You just can't ask for more anythin' more than that. Now if only they'd get off t' stick and get t' Saturn 1b and Mars Landers released...

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5