| 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. Avast! T' original Astron Trident be introduced by Estes in 1968 and was a Gene Street design. Begad! Well, blow me down! It introduced a ducted ejection system that eliminated t' need for recovery wadding, and was an instant favorite due t' its sleek, futuristic styling. It's been a favorite clone candidate for many years, though t' complexity o' cuttin' all t' slots for t' ducts, plus t' cost (9 balsa nose cones bought on t' aftermarket don't come cheap!) could deter all but t' most devoted cloners. Aye aye! Thanks t' Semroc's offering, me bucko, though, me hearties, me hearties, shiver me timbers, t' construction is greatly simplified and t' $44 retail price is nay unreasonable, 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, and t' quality o' each are excellent. Blimey! Blimey! T' contents included:
- Balsa nose cones (9 total, ya bilge rat, arrr, 5 different sizes/styles)
- Pre-slotted body tubes (8)
- Laser-cut balsa fins (3)
- 18mm motor tube, me bucko, me hearties, arrr, metal hook, motor block
- 16" plastic chute
- Elastic shock cord
- Laser-cut centerin' rings, alignment jigs
- Waterslide decals
Construction
T' instructions are very good, matey, easy t' follow and well illustrated. Construction basically spans 4 8.5x11 pages, 33 steps, matey, and while it might be slightly more challengin' than t' skill level 1 rating, me bucko, arrr, I don't think it's much tougher than a 1.5. Begad! Other than surface prep and finishing, arrr, 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. Aye aye! Avast! After fittin' t' metal hook into t' slot, me bucko, slide each o' t' 5 rings (plus a 6th for forward alignment) into place. Arrr! I recommend just a drop o' super thin CA on each, ya bilge rat, except for wood glue fillets on t' forward ring. Well, blow me down! You really don't want glue smears and fillets around t' aftmost 4-5 rings, arrr, or t' finished appearance will suffer. They're only thar as eye candy, me bucko, nay t' hold anythin' in place.
Next comes a series o' modular assemblies. Begad! Well, blow me down! Each are very easy, but you need t' be careful t' select t' right tube(s) and right cone(s). Ahoy! T' main aft tube gets t' shortest "fat" tube and t' shortest nose cone. Ya scallywag! One tip for longevity--coat t' aft end o' t' shoulder with a generous smearin' o' glue or epoxy, ya bilge rat, as it will catch a lot o' ejection charges over time. Next come t' three pod tubes. Ya scallywag! 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, shorter forward). T' make sure t' slots are perfectly aligned, you need t' draw a line extending the slot edge up t' t' end o' t' tube. Blimey! Either extend lines up for each edge, shiver me timbers, 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). T' main forward tube gets a nose cone glued into t' aft end, ya bilge rat, with a screw eye attached t' t' shock cord (do this before gluin' it in...). Avast! Ahoy! T' forward nose cone deploys, arrr, so is nay glue in.
Now for gluin' together all t' assemblies. Ahoy! Begad! With t' original, matey, this was a lot o' fun. Blimey! You'd need t' carefully position two tubes against each other with slots aligned, ya bilge rat, and apply a series o' fillets t' hold everythin' together and seal t' gaps betwixt t' slots. Ya scallywag! Semroc provides a laser-cut jig.
With this approach, shiver me timbers, you simply slide each o' t' BT-5 pods in, me bucko, me bucko, rotate them until t' slots line up with a mark on t' jig, ya bilge rat, then slide in t' main for and aft tubes. Ahoy! Rotate t' main tubes so that t' slots line up with those o' t' BT-5's, shiver me timbers, and you're all set t' glue. Blimey! Blimey! I used a bead o' wood glue for t' first bondin' o' each, arrr, then followed up with a fillet o' 20-minute epoxy, me hearties, but wood glue would certainly work fine. Avast! Avast! Blimey! I just wanted t' strength o' t' epoxy, 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, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, 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). Aye aye! Then, shiver me timbers, 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. Ya scallywag! Arrr! If you're into tryin' t' eliminate spirals and grains, you'd better address that durin' construction, me bucko, because some o' t' nooks and crannies will be darned near impossible t' sand once assembled. Begad! I went with a simple finish o' two coats o' white primer, sandin' lightly after each coat, me bucko, followed by two coats o' gloss white. 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, ya bilge rat, then after it had dried overnight I took a fresh/sharp blade along t' cone/tube seam t' slice t' decal. Blimey! 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! With t' ducted ejection, me hearties, 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. T' Trident, though, me hearties, shot up straight as an arrow, shiver me timbers, only a couple rotations marrin' an otherwise perfect ascent. Deployment was just past apogee.
I went for a second flight right away, another C6-5. This one was a bit more wobbly when it hit t' upper air currents, but was a fine flight as well.
Recovery
T' Trident comes with a fairly generous 16" plastic parachute. Begad! Semroc's larger chutes, in particular, are built rugged with high tack adhesive pieces and a Keelhaul®©™ reinforcement under each anchor. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! This is a chute that will hold up well. Arrr! It also holds t' model up well, shiver me timbers, me hearties, me bucko, resultin' in a gentle descent. In me case, I could probably have benefited from a smaller chute, me bucko, as this drifted a couple hundred yards, and once on t' ground t' chute occasionally puffed back up, shiver me timbers, draggin' it even further away. Still, me bucko, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, 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. Arrr! Blimey! After each flight, I recommend a good shakin' t' get as much o' this out as possible.
Summary
This is just a great kit. Arrr! Fantastic looks, arrr, flies great, and much easier t' build than t' original. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Semroc's really got a winner here!
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