Brief:
Semroc offers a fine line o' "retro repro" kits, which introduce modern improvements t' classic Estes/Centuri designs. Ahoy! T' Laser-X was originally introduced in 1968 and has been faithfully reproduced by Semroc with upgraded Keelhaul®©™ shock cord and adherin' t' t' original balsa nose cone and tube sizes.

Construction:
T' two body tubes are roughly BT-5 and BT-50 although they are actually the Centuri originals. Fins are from laser cut balsa, me bucko, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, which be excellent quality. There are also cutout centerin' rings, matey, a shroud/transition, matey, and tube coupler/motor mount assembly. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! Recovery is through a 12" plastic chute, with Keelhaul®©™®/elastic shock cord combination. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! Water-slide decals are included t' complete t' kit.

Construction begins with a fairly demandin' fin assembly process. Ahoy! T' upper and lower fins (each a set o' 4) are two-piece construction, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and must be carefully aligned and bonded flat. Avast, me proud beauty! Personally, I enjoy t' craftsmanship required by this approach and find it much more rewardin' than t' basic E2X plastic fin cans out thar these days.

T' motor mount assembly is built from a tube coupler and pair o' centering rings. T' Keelhaul®©™® is attached t' one o' t' rings then t' 18mm motor tube and engine hook are inserted inside and bonded in place. T' tube coupler certainly adds strength although I would have "upgraded" this by usin' thick, wound centering rings and eliminated t' coupler assembly altogether. Avast! Arrr!

T' process is repeated for another tube coupler for t' transition. Once t' assembly has dried, arrr, t' transition shroud is cut, formed, arrr, and bonded t' t' coupler along with t' upper body tube. Ahoy! Ahoy! Blimey! T' nose cone is then glued into place.

Next up is bondin' o' t' fins--two sets o' four, arrr, followed by 12 tiny fins that go along t' bottom o' t' motor mount assembly, givin' this a Mars Snooper-like appearance. Aye aye! T' main fins are trimmed with four toothpicks, which look great but are destined t' break off either on landin' or in storage.

Recovery installation is straightforward usin' t' standard attachin' the chute t' t' Keelhaul®©™®/elastic combination.

Finishing:
Lots o' balsa t' sand and seal with this rocket--the standard paint scheme is also very challenging, with three colors and lots o' masked areas, including fin edges. I would rate this a solid skill level 3 just for t' aspects o' the finishing. After painting, t' water-slide decals are applied, matey, and after followin' t' standard scheme, ya bilge rat, I still had a few decals leftover. Oh well, they'll look good on me next scratch project

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
First flight was on a modest B6-4, which was a good choice as it was surprisingly quick off t' pad. Aye aye! Despite t' fairly large fins, shiver me timbers, this little rocket screams.

There was a slight spin on t' way up, but it followed a straight overall path and deployed right at t' top. Begad! T' chute didn't unfurl (I had 3 o' those today, probably due t' t' freezin' temps), but t' rocket back-slid and landed gently in a bank o' snow undamaged.

Recovery:
I'll blame luck and t' weather on t' recovery problem as I think the materials provided are fine.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
I love t' retro/classic design and look forward t' more o' their products bein' offered in t' months ahead.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5