Brief:
For those that want a bit more o' a challenge than t' traditional 3FNC, matey, consider t' Decim8, which as Nigel Tufnel would say, matey, goes t' eleven, and that's better than 3, innit? This kit is a challengin' build rated at skill level 4, but will reward t' careful modeller with a beautiful futuristic alien battle ship.

Construction:
Numbered kit 44 has been sacrificed for this build, as I jumped on this one shortly after it was released. Avast, me proud beauty! T' part quality is very good. Avast! Arrr! My first impression lookin' over t' spread o' parts was "that's a whole lot o' body tubes for just one nose cone".

T' parts list includes:

• BT-50 body tubes--2 18" lengths, 2 9-inch lengths
• BT-20 motor/stuffer tube
• BT-60 rin' fin
• BT-2.5 body tube (2)
• Balsa nose cone (1 for BT-55 2 for BT-2.5's)
• 20/50 centerin' rings (4)
• 20/5 centerin' rin' motor block
• Balsa fin stock
• Laser-cut fiber fins (8)
• Pin' pong ball transition
• Wood dowel for trim
• Keelhaul®©™®+elastic shock cord
• Plastic chute
• Waterslide decals

This is one project where you DO NOT want t' open t' bag, read t' directions through, then start building. Blimey! Take me advice and put away all glues. OK, now start workin' through t' directions cutting, shaping, sandin' t' pieces, followin' t' very well written and illustrated directions. Well, blow me down! You'll spend t' better part o' a weekend afternoon or a few weeknights just creatin' t' various pieces involved. Begad! Now lay everythin' out, arrr, me hearties, dry fittin' subassemblies where possible, ya bilge rat, and take a good look at t' thing. Blimey! Unless you want t' wimp out and fly it nekkid, matey, ya bilge rat, or go with a basic 1-2 color paint scheme, me bucko, you're goin' t' need t' spend a considerable amount o' time gettin' your head around how t' finish this model--which tube spirals t' fill (some inside spirals as well), what t' mask, me hearties, what t' spray, arrr, ya bilge rat, what t' paint by hand, me hearties, etc. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! There are so many funky shapes and joints involved in this that you simply can't go about doin' a decent finish job on an already built model unless you have exceptional skills.

That said, this is rated a skill level 4 kit and probably worthy o' that rating, arrr, shiver me timbers, though t' Fliskits Saturn 1b rates betwixt a 3 and 5 dependin' on level o' complexity modelled, and I would rate this a good step or two below that in terms o' challenge. Begad! Aye aye! T' construction and basic build is nay hard at all, me hearties, just a significant amount o' work. Begad! Begad! The finishin' can be extremely challenging, shiver me timbers, but nay that bad if planned out in advance. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Unfortunately, me bucko, arrr, t' instructions are by necessity generalized and walk through construction, leavin' finishin' t' t' modeller, though thar are warnings throughout that consideration should be made t' pre-paintin' where applicable.

Construction starts by workin' on t' pin' pong ball (ppb) transition. Avast! Ya scallywag! In other kits involvin' ppb's, matey, ya bilge rat, you generally use a body tube t' mark a circle, matey, cut it out, then insert t' tube and use t' shadow o' t' tube t' mark the correspondin' circle on t' other half o' t' ppb. Avast! That technique doesn't quite work in this case, me bucko, because one o' the holes is sized for a BT-20 and t' other for a BT-50, plus one o' t' launch lugs rests against t' BT-50 and goes through t' ppb. T' deal with this problem, you get a wrap-around template t' slip over t' ppb, markin' both holes and launch lug slot locations. Ahoy! It's a little tricky t' work with, me bucko, especially since circle patterns don't wrap over the surface o' a sphere very well, ya bilge rat, so I cut t' circles a bit undersized on purpose, then sanded them open a bit as needed for a good fit around t' tubes. Well, blow me down!

T' motor tube is a BT-20 with thrust ring, metal hook, and pair o' centerin' rings t' slide into a BT-50. Blimey! It's a fairly long BT-20, servin' as a stuffer tube t' help build up pressure through t' roughly 36" length o' BT-50 that t' ejection charge would have t' push through t' deploy a chute. Arrr! That's a bit much for an 18mm motor, thus the use o' t' extended BT-20 t' reduce t' volume o' interior air that needs t' be moved. T' BT-20 gets marked for 8 coolant fins via a wrap-around guide, ya bilge rat, t' be dealt with later.

T' BT-50 also gets marked for t' same 8 coolant fins usin' another wrap-around guide, as well as a number of fins. Blimey! Be careful extendin' lines, matey, as thar are so many lines so closely spaced they can run together. T' instructions suggest only extendin' t' coolant fin lines up about 2", shiver me timbers, and t' other fin lines startin' at about 2" and extendin' t' length o' one o' t' BT-50's. Begad! I'll toss out another tip from one o' me D'oh! moments, me hearties, which I believe Jim is addressin' in subsequent runs o' t' kit. When matin' t' BT-20 t' t' BT-50, arrr, me bucko, you're supposed t' make sure the coolant fin lines synch up. Begad! Arrr! There are 8 lines on each tube, so takin' any one line on t' BT-20 and linin' it up t' a matchin' line on t' BT-50 leaves 8 options, shiver me timbers, all o' which would work. 2 o' those options would be bad, though. Aye aye! Blimey! As you line them up, pay attention t' where t' engine hook on t' BT-20 sits. Begad! Avast! Look further down along that line towards the BT-50 and see what fin lines that sits near. Arrr! If your hook is anywhere near either o' t' two "main fin" lines, rotate t' BT-20 and line up t' a different coolant fin line. Begad! Ya scallywag! This is because t' main fins wind up anchorin' to t' BT-20 and t' BT-50, and you don't want one o' them sittin' on t' motor hook, matey, as was t' case with me build. Ya scallywag! Blimey!

I should point out, by t' way, that along with all t' tube marking, thar's plenty o' tube cuttin' involved as well. Begad! Arrr! There's almost no regular, me hearties, arrr, squared end tube treatment on this model. Ya scallywag! I think only t' motor tube and two little BT-2.5 tubes slipped into side pods wind up goin' onto t' model without some level o' scalloping.

In t' case o' t' lower BT-50, shiver me timbers, t' forward end gets trimmed and slotted. Aye aye! T' upper BT-50 gets trimmed and slotted on one end, and if done correctly, matey, ya bilge rat, t' two trimmed ends slide together along t' slots, me hearties, overlappin' through about half t' diameter. Well, blow me down! That leaves two structural issues--the need for a stronger joint than two slots in t' tubes, and somethin' t' seal off t' air flow t' enable pressurized ejection through what is basically a ducted tube joint. T' structural issue is handled by a pair o' little crescent shaped braces formed usin' laser-cut bulkheads attached t' a cutaway section o' centerin' ring. Avast, me proud beauty! T' air seal issue is handled via balsa bulkheads cut t' a roughly parabolic shape, shiver me timbers, me hearties, then sanded and trimmed t' fit in t' ends o' t' mated tubes. Ya scallywag! This is one o' those construction steps where it's critical t' plan t' paint first. Ahoy! Arrr! If you build "stock", me bucko, you attach t' crescent supports t' t' outside o' each tube, slide them together, then cut/trim/glue in t' balsa panels. Ya scallywag! I wanted a perfect fit for t' panels and wanted t' fill t' grains, so they had to be glued in before joinin' t' tubes together, which meant me crescent supports had t' be premounted on t' insides of t' tubes rather than t' outsides. This probably doesn't make sense readin' it, but if you look at t' photos, arrr, shiver me timbers, then imagine tryin' t' mount t' supports externally you'll see thar's no way t' slide t' tubes together. Begad! Ahoy!

Movin' along, with t' BT-50's trimmed and mated, and t' BT-20 stuffer tube glued into t' lower BT-50, shiver me timbers, you then slide t' ppb transition over t' BT-20, shiver me timbers, matey, slidin' t' larger hole over t' BT-50, me hearties, shiver me timbers, until t' BT-50 hits t' inside wall o' t' ppb. Arrr! Insert a launch lug, me hearties, trim t' ends (another case where this is much easier t' do offline before gluin' on t' ppb), shiver me timbers, and then mount another lug further up t' line.

With t' ppb in place, next up is mountin' t' coolant fins. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! These are 8 laser-cut fiber fins that are just amazing. Begad! Aye aye! They have tiny root feet that mount t' t' BT-50 just ahead o' t' ppb, me bucko, me hearties, then they curve around t' ppb and touch down on t' BT-20 that extends out beyond t' aft end o' t' BT-50. Well, blow me down! They then curve back up from t' BT-20 and sort o' hang out a couple inches behind t' BT-20 like t' tentacles o' an octopus. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! There's a small section o' BT-60 that slips inside these tentacles, perfectly fitting. Ya scallywag! O' course, this is probably another one o' those cases where if you want t' ppb, coolant fins, shiver me timbers, BT-20 and/or BT-60 t' be anythin' other than a single color, if you've used glue at this point you're in [deep dudu].

Buildin' up t' lower BT-50 now, t' main fins go on. They have long roots, then have arced cut outs t' slip over t' ppb, and very small root sections that reach down t' anchor t' t' BT-20.

Each main fin gets a side pod subassembly attached t' t' tip. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' side pods are a very funky assembly o' two pieces of scalloped and sliced BT-50 that slide together, me bucko, with a section o' BT-2.5 slipped inside their seam. Ahoy! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! A balsa nose cone fits t' BT-2.5 finishin' t' subassembly. Ahoy! Blimey! In t' photos, me bucko, you can see that in me case, I painted each BT-50 piece independently, maskin' off betwixt colors at t' slot where they join together. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I also decided nay t' actually paint t' tube interiors that would be exposed, but instead used some blue glittery contact paper purchased from Aerospace Speciality Products. Begad! Blimey! T' BT-2.5 and cones got black metallic pre-paint before assembly. Ahoy! Blimey! Try paintin' these subassemblies anythin' other than one main color--I dare ya... Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!

There's still more t' build out beyond t' pods--each gets a pair o' fins mounted into t' tube seams, with the fins spread out at about a 70 degree angle (aided by a little cut out angle template). T' tip o' each o' these fins gets a wood dowel gun, trimmed t' match t' angle o' t' fins.

But wait, arrr, thar's more. I said thar were 11 fins, arrr, me bucko, and so far we've only covered 6 (those coolant fins don't count). Each o' t' pod fin pairs gets another extension type fin tacked into their root joint, arrr, basically extendin' the main fin line if everythin' has been mounted correctly. Ya scallywag! Begad! Those, ya bilge rat, arrr, in turn, get tiny little guns mounted t' them that are built up from a toothpick, me hearties, wrapped with paper or tape, matey, slipped into an 1/8" launch lug. Arrr! Arrr!

OK, that's 8. Well, blow me down! 3 more t' go...On t' "bottom" o' t' lower BT-50 thar are a pair o' cut off arc fins/stabilizers. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! You'll find very few fins on this use nothin' but straight lines, matey, which had me mutterin' t' myself as I was cuttin' everythin' out. Arrr!

Still leaves us with one fin. On t' top o' t' lower BT-50 is somethin' called an antenna. Aye aye! Aye aye! Apparently spaceships don't have cable TV, arrr, so they need somethin' resemblin' a satellite dish, and for proper reception it has to be raised up a bit t' avoid t' cosmic interference o' t' coolant fins. Well, blow me down! There's one fin actin' as an antenna mount (naturally, with a curved leadin' edge). Well, blow me down! At t' tip o' this goes a short section o' BT-2.5 (scalloped, o' course--can't have squared tubes on this beauty). Ya scallywag! On t' end o' that goes t' antenna, shiver me timbers, me bucko, matey, which consists o' a rolled paper cone front section, matey, glued t' one o' t' cut out sections from t' ppb for t' back end.

All that's left o' construction be t' nose cone screw eye/anchor, arrr, and cutting/makin' t' chute, ya bilge rat, fairly standard stuff. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! All told, me hearties, you've got t' 11 fins, me hearties, 8 coolant fins, 11 different sections o' body tube (6 o' which are slotted/joined, me hearties, with 7 different scalloped ends), and a poopload o' other do-dads involved.

Finishing:
T' write-up for finishin' on this could take another couple pages, so I'll grossly abbreviate it and refer you to t' various pics included.

Tubes were all treated with t' usual Fill N Finish, matey, diluted about 20% with water and brushed into t' spirals. T' close-up photos still show t' spirals, but that's more a result o' t' paint (to follow). Just about everythin' on this was prepainted offline before assembly.

For t' black and silver, shiver me timbers, I used Rustoleum metallics. Begad! By metallic, me hearties, I mean t' stuff that has a glittery/sparkling appearance, nay t' stuff that has a smooth mirror-like gloss. For example, ya bilge rat, t' black is 7250 midnight black metallic. It's a wonderful paint for certain types o' rockets, and this is one o' those. Avast, me proud beauty! FWIW, shiver me timbers, I think it's also t' perfect paint for t' Alien 8 and Night Whisper, shiver me timbers, matey, shiver me timbers, two other futuristic Fliskit models.

For t' other colors, I used Krylon X-metal paints, ya bilge rat, me bucko, which claim t' produce an anodized-lookin' finish. Blimey! They do tend to result in pretty good metallic finishes, though with that sparkle/glitter, shiver me timbers, nay a mirror shine. They require a special primer which is a silver metallic base coat. While I do generally like t' finished color, they are almost translucent and therefore do nay cover well. Arrr! They also are more prone t' runs than other Krylons and they really hate bein' sprayed in t' cold. Well, blow me down! For most o' this model, ya bilge rat, I've got two primer coats only lightly sanded, arrr, and at least 3, arrr, in some cases 5 finish coats. Ya scallywag! With 5-7 coats o' paint, matey, thar are still some slight traces where you can spot t' pencil lines I drew on t' unpainted tubes. Begad! Ahoy! You can also see t' spirals, nay because they aren't filled, but because t' filler is a different color than t' tube and took t' paint differently. This is all only apparent at very close examination, though--from a foot away it's a fantastic lookin' model.

There are some waterslide decals included in this. They go on easily, matey, but I've got t' pan them a bit as t' weakest aspect o' t' kit. Blimey! On t' cover, they add some excellent accent trim. Begad! When applied t' anythin' other than very light colors, though, they fade into t' background. Avast! Begad! On t' black surfaces, matey, matey, they'd be invisible. Aye aye! These really need t' be silk screened and/or printed over a base coat o' white, matey, somethin' that I believe is currently bein' considered for t' next batch o' kits.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
After all t' work t' build and finish, I be anxious t' get in t' first flight, arrr, so I braved t' elements and schlepped out on a cold winter day. Blimey! Highs in t' teens, winds 6-8 mph, 4-5 inches o' fresh snow cover. Aye aye! I've got a stash o' C5-3's t' burn down, so substituted one o' those for t' recommended C6-3.

Boost be straight up in t' moderate winds, with a little bit o' a roll on t' way up, maybe 2 rotations. Avast! Apogee be in t' neighborhood o' 300-350 feet, ya bilge rat, and while t' delay was a little early, ya bilge rat, that's what you want (versus nose down) in terms o' deployment on somethin' like this with lots o' do-dads stickin' out t' snag a shroud line.

Recovery:
I hadn't realized it at t' time, but this kit apparently features voice-activated dual deployment, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, clearly another element o' t' advanced alien technology reflected in t' design. Ahoy! Begad! When t' ejection charge fired, ya bilge rat, t' chute came out, but as is often t' case with plastic chutes in cold weather, it decided t' stick closed. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! T' rocket descended horizontally, matey, me hearties, though, so I wasn't too worried, matey, but was jokin' t' t' handful o' fellow flyers watchin' that it be dual deploy. Begad! At about 75 feet, matey, I said "and now is when t' main should be deploying", at which point t' stuck chute decided t' unfurl, me hearties, right on cue. Avast, me proud beauty! Just enough time t' slow it down for a perfect landin' within 25 yards o' the pad.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
What can I say? This is a wild and cool design and a very enjoyable build, though can be very challengin' t' paint, and it flies great. Ahoy! T' decals are definitely a con, though a small one. Ya scallywag! It has jumped up near t' top o' me favorite Fliskits models, and I highly recommend it for t' experienced modeller.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5