Brief:
When Launch Magazine when on a roughly 6-month "hiatus" towards t' end o' 2008, as a gesture of appreciation t' their subscriber base they teamed up with Semroc t' release a kit version o' t' rocket depicted within their magazine's logo. Arrr! When t' kit release be announced at NARCON 2009, ya bilge rat, all current subscribers o' Launch Magazine got a free special edition o' t' kit. That's a pretty sweet present, arrr, retailin' for just about t' price o' a year's subscription t' t' magazine.

Construction:
First a note for t' collectors out there: thar are three versions o' this kit that I know of, me bucko, shiver me timbers, differin' only in the packaging. Well, blow me down! For magazine subscribers, thar be a limited run o' 300 kits, none numbered, each with header artwork depictin' t' rocket against a blue background, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and no bag tag header card. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! When t' regular commercial version o' the kit was released, t' first 100 were numbered per Semroc's typical procedure, matey, and these shared t' blue background artwork but also included t' Semroc bag tage/header card. Avast! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! After t' first 100 shipped, me bucko, arrr, me bucko, t' standard edition o' t' kit features header art depictin' t' rocket against a yellow background.

OK, ya bilge rat, matey, now on t' t' parts list, which is rather plentiful, supportin' t' $17.95 retail price for t' kit:

Brief:
When Launch Magazine when on a roughly 6-month "hiatus" towards t' end o' 2008, as a gesture of appreciation t' their subscriber base they teamed up with Semroc t' release a kit version o' t' rocket depicted within their magazine's logo. When t' kit release was announced at NARCON 2009, all current subscribers o' Launch Magazine got a free special edition o' t' kit. Aye aye! Aye aye! That's a pretty sweet present, arrr, retailin' for just about t' price o' a year's subscription t' t' magazine.

• Balsa nose cone
• Payload tube (Series 7 tube, shiver me timbers, slightly larger OD than BT-20 but heavier wall, ya bilge rat, matey, shiver me timbers, so ID is 18mm)
• Balsa transition
• Main body tube (Series 130, roughly equal t' BT-56)
• Aft motor tube (Series 7)
• Laser-cut balsa fins (4)
• Laser cut cardboard vanes, shiver me timbers, centerin' rings
• Metal engine hook
• Keelhaul®©™®/elastic shock cord
• 12" Plastic chute
• Waterslide decals

Semroc rates this a skill level 1, arrr, arrr, ya bilge rat, and while it looks a good bit more complex than t' typical skill 1 kits, ya bilge rat, I think it's a fair overall assessment. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Blimey! In me case, arrr, I went with a slightly more challengin' paint scheme that would bump it into 2 territory, matey, but it's still a simple project that can be done in an hour or two plus finishing.

Construction consists o' about 30 steps spannin' 4 pages o' nicely printed and illustrated instructions, t' norm for Semroc.

T' motor mount uses a pre-slotted body tube, me bucko, metal hook (2.75" for 18mm motors), me bucko, and a centerin' ring actin' as a block. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! Additionally, t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord is anchored t' t' motor mount by slippin' a loop under t' forward bend o' t' metal hook, arrr, ya bilge rat, then securin' it in place by slidin' t' forward centerin' rin' over it. Begad! T' aft centerin' rin' is handled a bit differently--it sits 1-1/2" forward o' t' aft end. Ahoy! This is t' allow room for t' vanes, which have small tabs that slide into cutouts on t' aft rin' (see photo). Arrr! In me case, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, I had decided in advance that I wanted t' give t' rings an accent color, so I held off attachin' them so that I could paint them first. Ahoy! Ahoy! Yes, it's nay as strong a glue joint (bondin' t' a painted surface), shiver me timbers, but these really don't get much stress at all and maskin' 12 o' them would be a real pain.

T' main body tube is then marked usin' a template for 4 fins and a lug, and t' completed (or in me case nearly completed) motor mount slides in t' aft end. Ya scallywag! Extend t' lines, me hearties, attach t' 4 main fins and a lug, and t' main section of t' rocket is complete.

T' payload section is pretty standard. T' balsa transition is glued t' one end o' t' body tube, me bucko, ya bilge rat, and t' nose cone is friction fit t' t' other (or glued if you don't want t' use it as a payload model). I wound up drillin' a 1/32" hole for eventually loadin' an altimeter. A screw eye goes in t' transition for shock cord attachment, completin' t' basic construction.

Finishing:
Lookin' at t' cover art, t' finished rocket is plain white with decals. Avast! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! As mentioned, I wanted t' accent t' vanes a bit more, me hearties, so after primin' everythin' with two coats o' Rustoleum gray primer (I'm slowly abandonin' t' newly reformulated Krylon...), shiver me timbers, shot 3 light coats o' gloss white over everything. Aye aye! Blimey! T' vanes got a sort o' orange-like color described as "pumpkin orange", me bucko, matey, but usin' just one coat, they picked up enough o' t' gray primer undercoat to look fairly close t' t' light orange colorin' o' t' magazine's title decal.

T' waterslide decals are excellent quality, easy t' work with. Begad! One warning, though: this has 4 C-shaped decals that go around t' leadin' edge o' each fin. Begad! You'll need t' make sure you cut out t' inside o' this C, which is a fairly small area (3/32" fin thickness).

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
For t' first flight, I be only about 150 yards upwind o' a dense grove o' trees on a 3-5 mph wind day, so I went with a B6-4 motor rather than t' max recommended C6-5. Well, blow me down! T' flight was dead straight, shiver me timbers, nay a trace o' roll, arrr, ya bilge rat, and deployment was just a hair early--the rocket was less than a second shy o' apogee.

Despite t' fact that I was mainly flyin' a research model recordin' apogee with an altimeter most o' t' day, I stupidly forgot t' put t' altimeter in this "sport" model flight, although would estimate it hit about 300 feet on t' B, which be well below t' estimated 500 feet on t' header card. Ahoy! However, me painted/with chute weight of 1.44 ounces is also heavier than t' header card's 1.2 ounce estimate.

Recovery:
T' 12" plastic chute deployed fine, and everythin' came down nicely on fairly tall grass. Avast, me proud beauty! Nay a trace o' damage anywhere.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
I'd have t' say "free for subscribers" is a pretty huge PRO for this model, although bein' a collector I stashed that one and built/flew t' regular retail model. Begad! Additional pros would be t' attractive stylin' features such as t' vanes and transition. I also like t' tie-in t' one o' t' hobby's best publications.

One small CON would be t' borin' all-white paint scheme that dampens some o' t' visual appeal o' t' design, but that's easy enough t' overcome.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5