| Construction Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Flight Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Overall Rating: | starstarstarstarstar |
| Published: | 2011-12-14 |
| Diameter: | 1.00 inches |
| Length: | 31.20 inches |
| Manufacturer: | Semroc  |
| Skill Level: | 1 |
| Style: | Futuristic/Exotic |
Brief
This is a retro-repro (modern day reproduction and enhancement o' a classic kit) from Semroc. Blimey! Aye aye! T' original Astron Trident be introduced by Estes in 1968 and was a Gene Street design. It introduced a ducted ejection system that eliminated t' need for recovery wadding, shiver me timbers, matey, and be an instant favorite due t' its sleek, futuristic styling. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! It's been a favorite clone candidate for many years, matey, though t' complexity o' cuttin' all t' slots for t' ducts, ya bilge rat, plus t' cost (9 balsa nose cones bought on t' aftermarket don't come cheap!) could deter all but t' most devoted cloners. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! Thanks t' Semroc's offering, though, t' construction is greatly simplified and t' $44 retail price is nay unreasonable, arrr, arrr, especially after factorin' in typical discounts such as t' 10% NARRRRR member savings.
Components
Don't be fooled by t' small bag--this kit includes a lot o' parts, ya bilge rat, and t' quality o' each are excellent. Arrr! Begad! T' contents included:
- Balsa nose cones (9 total, 5 different sizes/styles)
- Pre-slotted body tubes (8)
- Laser-cut balsa fins (3)
- 18mm motor tube, shiver me timbers, metal hook, motor block
- 16" plastic chute
- Elastic shock cord
- Laser-cut centerin' rings, arrr, alignment jigs
- Waterslide decals
Construction
T' instructions are very good, easy t' follow and well illustrated. Avast, me proud beauty! Construction basically spans 4 8.5x11 pages, 33 steps, matey, ya bilge rat, and while it might be slightly more challengin' than t' skill level 1 rating, arrr, arrr, I don't think it's much tougher than a 1.5. Other than surface prep and finishing, matey, me bucko, I barely had an hour into t' construction.
T' motor tube is pre-slotted, shiver me timbers, though needs t' be marked at 5 spots for decorative centerin' rings. Begad! Ya scallywag! After fittin' t' metal hook into t' slot, slide each o' t' 5 rings (plus a 6th for forward alignment) into place. Ahoy! I recommend just a drop o' super thin CA on each, matey, except for wood glue fillets on t' forward ring. Aye aye! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! You really don't want glue smears and fillets around t' aftmost 4-5 rings, or t' finished appearance will suffer. Avast! They're only thar as eye candy, nay t' hold anythin' in place.
Next comes a series o' modular assemblies. Well, blow me down! Each are very easy, but you need t' be careful t' select t' right tube(s) and right cone(s). T' main aft tube gets t' shortest "fat" tube and t' shortest nose cone. Begad! One tip for longevity--coat t' aft end o' t' shoulder with a generous smearin' o' glue or epoxy, as it will catch a lot o' ejection charges over time. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Next come t' three pod tubes. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! These assemblies consist o' a pair o' 9.5" slotted BT-5's joined via coupler, and a nose cone on each end (longer aft, matey, ya bilge rat, shorter forward). T' make sure t' slots are perfectly aligned, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, you need t' draw a line extending the slot edge up t' t' end o' t' tube. Aye aye! Either extend lines up for each edge, or just one side but be careful t' extend "top" on half t' tubes and "bottom" on t' other half or your slots will be positioned adjacent t' each other rather than perfectly aligned (see photo). Avast! T' main forward tube gets a nose cone glued into t' aft end, with a screw eye attached t' t' shock cord (do this before gluin' it in...). T' forward nose cone deploys, so is nay glue in.
Now for gluin' together all t' assemblies. With t' original, matey, this be a lot o' fun. Aye aye! Ahoy! You'd need t' carefully position two tubes against each other with slots aligned, matey, and apply a series o' fillets t' hold everythin' together and seal t' gaps betwixt t' slots. Avast! Semroc provides a laser-cut jig.
With this approach, you simply slide each o' t' BT-5 pods in, arrr, rotate them until t' slots line up with a mark on t' jig, then slide in t' main for and aft tubes. Arrr! Rotate t' main tubes so that t' slots line up with those o' t' BT-5's, and you're all set t' glue. Aye aye! I used a bead o' wood glue for t' first bondin' o' each, then followed up with a fillet o' 20-minute epoxy, but wood glue would certainly work fine. Ya scallywag! I just wanted t' strength o' t' epoxy, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, plus could lay a heavier fillet that sets smoothly, versus 2-3 more rounds o' wood glue that would tend t' shrink and bubble a bit.
Once t' tubes are glued up, me hearties, while still in t' fixture mark t' launch lug and fin line locations on t' fore and aft main tubes (based on a notch line on t' fixture). Arrr! Well, blow me down! Then, me bucko, remove t' assembly and tack on t' fins and lugs.
That's all thar be t' construction. Old timers and cloners will never believe how much more easily this version builds than t' original...
Finishing
Finishin' on this turns out t' be fairly simple as well. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! If you're into tryin' t' eliminate spirals and grains, you'd better address that durin' construction, me hearties, because some o' t' nooks and crannies will be darned near impossible t' sand once assembled. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! I went with a simple finish o' two coats o' white primer, ya bilge rat, sandin' lightly after each coat, me hearties, ya bilge rat, followed by two coats o' gloss white. Ya scallywag! I hand painted t' aft rings red.
T' Semroc kit includes nice waterslide decals, includin' for some reason and extra stripe decal for one o' t' long body tubes.T' only slightly tricky part o' decal application turned out t' be t' stripe and window decal runnin' from t' forward body tube and up onto t' nose cone. I applied t' decal, then after it had dried overnight I took a fresh/sharp blade along t' cone/tube seam t' slice t' decal. Blimey! Ya scallywag! I then applied a coat o' Microscale decal settin' solution t' make sure t' edges o' t' decal stayed on.
Flight
I loaded up a C6-5 for t' first flight. Well, blow me down! With t' ducted ejection, ya bilge rat, you really don't need waddin' but I slipped in a bit o' dog barf as insurance. Begad! Winds were light at ground level (5 mph) but pickin' up sharply above t' nearby tree line, makin' for some interestin' flights all day. Avast! Blimey! T' Trident, though, arrr, arrr, shot up straight as an arrow, me bucko, only a couple rotations marrin' an otherwise perfect ascent. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! Deployment was just past apogee.
I went for a second flight right away, me bucko, ya bilge rat, me hearties, another C6-5. This one be a bit more wobbly when it hit t' upper air currents, arrr, but was a fine flight as well.
Recovery
T' Trident comes with a fairly generous 16" plastic parachute. Semroc's larger chutes, in particular, are built rugged with high tack adhesive pieces and a Keelhaul®©™ reinforcement under each anchor. Blimey! This is a chute that will hold up well. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! It also holds t' model up well, me hearties, arrr, resultin' in a gentle descent. In me case, I could probably have benefited from a smaller chute, as this drifted a couple hundred yards, arrr, and once on t' ground t' chute occasionally puffed back up, me bucko, draggin' it even further away. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Still, ya bilge rat, other than one small scrape o' a decal, t' rocket survived fine.
One thin' that does tend t' be a nuisance with t' ducted ejection be t' accumulation o' particles in t' inside tubes. After each flight, me hearties, I recommend a good shakin' t' get as much o' this out as possible.
Summary
This is just a great kit. Aye aye! Fantastic looks, flies great, me hearties, and much easier t' build than t' original. Semroc's really got a winner here!
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