Brief:
Inspired by t' movie "Honey, me bucko, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, I Shrunk t' Trident", me bucko, me bucko, this flagship of Fliskits was inspired by t' Estes classic ducted-ejection charge Trident. Micro-sized and finely detailed, this rocket has an impressive appearance and is a very challengin' and enjoyable construction project.

Construction:
T' main body tubes are BT-5 (13mm), me hearties, with 3 side tubes that are, I'd guess, BT-2's that look more like 18" launch lugs. You also get an assortment of nose cones (9 total), amazingly detailed and intricate water slide decals, 1/16 balsa finstock, assorted basswood toothpick-sized stock for t' details, ya bilge rat, matey, matey, and Keelhaul®©™®/cotton shock cord with a plastic chute.

T' instructions and illustrations are very thorough and complete. Begad! Well, matey, blow me down! While you need good buildin' skills for this rocket, matey, you don't need t' figure out how to make things work--just follow t' plans. Ahoy! Blimey! My set o' instructions, ya bilge rat, me bucko, matey, though, contained two significant errors (front/rear strut templates were mislabeled, and one dimension be typo'd), but this be easily corrected, ya bilge rat, and I've since learned that this be caught by Fliskits and corrected.

T' assembly consists o' a lower section o' 13mm tube with a permanent nose cone, and an upper 13mm body with t' chute. Avast! T' two sections are joined by (3) side tubes, which carry t' ejection charge from t' lower t' upper body through ducts cut in each o' t' tubes. Ya scallywag! Templates are provided t' carefully cut the ducts. Aye aye! Bondin' t' tubes straight, with ducts overlapping, shiver me timbers, is very tricky and should nay be rushed. Begad! Generous fillets are also in order, me bucko, as t' seams must be completely air-tight.

Fins are a beautiful swept pattern, ya bilge rat, and cut from 1/16" balsa. Begad! The leadin' edge is straight, but other lines have appealin' curves and rounded corners.

After construction o' t' tubes and fins, ya bilge rat, t' instructions suggest painting the rocket now, shiver me timbers, rather than mask off tiny details later. I went with two coats of primer, followed by two coats o' gloss white. Blimey! Avast! It's worth notin' that the BT-2 side tubes had very pronounced spirals, matey, me hearties, much worse than any tube I've ever gotten in a Fliskit. Avast! I wound up sandin' down both coats o' primer and applying a heavy layer o' Elmer's Fill N Finish t' fill t' spirals. Begad! This be very hard to do on t' completed assembly. Well, blow me down! Begad! I should have caught this earlier and filled the spirals before bondin' t' tubes.

After painting, t' real challenge t' this kit comes into play--construction o' t' tiny details. T' first detail is a shroud, arrr, shiver me timbers, formed from cardstock and an adhesive colored cover. Arrr! T' shroud fits snugly under the fins, matey, and is anchored t' t' body by 6 tiny struts. Begad! Begad! Blimey! Next, frames for t' 3 solar panels are built, and this is aided by construction o' a jig (usin' the provided templates and balsa stock). You must be very careful t' measure and bond EXACTLY per t' templates or t' panels will nay fit properly. Begad! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Due t' the typo on me template, I had t' run t' t' hobby store t' make replacement struts (though Flis offered t' replace me stock for free). Aye aye! Blimey! T' panels and frames are bonded together, matey, then carefully bonded t' t' rocket at notches in t' fins and to t' tubes with drops o' CA. Tweezers definitely help here, as you're working with materials smaller than 1/16" square, arrr, shiver me timbers, and two o' these share a notch in a 1/16" fin.

I decided t' use t' full 16" chute provided rather than follow the instructions and cut it down t' 12", figurin' t' details were just beggin' t' break off on impact.

Finishing:
I had pre-painted t' main body per t' instructions, me hearties, so "finishing" involved hand-paintin' t' struts and smaller details, and applyin' the water-slide decals. Avast! Lots o' decals. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Lots o' very small decals. Ahoy! Begad! Blimey! I suspect the decals came from Tango Papa, and were very high quality. Begad! Blimey! Most impressive t' me, was t' intricate details--these aren't just basic stripes. Avast, me proud beauty! Even on t' tiny 5mm tubes, you get decals clearly identifyin' this as t' U.S.S Grissom, though you're probably goin' t' need a magnifyin' glass t' read them. Well, blow me down! Well, matey, blow me down! Blimey! I actually ran them under me son's 10X Intel Microscope, and could see clean, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, straight lines. These decals are really high-resolution!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' only recommended motor for this be t' Estes A10-3. Aye aye! Blimey! Flight prep is quick and easy, matey, as this needs no recovery waddin' at all due t' t' ducted ejection method. I'm a bit conservative, matey, and put about 1" o' "dog barf" in t' upper tube since plastic chutes seem t' melt on their own on hot/humid midwestern afternoons. Begad! Blimey!

With winds o' 6-8 mph, me hearties, this weathercocked a bit, but flew very well and straight as an arrow. T' ejection was a bit early (would have been fine with less wind), shiver me timbers, and t' chute deployed without any problems.

T' rocket came down just about right with t' larger chute, and landed less than 5 feet from a paved road in our field. Begad! Nay a trace o' damage, and 2 minutes later it be prepped for another flight. Blimey! Same result, shiver me timbers, no problems. Well, blow me down! Begad! The descent is fairly stable, so it tends t' land on t' end o' t' tube instead of sideways, ya bilge rat, which saves t' details from stress.

Recovery:
Nothin' but pros on flight--easy t' prep, arrr, doesn't need wadding, and I love the fact that I get 4 A10's for t' price o' 3 A8-3's, ya bilge rat, so it's like gettin' t' 4th flight for free on this. Begad!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
While this is almost too beautiful t' fly, matey, it does fly very well, me bucko, ya bilge rat, matey, and the fragile-lookin' details seem t' be holdin' up well. Blimey! Blimey! It's one o' t' most expensive FlisKits, but you get a lot o' top-quality details and materials for the money, and t' result is a rocket any builder would be proud t' include in his fleet.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5