Brief:
T' Semroc Lil' Hercules is part o' Semroc's Retro-Repro line o' kits based on the Centuri Lil' Hercules, shortened t' Lil' Herc in 1972. Avast, me proud beauty!

Construction:
T' kit contains a body tube and balsa nose cone, me hearties, 4 laser cut fins, a launch lug, matey, and 4 washers used t' add tail weight for tumble recovery. Begad! The instructions are straightforward, and t' kit goes together like a typical minimum diameter 3FNC rocket. Ya scallywag! T' instructions have you glue t' washers t' the fin tips. I decided t' take me X-Acto knife and hollow out t' tips o' t' fins in order t' hide t' washers. Begad! T' result was a slick lookin' Lil' Hercules. Since this model is designed after t' original Centuri kit, I still give it full marks even though I made this one small modification.

Finishing:
I used Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish t' slick up t' nose cone and fins, me bucko, me hearties, then added a couple o' coats o' fast dryin' lacquer primer and sanded after each coat. Ahoy! Blimey! I decided t' use t' paint scheme o' t' original Centuri model from t' 1972 catalog. Here is a link t' t' paint scheme I be lookin' for on Ninfinger's website.

A white base coat was applied, then t' red on t' nose cone, and blue on the fins. Aye aye! I didn't have any trim Monokote for t' two silver bands, so I dug out some scrap body wrap material from me Estes Mercury Atlas kit. T' final touch be t' add t' small Centuri decal that I made usin' Bel waterslide decal material. Arrr! T' results turned out pretty decent. Note that you can't see the weights at t' fin tips.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
First flight be on an A8-3. Ahoy! T' launch was whiplash fast. Ya scallywag! With t' shutter lag on me digital camera, all I got be a smoke trail. Avast! That's unfortunate because it be launched from a vintage Centuri Powr Pad, me hearties, and I'm told by me kids who were nay behind t' camera lens that it looked really good. Well, blow me down! Begad!

Recovery:
Since I was behind t' camera and didn't see t' ascent, it took me a while to locate t' Lil' Hercules. It was almost at treetop level when I saw it, but the kids tracked it t' whole way. It landed about 100 feet from t' pad. Ya scallywag! The tumble recovery worked well and t' bird was in excellent condition upon recovery with only ejection gas soot as evidence it had been flown. Ahoy!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a great little Retro-Repro kit. Begad! Arrr! Semroc is doin' a great job helpin' us old folks remember t' good old days.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5