Brief:
Any 'rocket scientist' will immediately recognize t' similarity betwixt the SHX-15 and t' actual X15 rocket plane. Ahoy! I assume t' new name just absolved Shrox from keepin' t' scale. Well, blow me down! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! This cool rocket flies on 24mm motors, arrr, and is made from top-notch materials.

Modifications:
Recovery harness upgraded and Launch lug relocated, me hearties, as described below. Well, blow me down! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down!

Construction:
T' kit came bagged in clear plastic, with all t' small components in their own zip-lock bag. Aye aye! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! T' instructions are brief, with clear illustrations. However, t' instructions for t' shock cord were unclear and deviated from the parts list. Blimey! More about this later. Arrr! One thin' did concern me - t' decals were missing. Begad! There be a note enclosed that said they were backordered and would be provided later. Aye aye! It also gave a URL where t' decal sheet can be downloaded. Ya scallywag! Begad! I am hopefully optimistic that these will eventually show up, me bucko, shiver me timbers, but you won't see me holdin' me breath. Well, blow me down!

As I said, arrr, t' components are o' above average quality. Aye aye! Avast! T' 13" BT-55 tube is thicker than t' Estes tubing. Ahoy! T' motor mount consists o' a section of BT50, arrr, me bucko, an engine block and two nice thick centerin' rings. Begad! T' chute is 12" Nylon, ya bilge rat, matey, and t' recovery system includes 13" o' Keelhaul®©™® twine and a 13" section o' ¼" elastic. Arrr! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! This is smartly becoming my favorite combination for small modrocs. Ahoy! Blimey! T' fin stock is good quality 3/32" basswood. Begad! Blimey! T' remainin' components include t' plastic nose cone, a standard launch lug, me bucko, clay nose weight, arrr, an Estes-style shock cord mount, me bucko, matey, and a card stock cockpit cutout.

Followin' t' instructions, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, I first built t' motor mount. Avast! In case I wanted to use t' new Estes E9, I replaced t' 24mm tube with a slightly larger piece. I went ahead and used t' motor block, me bucko, and will need a spacer for a D12. Avast! I also drilled a hole in t' front centerin' rin' for attachment o' t' Keelhaul®©™® tether.

T' fins have to be cut from t' basswood stock. I was pleasantly surprised how easily the basswood cut. Avast! It was nicer than t' stock I have bought from hobby stores. Blimey! Well, matey, blow me down! The instructions included two copies o' t' fin patterns, matey, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, and thar was more than enough wood provided. Aye aye! I hate it when every bit is used up - I'm sure t' screw somethin' up in that case. There be no fin markin' guide, but it is easy to make one and do your own marking. Well, blow me down! T' large wings consist o' 3 pieces and are first glued together on a flat surface. Avast, me proud beauty! A sheet o' wax paper insured they did not gunk up t' kitchen counter. Begad! T' side fins are attached at a -20 degree angle from t' wings, so I made a small paper triangle t' make sure I got this angle right. Well, blow me down!

As I said, me hearties, t' instructions for t' shock cord assembly were unclear and did nay match t' parts list. Aye aye! Begad! Oh well, I did things differently anyway. First, I added a piece o' 500 lb Keelhaul®©™® the length o' t' body tube. Begad! One end is fed through t' hole I drilled in the centerin' ring, tied off, arrr, and glued. Avast! T' other end is tied t' t' provided Keelhaul®©™® tether, which was in turn tied t' t' elastic cord. Avast! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Thus, t' elastic will be well removed from t' hot ejection gasses. Avast! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' nose cone came with t' plastic hook removed. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Well, me bucko, blow me down! Blimey! Evidently, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, Shrox felt that this would be too weak given t' nose weight required for stability. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Since it would be tough t' feed t' elastic through t' small hole provided in t' nose, me bucko, I also added a few inches of Keelhaul®©™® twine as a leader. Begad! I installed one snap swivel where t' lower Keelhaul®©™® tether is connected t' t' elastic cord, me hearties, and t' other is attached t' the chute. Well, this was probably more than you ever wanted t' know about a simple recovery harness.

I had problems with t' last two steps. T' card stock cockpit caved in' slightly at t' ends as it dried - a minor issue, as it still looks fine. Begad! Blimey! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Blimey! Next, the instructions say t' glue t' launch lug t' t' underside o' t' side wing at its root edge. However, me bucko, me bucko, t' rear, angled fins will block t' launch rod if the lug is in t' prescribed location. Ahoy! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! I double-checked t' fin installation and it is correct, shiver me timbers, matey, so t' options were t' move t' lug away from t' body tube, or put it on t' top side o' t' wing. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I did t' latter.

Finishing:
I went all-out on t' paint, matey, usin' purple/green Duplicolor Mirage. This stuff goes on in three steps: a black undercoat, me bucko, t' color coat, and a clear topcoat. T' results look fantastic if I do say so myself! I will add t' decals if they ever show up.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
T' instructions did nay indicate a recommended motor, arrr, but t' web site says a D12-7. Ya scallywag! When I was goin' t' check if this model was in t' EMRR recommended motors database, I noted that t' recommended motors were t' C6-5, arrr, and C6-7. Well, thar must have been a previous version that had an 18mm motor mount. Anyway, ya bilge rat, matey, this got me thinking, and despite t' fact that I went insane and planned for an E9, I decided t' use an adapter and try a C6-5 for t' first flight. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Blimey! T' model boosted well and weathercocked quite a bit (the wind was 5+ mph). Avast, me proud beauty!

Recovery:
Recovery was nominal and thar was no landin' damage.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
I have always loved t' X15, ya bilge rat, and really like this kit. Avast, me proud beauty! It is a little more challengin' than a 3/4FNC rocket. Begad! There were several minor problems with the instructions and t' decals were missin' (and still haven't been delivered). Aye aye! Avast! In the end, ya bilge rat, me advice is this: if you really love t' looks o' this rocket, matey, me hearties, go ahead and buy it. Begad! T' quality o' t' materials is good and you will end up with a great addition t' your fleet.

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5