Semroc Centurion

Semroc - Centurion {Kit} (KV-40)

Contributed by Chan Stevens

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Diameter: 1.64 inches
Manufacturer: Semroc
Skill Level: 2
Style: Clone, Sport
Semroc Centrurion

Brief:
T' original Centurion was introduced in 1970 by Centuri and was one o' t' first rockets t' introduce an ejection baffle system, eliminatin' t' need for recovery wadding. Well, blow me down! This is good for long, matey, slow flights, and a nice flier.

Construction:
T' parts list:

  • Balsa nose cone
  • 2 ST-16 body tubes
  • 4 Laser-cut balsa fins
  • 18mm motor kit
  • 2 12" plastic chutes
  • Baffle kit
  • Keelhaul®©™®/elastic shock cord
  • Waterslide decals

T' instructions for this are typical Semroc, me bucko, ya bilge rat, well written and reasonably illustrated. You'll find this is a pretty quick and easy build. Arrr! Blimey! It can be put together in 2 hours plus finishin' time.

T' motor mount is a basic 18mm tube, ya bilge rat, pair o' centerin' rings, and metal hook.

T' baffle is a neat little assembly. You slip t' Keelhaul®©™® through one hole in a perforated disk then tack it in place. Aye aye! T' disk is then tacked t' a tube coupler. Begad! Another perforated disk is attached t' t' other end o' t' coupler. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! T' idea is that since t' holes are different size/orientation, thar's no clean passage for t' ejection particles, and they get trapped in t' coupler. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! Glue the coupler t' each body tube, ya bilge rat, tack on t' fins, me bucko, shiver me timbers, and construction is pretty much complete.

Finishing:
T' paint scheme for this is pretty easy. Arrr! I first prepped t' surfaces by fillin' grains with Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish (diluted), ya bilge rat, t' tube spirals with a wood filler, me hearties, and then sanded everythin' down with 220 grit sandpaper.

With t' surface prepped, I followed up with two coats o' white primer then two coats o' gloss white. Begad! I masked off t' lower portion o' t' main body and painted t' top and nose gloss black.

T' waterslide decals include a Centurion label and some red striping. Begad! T' stripes are too long for t' fin trim so they must be cut t' length. Ahoy! They are also too short t' wrap around t' main body tube so you need t' use two strips with a little overlap. Ahoy! Aye aye! T' decal sheet was a little too small for this, but it would have been nice if a larger single stripe be provided.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' first flight for this debuted at NSL2007, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, a nice venue considerin' I picked up t' kit at t' previous national event, me hearties, NARCON. Aye aye! Winds had settled in around 6-8 mph, and I went for t' recommended C6-5. Flight was perfect, arrr, and deployment was also perfect.

Recovery:
T' kit comes with a pair o' 12" chutes, notin' for larger fields and/or harder surfaces, arrr, you can go with both. Smaller fields/softer grass would only call for 1.

T' huge field and dry, ya bilge rat, arrr, me hearties, hard grass should have pushed me t' 2 chutes, ya bilge rat, but I was tryin' for shorter walks t' get multiple flights in, arrr, so went with just 1. It served fine though t' landin' was a little rough. Still, I suffered no damage and it will fly again.

I did skip t' waddin' t' try out t' baffle capability and melted t' chute a bit so even with t' baffle, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, you should slip in a sheet or two o' wadding.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
PROs: Flies great, me bucko, quick/easy build, shares classic Bertha styling, arrr, baffle is nice feature.

CONs: none.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Other Reviews
  • Semroc Centurion By John Lee (March 29, 2008)

    Brief: This rocket is a retro-repro, 18mm, standard 4FNC rocket with baffle ejection and dual parachute recovery system. Construction: The balsa sheet was within the instructions and was broken in many places parallel to the grain. One fin was broken into 2 pieces, the other three were broken into three pieces each. Let me hasten to add, I am NOT blaming Semroc for this. This ...

  • Semroc Centurion By Ron Wirth (July 12, 2007)

    Brief: The Centurion is another nice addition in the Semroc Retro-Repro series of rockets. For being a 4FNC rocket, it has some cool extras, namely the dual chutes, ejection baffle and shape of the laser cut fins that lead me to purchasing this rocket. I really like the curved portion of the fin at the rear of the rocket. Construction: This kit comes with 2 sections of body ...

  • Semroc Centurion By Bill Eichelberger (May 31, 2007)

    Brief: Originally a Centuri kit circa 1971-77, the Centurion was perfectly sized to fit in with the Estes Big Bertha and Semroc Vega. With 18mm power and an ejection baffle that all but eliminated the need for recovery wadding, the Centurion was another choice in the crowded field of skill level one birds that were perfect for flights from smaller fields. The Semroc version also ...

Flights

Comments:

avatar
H.C.M. (June 18, 2007)
A great kit, my review would agree with everything the reviewer wrote. Only one small problem from my end. The red stripe decals provided weren't quite long enough to go completely around the main body tube. It took some "piecing" together of two stripe decals. Not a big deal, but might be trouble for a younger modeler inexperienced with decals.

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