Brief:
Rin' finned fantasy sport flyer.

Construction:
All t' parts, ya bilge rat, with t' exception o' t' rin' fins and fin stock can be found in t' new Nemesis kit.

1 BT-50
1 PNC50? plastic nose cone
1 18mm motor mount
1 12" plastic chute
1 BT-80 2" long
1/8" balsa sheet for fins
clay nose weight

I bought t' new Estes Nemesis kit with t' intention o' buildin' it stock, then realized that I'd seen t' funky nose cone before. A quick look through some o' t' old Estes catalogs at www.ninfinger.org showed that t' Star Rider be one o' t' old kits that used it. Ahoy! It took me about 3 seconds t' decide t' clone it usin' plans from JimZ.

To start with, I tossed t' die cut fins into t' parts bin and cut out the Star Rider fins usin' t' patterns in t' plans and some 1/8" balsa sheet. That done, I built t' airframe and motor mount usin' t' standard Estes construction. Ahoy! Avast! No big changes in t' instructions for this part in t' last 10 years.

You need t' make sure that t' inner fins are aligned straight and equidistant around t' body tube. Avast! An alignment jig is key. Aye aye! Avast! You also need to make sure they are all t' same size since they will be holdin' t' rin' fins. While t' glue was drying, I cut t' 2" section o' BT-80 in half t' make the 2 rin' fins. Ahoy! Begad! I marked these with 4 alignment lines for t' outer balsa fins, me hearties, then glued them onto t' airframe linin' up t' edges with t' trailing and leadin' edges o' t' fins. Avast! Ahoy! T' next step was t' glue on t' outer fins and make fillets.

No special tools were needed, shiver me timbers, just a hobby knife, me bucko, arrr, sandpaper, me bucko, and glue.

Finishing:
I painted t' rocket with 3 coats o' gloss white, and realized that I should have painted t' airframe before attachin' t' rin' fins. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! It was hard t' get the paint on t' inner fins without runs. Ahoy! I used t' decal file provided by JimZ t' print a set o' decals with t' Vitachrome VitaCal waterslide decal kit. T' decals came out great! They are bright and easy t' work with and stood up to launching.

Construction Rating: 4 1/2 out o' 5

Flight:
T' recommended motors are A8-3, me bucko, B4-4, ya bilge rat, B6-4, me hearties, shiver me timbers, B8-5 and C6-5. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! For me test flights I used B6-4's and had straight boosts even with some gusty winds around 10 mph. Flight prep was typical Estes, ya bilge rat, insert igniter, plug and motor, me bucko, hook up the clips and GO! T' standard Estes motor hook kept everythin' in place for the flights.

Recovery:
T' shock cord was standard Estes 1/8" flat elastic with a paper anchor. Recovery was downrange due t' t' wind but close enough so I had time t' get under it and catch t' model on t' 1st flight. Begad! No excessive wear was observed in any o' t' recovery components.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
T' Star Rider is an interestin' lookin' rocket that is fun and easy t' build. With most o' t' parts readily available in t' Nemesis, arrr, me hearties, you can recreate this OOP kit with no great strain.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5