T' rocket is 23.25" tall and 1.325" in diameter. It uses a hollow, matey, plastic nose cone and, o' course, ya bilge rat, tube fins (seven o' them). Avast, me proud beauty! An elastic shock cord and a 2"x36" metallic mylar streamer make up the recovery system. Blimey! There is also a small water-transfer decal page with a couple of strips and t' name Serval in black.

See my Tube-Fin Rocket Comparison Page

CONSTRUCTION:

There are four pages of construction instructions, includin' an inventory page, 15 steps o' illustrated construction details and 3 steps o' illustrated flyin' preparation tasks. Aye aye! The instructions are in logical order, includin' 2 steps on spray paintin' and applyin' t' decals. T' kit is rated skill level 2.

Assembly o' Serval™ was, for t' most part, without any complications. Begad! Aye aye! T' motor mount is a standard tube, hook, and two centerin' rings. Ahoy! This kit uses 1/32" paper centerin' rings. Also like the other Custom kits I've looked at before, it uses t' same thin motor hook. The thin (1/16") motor hook does it's job, however, it seems t' get out of shape easier than t' wider (1/8") motor hooks from other manufacturers.

There was also a decision that had t' be made on the motor mount assembly by comparin' t' illustrations t' t' instructions. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! Blimey! The instructions, ya bilge rat, me hearties, in step 3, read, shiver me timbers, "Insert t' motor mount until both tubes ends are flush." However, t' color illustration on t' packagin' and 6 other illustrations throughout t' instructions show t' motor mount sticking out approximately 1/2". Avast! Blimey! Blimey! T' latter is how it was assembled.

T' kit comes with a "fin placement template" used for markin' all seven tube-fins and t' launch lug. Begad! This template seemed slightly bigger than t' body tube so care must be taken in markin' t' body tube, ya bilge rat, matey, matey, especially t' launch lug position. Ahoy! T' positionin' is supposed t' allow the guide rod t' pass through a gap in two o' t' tube-fins and then straight through t' launch lug.

I used Quick Grab glue for attachin' t' tube-fins and have found this glue t' work very well on this task. Aye aye! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! (additional comments about Quick Grab glue)

T' recovery system is a standard 3-fold paper mount for the elastic shock cord which is then tied t' an eye-screw that is screwed into the nose cone. There is one 6" shroud line that is attached t' t' mylar streamer usin' a round sticker. Begad! This shroud line is then tied t' the eye-screw.

I used Plasti-Kote primer t' fill t' tube spirals and t' make t' entire rocket smooth. Blimey! Then, I used Walmart's enamel primer for t' final coat. Begad! While still wet, arrr, me hearties, I dropped t' rocket. Ahoy! This required more primin' and smoothing. Aye aye! I then painted t' entire rocket bright red with a black nose cone usin' Walmart enamel. Blimey! (additional comments about Walmart paint) T' sample paint scheme on the packagin' shows t' rocket in light gray and t' nose cone black, but I like t' red better. Lastly, me hearties, me bucko, t' three black decals were placed onto t' rocket without incident.

Overall, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this kit 3 points.
 

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

While preparin' t' Serval™ for flight, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, I removed t' nose cone and shook t' line t' let t' streamer uncurl. T' streamer dropped off t' shroud line because t' sticker didn't hold it. This bein' t' second Custom kit usin' a sticker-to-shroud line approach, which failed, matey, made me change it right away. Ya scallywag! I punched a small hole through t' top of the streamer, about 1/2" in, arrr, tied t' shroud line t' it and then put the sticker back on.

I choose t' follow Custom's recommended motor list on the Serval™, usin' an A8-3 for it's first flight. Arrr! It's first flight was over quickly because t' A8 barely got this kit off o' t' pad. Ahoy! It probably only went 70 feet off o' t' ground, ejected and t' streamer barely got fully deployed before it landed 10 feet from t' pad.

T' second flight be on a B6-4 which proved t' be a nice, ya bilge rat, lower altitude flight. T' Serval™ flew very straight. Avast! Repeated perfect flights twice more on C6-5's which demonstrated that this tube-finned flyer was worth it's price.

Although I didn't get a chance t' fly my Serval™ at NARAM-40, I enjoyed watchin' someone's fly on a "D" motor. Blimey! Straight as an arrow. It looked like it was converted t' a 24mm motor mount. Avast, me proud beauty! I am ready t' fly mine on an Apogee D3-7 for it's next launch.

For FLIGHT/RECOVERY, arrr, I would rate this kit 4 points, matey, losin' a point primarily due t' t' recovery system. T' kit flies straight and true and looks good while doin' it. Ahoy! Blimey! T' metallic mylar streamer also adds t' its looks.

Overall, t' Serval™Overall, matey, the Serval™ is a nice performin' tube-fin rocket. Begad! I give t' kit an OVERALL ratin' o' 4 points.