Brief:
This is another fine addition t' t' futuristic-themed line o' Flis kits. Ya scallywag! A far cry from your 3FNC style rocket (try 20 fins!), arrr, which features an unusual nose cone and really sweet inverse parabolic transition.

Construction:
For all you collectors out there, I did t' market price a favor by tearin' into kit #24. I had thought about hanging onto it, ya bilge rat, but this design and in particular t' transition and nose cone were just screamin' t' avoid t' long, drawn-out agin' process that is me build queue. Blimey! I started workin' on it almost immediately after it arrived.

Parts are all excellent quality, matey, ya bilge rat, though I should note that t' balsa is very soft, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, and prone t' minor dings. Ya scallywag! My transition had a very slight dent, me bucko, shiver me timbers, easily touched up, matey, and I nicked a couple o' fins tryin' t' cut very fine points. Aye aye! The parts list includes:

• BT-60 x 8.5 lower body
• BT-50 x 4 motor tube
• BT-20 x 8.625 upper body tube
• Balsa nose cone
• Balsa transition
• Balsa fin stock (mostly 1/8, me hearties, me bucko, some 1/16)
• Fiber centerin' rings
• Motor block, shiver me timbers, metal hook
• Keelhaul®©™® + elastic shock cord (48")
• Plastic parachute
• Waterslide decals

Construction begins with a reasonably straightforward motor mount assembly consistin' o' a BT-50, motor block and a pair o' centerin' rings. Ahoy! T' only wrinkle is that you need t' choose between E-sized motors and C11/D12-sized motors. Arrr! If usin' t' longer motor (why not, matey, me bucko, ya bilge rat, since you can always add a spacer and use D's), t' supplied D-size hook will nay work, matey, leavin' you t' friction fit or swap out t' hook for your own E-sized as I did. Begad! Aye aye! Pay attention t' t' dimensions used for motor block recess and slot for hook, as these vary dependin' on D/E motor choice. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Also, me bucko, shiver me timbers, be careful t' mount t' aft rin' as close t' 1.25" from aft as possible, matey, ya bilge rat, as it fits flush t' t' BT-60 leavin' an exposed motor mount.

This might also be a good time t' point out that if you intend t' fill tube spirals, definitely do it now (includin' t' aft 1.5" o' t' BT-50) since you're about t' mount 20 different fins which leaves very little room for filler and sanding.

Next comes fin cutting, t' old-fashioned way usin' templates and raw balsa sheet. Use a good fresh blade, arrr, arrr, as most fins have at least one sharp point, which tends t' break as you drag a dull blade across t' balsa grain. Avast, me proud beauty! There are a total o' 24 pieces t' cut includin' t' (4) 2-piece main fin sets. Ya scallywag! Avast! Oddly enough, t' main fins consist o' a main fin and strake section but are nay bonded in advance. Blimey! Instead, t' instructions call for mountin' them one at a time on t' BT-60. I cheated and bonded t' fin and strake together on a flat surface first, ya bilge rat, then tacked t' assembly onto t' BT-60 with CA. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! T' fin lines are marked via wrap-around guides for t' BT-60 and BT-20. Arrr! Bein' an obsessive-compulsive, I printed out a wrap-around markin' guide on me own for t' BT-50 aft tube (0.976 OD x 8 fins). Avast! Ya scallywag! But found it was at least as big a pain t' coordinate t' lines on t' BT-50 and BT-60 when slidin' in t' motor mount than if I'd simply marked t' aft BT-50 lines by eyeball.

There are 4 tiny secondary fins mounted on t' BT-60 betwixt t' main fins and an identical set o' fins. Begad! Don't let the inclusion o' a second pattern addlepate ya. Ahoy! They are t' same fin, me hearties, down t' t' grain direction.

T' upper body is built like a standard payload bay, though usin' a very cool transition. Aye aye! T' picture doesn't do it justice. Ahoy! Imagine turnin' a cone on a lathe usin' a parabolic nose cone as the cutout pattern. Ahoy! T' end result is a sweet transition that is nay just a plain, matey, straight line.

Tackin' on 8 lower/aft fins t' t' BT-50 and making/packin' t' chute wraps up construction. Note: if following the standard paint scheme o' white body, arrr, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, red aft motor tube, ya bilge rat, arrr, and black aft fins, me hearties, then you'll definitely want t' tape off a very thin (< 1/16") portion o' t' BT-50 along t' fin lines t' act as a bondin' surface AFTER t' BT-50 and fins have been separately painted.

T' finished motor mount serves as t' anchor point for t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord.

Finishing:
Well, me bucko, t' good news on finishin' is that it's basically a monochrome finish, so thar be very little masking. Aye aye! T' bad news is that thar be a LOT o' balsa grain t' deal with and a fair length o' tubes for spiral filling. I'm a big fan of pre-preppin' most surfaces before construction, shiver me timbers, so took care o' spirals and grains in advance usin' Elmer's Fill N Finish®. T' transition be very tricky t' work with. Aye aye! I knew hand sandin' could be problematic and potentially mess up the gentle curves and sharp edge lines, so I went with a very thin/highly dilluted Fill N Finish mix and very lightly touched with 400 grit. Begad! Arrr! I wound up repeatin' this process 3 times before satisfied.

As noted, arrr, I also masked off tiny strips on t' exposed aft end of the motor tube so that I could paint t' trim fins offline (black) and then tack on with a little CA.

I made one minor goof in masking, ya bilge rat, I didn't catch that t' aft trim fins do nay run t' full length o' t' exposed tube. Avast! Aye aye! So I over-masked. This caused a little hand touch-up t' what was otherwise a pretty darned nice paint job.

I first primered everythin' with a coat o' gray which is best for exposin' flaws in surface prep. Satisfied, me hearties, I moved on t' a couple light white primer coats then hit t' motor tube and aft centerin' rin' with gloss red. Allowin' a couple days t' cure, shiver me timbers, I then masked that area off and shot three coats o' gloss white over t' rest o' t' rocket. Arrr! Well, blow me down! I then tacked on t' black trim fins, touched up me little goof area and moved on t' decals.

There are a bunch o' decals for this. Ahoy! Blimey! Decals in general are a rarity for Fliskits but when they are included they are usually fantastic. This kit is no exception. Ahoy! Blimey! T' decals are incredibly detailed and really give it t' finished space transport vehicle look. Begad! Blimey! After spendin' a good 90 minutes applyin' everythin' (excellent placement notes are included, by t' way), I touched everythin' up with a little Micro Scale decal solvent. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey!

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
I had rushed t' construction a bit on this one t' haul up t' NARCON 2008 and while thar I managed t' talk myself into tradin' it back t' Jim Flis t' use as a display model. So t' flight report will be delayed a bit as I now have to build another one in t' next month or two.

As a general impression, I would nay anticipate any stability problems whatsoever. Ya scallywag! Usin' 24mm motors though, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, I think at about 2 ounces empty weight I would hold off on pushin' t' envelope up t' E's unless flyin' on a very large field. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! My guess is a D12-5 would be a perfect motor for this.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
While Fliskits tends t' offer a variety o' unusual/innovative designs, ya bilge rat, arrr, me hearties, I think this one is goin' t' stand out as a real gem. Ahoy! Very sleek futuristic styling, unusual nose and a sweet lookin' transition.

Cons are minor and probably overly picky, me hearties, while t' transition is gorgeous, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, it is a bit difficult t' sand/treat, though thar's nothin' I would offer up from a production or design perspective t' improve this. Also, I found that there is as slight dimensional mismatch related t' decals and t' placement near t' main body tube/transition joint. T' trim band is suppoed t' fit flush t' t' forward end o' t' body tube but t' space betwixt that and t' forward tip o' t' fins is about a half inch t' short t' accomodate. Avast, me proud beauty! I split me decal and mounted it spannin' the transition/tube joint. I also had t' relocated a couple other trim decals that are supposed t' go forward o' the fins/aft o' t' transition.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5