Brief:
Shrox Industria be a mail order only company that sold an impressive line of futuristic model rockets. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! That said, matey, me hearties, me hearties, durin' it's all too brief stint of availability, t' Shrox Icarus be one o' t' closest things I found t' the glory days o' model rocketry when both Estes and Centuri (and Canaroc t' a smaller, but no less inspired extent) could be counted on t' produce several imaginative futuristic style rockets per catalog. Arrr! T' Icarus would have fit in well alongside such classics as t' Estes Andromeda and U.S.S. Ahoy! Atlantis, Centuri's Taurus and Skylab and any o' Canaroc's Star Fleet series. If you're like me, me hearties, a BAR whose glory days fell in t' late '70's/early '80's, shiver me timbers, it's quite possible that you'll look at this kit and think that this is how it should still be. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag!

Construction:
T' parts list:

• 1 18" BT-50 main body tube
• 1 6" BT-55 fuselage tube
• 1 3" BT-60 Bussard Collector tube
• 1 3" BT-20 Ward Pod tube
• 1 PNC-55
• 1 PNC-20
• 1 18mm engine mount
• 12" nylon parachute
• shock cord mount
• clay weight
• 1 launch lug
• 1 pin' pong ball
• 3/32" basswood fin stock
• 3/32" wood dowel
• shock cord

Considering what you wind up with, matey, me bucko, shiver me timbers, t' Icarus is a surprisingly simple build. Aye aye! T' fins aren't pre-cut, which is cool as they shouldn't be, me hearties, and are t' be cut out of basswood, shiver me timbers, me hearties, which is also cool because it makes finishin' easier. The instructions are nicely illustrated and very clearly written, ya bilge rat, makin' t' rocket a fairly easy skill level 2 build, me bucko, but one that took me over three years to complete. Arrr! T' long wait for completion wasn't due t' any defect in t' design of t' rocket, but more because I was chicken. I had t' fins cut out and ready to go t' day I opened t' bag, and I be cruisin' along on t' construction until I got t' t' pin' pong ball. Begad! His designs alone prove that Shrox deserves to be mentioned in t' same breath as t' designers o' t' classic Estes and Centuri kits, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, but t' addition o' t' pin' pong ball as an integral part o' the design is what he's likely t' be remembered for most o' all. Well, blow me down! Avast! (Well, shiver me timbers, at least by me.) Incorporatin' t' pin' pong ball into t' design, me hearties, me bucko, while brilliant, shiver me timbers, caused me no end o' headaches, arrr, shiver me timbers, me bucko, cost me a small fortune in pin' pong balls, arrr, me bucko, and was a huge part o' t' story behind why I took almost four years t' finish the Icarus. In theory, it's quite simple. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! Draw t' outline o' t' BT-20 onto one side o' t' ball, me hearties, cut t' circle out with a hobby knife, ya bilge rat, then slide t' tube into t' ball, trace it on t' other side and duplicate t' previous cut. Avast, me proud beauty! In no particular order, I either A) had t' ball fly across t' room while I attempted t' make t' first cut, B) slipped and gouged t' ball while making the first cut, matey, C) got t' first hole right then misjudged t' placement o' the second hole, matey, arrr, D) got t' holes aligned right but made t' cuts so sloppily that I had t' start over, me hearties, E) smashed t' ball out o' general frustration, etc, me bucko, me hearties, me bucko, etc, etc. Well, blow me down! My wife was endlessly amused by t' growin' mound o' pin' pong ball corpses that began t' accumulate in t' garbage, and I was beginnin' t' feel like a moron (I don't need t' help), so I moved on t' other projects. Aye aye! I pulled the Icarus out several times a year after that, eventually gettin' a ball t' at least look passable after bein' heavily filleted, but me enthusiasm for the project waned. Arrr! One by one I eventually assembled and attached t' fins until inspiration returned in early December o' 2005. Begad! I attached t' remainin' fins and parts in a marathon session, shiver me timbers, then primed, me bucko, filled, shiver me timbers, and sanded t' suddenly recognizable carcass before me muse disappeared again.

Finishing:
Finishin' wasn't too terrible a task because o' t' basswood and t' single color paint scheme. Blimey! Sealin' be done usin' thinned Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish, me hearties, and after sanding, me bucko, t' entire rocket was sprayed with Valspar white primer. Begad! Blimey! I made sure t' coat t' inside o' t' "Bussard Collector" tube well because I wanted t' spray t' inside with a florescent orange T' give t' impression that all o' t' Bussards that had been collected were aflame. Blimey! Avast! After gettin' the proper coverage with t' florescent paint, I masked off t' area with strips of maskin' tape and sprayed t' rest o' t' rocket with Valspar Gloss Gull Gray. T' gray paint makes t' orange stand out nicely, and t' overall effect is pretty sharp. Once t' paint was up t' snuff, then came t' part I was dreading: t' decals. Aye aye! Blimey! Quite honestly, shiver me timbers, me hearties, t' decals were among t' two best I've ever worked with. Well, blow me down! (T' Rokitflite Odyssey was t' other kits whose decals rocked.) Like t' Odyssey, matey, matey, t' decals for t' Icarus really pushed t' kit into the realm o' t' 5.5 ratin' (if possible) in both looks and ease of application. Well, blow me down! Man, I miss Shrox. Begad!

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
Since t' Icarus finished out as a fairly heavy bird, ya bilge rat, I chose t' go with a C6-3 for t' first flight. Aye aye! Despite t' extra weight, shiver me timbers, t' Icarus had no problem gettin' off t' rod, ya bilge rat, me bucko, shiver me timbers, and from me vantage point left o' t' pad, t' day-glo orange o' t' inside o' t' "Bussard Collector" be clearly visible through most o' t' flight (as I had hoped it would be). T' rocket windcocked immediately upon leavin' t' rod, arrr, but t' large fin area had me expectin' this. Ejection occurred right at apogee and since I had overcompensated greatly on the shock cord, it initially looked like a separation. After a moment it became apparent that everythin' had worked as hoped and t' rocket was goin' t' make it close with t' road like every other rocket I fly at VOA. Arrr! In t' end it managed t' miss t' road (by less than ten feet) and was recovered without a scratch.

For flight #2 I chose a C6-5 with t' hope that t' extra delay might keep it from driftin' in the stiff breeze. Like t' first flight t' Icarus cocked into t' wind as soon as it cleared t' rod, matey, only more severely. Begad! T' C6-5 allowed t' ejection to come just as t' rocket tipped past apogee and once again I had t' wait an agonizin' few seconds before it truly cleared t' access road and settled softly in t' weeds.

Recovery:
Since I started this project back before I was personally acquainted with the joys o' Keelhaul®©™®, the Icarus used t' folded paper shock cord mount that be included with the kit. Avast! Blimey! I did overcompensate by usin' in upwards o' four feet o' sewin' elastic, which gave t' initial impression o' a separation on t' first flight. Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! As it was, t' recovery system, which included a small nylon parachute, performed perfectly.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
PROs: T' Icarus is an awesome lookin' bird even without t' decals but is truly incredible with them. Begad! Ahoy! This one should be high on Shrox's list t' re-kit (or at least sell t' plans as part o' a plan pack. I'd buy one.)

CONs: It's OOP.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5