Brief:
Rin' finned fantasy sport flyer.

Construction:
All t' parts, shiver me timbers, 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. Aye aye! A quick look through some o' t' old Estes catalogs at www.ninfinger.org showed that t' Star Rider was one o' t' old kits that used it. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! It took me about 3 seconds t' decide t' clone it usin' plans from JimZ.

To start with, arrr, matey, ya bilge rat, 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, arrr, I built t' airframe and motor mount usin' t' standard Estes construction. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! 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. Blimey! Well, me hearties, blow me down! An alignment jig is key. Blimey! You also need to make sure they are all t' same size since they will be holdin' t' rin' fins. While t' glue be drying, I cut t' 2" section o' BT-80 in half t' make the 2 rin' fins. I marked these with 4 alignment lines for t' outer balsa fins, then glued them onto t' airframe linin' up t' edges with t' trailing and leadin' edges o' t' fins. Arrr! T' next step was t' glue on t' outer fins and make fillets.

No special tools were needed, ya bilge rat, just a hobby knife, shiver me timbers, sandpaper, and glue.

Finishing:
I painted t' rocket with 3 coats o' gloss white, arrr, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and realized that I should have painted t' airframe before attachin' t' rin' fins. It be hard t' get the paint on t' inner fins without runs. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! 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 hearties, B4-4, B6-4, me bucko, me hearties, B8-5 and C6-5. Avast! Well, blow me down! For me test flights I used B6-4's and had straight boosts even with some gusty winds around 10 mph. Flight prep be typical Estes, insert igniter, plug and motor, ya bilge rat, 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. No excessive wear be 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, ya bilge rat, you can recreate this OOP kit with no great strain.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5