Brief:
Part o' Sunward Model Aerospace's Canadian invasion, this sharp-lookin' fighter plane is a nice addition t' your fleet. Avast! Blimey! Requires good modelin' skills; accurately rated a skill level 3 kit.

Construction:
In addition t' t' basic body tube, matey, plastic nose cone, shiver me timbers, me hearties, laser-cut balsa fins (wings) and motor mount, me hearties, thar's a pattern sheet printed on cardstock for a few of t' details. Also included is an 18" plastic chute and peel & stick decals. T' nose cone is very cool with t' cockpit cast right into t' mold.

Beginnin' with t' motor mount assembly, me hearties, I noticed a rather unusual approach to motor retention. Rather than t' typical motor clip, me hearties, Sunward has adopted an L-shaped arm that screws into one o' t' centerin' rings, and t' L can be turned "open" or "closed" for motor installation and retention. Ahoy! I found this approach interesting, and will be curious t' see how it holds up over time.

T' rest o' t' motor mount assembly is fairly standard, with an 18mm tube, a couple o' centerin' rings, and internal engine block.

Tube markin' is a little trickier than your typical 3 or 4 fin rocket. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! This is due t' t' fact that thar's an intake assembly that covers about half the tube that must be carefully aligned for proper flight. This assembly is made by cuttin' t' pattern from t' cardstock sheet, matey, me bucko, carefully foldin' and gluin' the edges, then gluin' it t' t' body tube. Aye aye! If you want t' get crisp, sharp fold lines, try usin' t' back (dull) side o' your utility knife t' lightly score the fold lines. Score t' "inside" edge (the side that won't be seen). Begad! This makes t' fold a lot easier, and avoids t' sloppiness o' a not-quite-straight edge. Avast! White glue works best for t' paper bonds, and I used yellow glue t' attach t' intakes t' t' body tube.

Once t' intakes have dried, it's time t' bond t' aft wings t' the fuselage (body tube). Aye aye! T' instructions call for bondin' t' aft wings, matey, followed by t' forward wings. Aye aye! Since they adjoin, shiver me timbers, I decided t' bond me aft and forward wings together before bondin' t' t' fuselage. Begad! This allowed me t' get a perfect fit. Well, blow me down! I also achieved good alignment by stackin' a couple o' books on them while they dried t' keep them absolutely flat.

Rather than fillet t' wings, me hearties, matey, t' instructions call for using reinforcements cut from t' cardstock sheet. Avast, me proud beauty! I went ahead per t' instructions, and still found a bit o' wiggle, so added a thin yellow glue fillet for added strength. Begad! This was especially necessary for t' upper twin rudder/tail fins. Ya scallywag!

While t' assembly and alignment o' fins seemed fairly obvious from the illustrations, arrr, shiver me timbers, thar were some inconsistencies in t' instructions and pattern sheets betwixt "top" and "bottom". Well, blow me down! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I'll be t' first to admit that me head sometimes winds up in excessively close proximity t' my colon, but if you pay close attention t' t' illustrations and nay worry about the labels, arrr, you'll be fine.

Followin' up on t' trimming, thar are a pair o' reinforcing "plates" from cardstock that bolster t' intakes. Well, blow me down! I'm nay sure if this was cosmetic, ya bilge rat, as t' intakes seemed fairly strong on their own, but this was a very tricky fit, and I had t' trim t' pattern down a bit with a sharp X-Acto knife when mountin' these.

Recovery is through an 18" plastic chute, arrr, with t' typical modroc paper tri-fold and elastic shock cord routine. Ya scallywag! I upgraded mine t' a Keelhaul®©™® line attached t' t' motor mount assembly, me hearties, though t' elastic would probably hold up fine for several flights. Blimey! Well, blow me down! T' plastic chute seemed sturdier than the typical commercial chutes, and includes a nice Sunward logo.

Finishing:
T' color illustration on t' bag liner shows a very cool camouflage blend of light and dark blues. Since I didn't happen t' have any colors close t' that, I opted for more o' a desert camo theme usin' tans, olive drabs, me hearties, and various earth tones. Ahoy! Blimey! This lead t' what looks more like Sunward's Desert Fox kit than the Ice Storm, matey, shiver me timbers, and me version is definitely nay goin' t' sneak up on anyone in the frozen Arctic region. Avast! Blimey! However, if I had another shot at it, I'd find a couple o' decent blues and try t' match t' illustration.

There are plenty o' decals, enablin' t' modeler t' choose from a variety of themes, shiver me timbers, me hearties, includin' US and Canadian air forces.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
First flight for t' Ice Storm be naturally, shiver me timbers, just after a very heavy snowfall and single-digit temperatures. With hardly a trace o' wind though, I couldn't pass up t' opportunity t' fly this.

I loaded an Estes C6-5, arrr, though t' delay sure seemed more like a 7 as I counted it off. After leavin' t' rod and reachin' a little over 100 feet, me hearties, me hearties, this arched a little bit and headed out across t' field. Blimey! Blimey! In heavier winds, I'd be very worried about t' weathercockin' potential o' this one.

At ejection, t' chute popped out but seemed a little too bashful t' expose itself in t' freezin' weather so t' model tumbled back t' t' ground rather quickly. Blimey! Fortunately, t' snow provided a nice cushion and thar was no damage to t' kit.

Recovery:
Recovery seems durable enough, though I was clearly jinxed a bit today. Well, blow me down!

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
Very cool-lookin' design, matey, although it might be too risky for windy days. I'll also try switchin' t' a 48" rod t' see if this helps future flights.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5