Brief:
For those o' you old enough t' have either nostalgic memories o' t' Estes K-43 Mars Lander or at least longed for one, this faithfully reproduced offerin' by Semroc will brin' back some great memories. Aye aye! Blimey! I'm nay quite old enough t' have been a part o' t' 1969 introduction, although I can at least relate t' what must have been a huge expense at $4.75 back then as I was earnin' a meager $0.25 per week allowance in t' early seventies.

T' current offerin' retails for $35 and packs a lot o' details in for that cost. When you look at all t' die cut and laser cut parts, t' embossed wraps, matey, me bucko, t' original sized body tubes and t' waterslide decals, you'll appreciate what a great kit this is today.

Note that I had a poor flight experience. This might be an isolated case and I am anxious t' hear feedback from others who have built and flown t' Semroc release.

Construction:
T' part quality is typical Semroc--first rate all t' way. A partial list o' what's in t' bag includes:

• Balsa nose cone
• BT-60 inner structure tube
• BT-100 lower thrust structure tube
• Functional landin' gear (fins)
• 4 shrouds
• 10 assorted centerin' rings
• Keelhaul®©™/elastic shock cord
• 20" plastic chute
• Waterslide decals
• Assorted dowels and do-dads for detailing

I'd like t' first address t' obvious comparisons betwixt this and t' Estes Outlander. Begad! T' Outlander for many o' us has proven t' be a poorly executed design, me bucko, dangerously underpowered, and virtually unable t' fly as designed. Arrr! Begad! You simply can't fly an Outlander without upgradin' t' 24mm motor mount or at least usin' a D15 reload in t' 18mm mount. I hesitated before buildin' this and solicited lots o' advice from builders o' t' original Mars Lander. Based on their feedback, me hearties, I decided t' build this stock usin' t' 18mm motor mount. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! This is no Outlander--it's rated much lighter at 3.8 ounces (mostly paper, nay plastic) and is lower drag (doesn't have all those BT-20 tanks and big nose like t' Outlander). Ahoy! It should have no problem on a C6-3 and maybe even a B6-2.

This is a pretty hefty project and should only be undertaken by a very experienced modeler. Arrr! Semroc rates it a skill 4/master modeler kit and I agree with that rating.

T' instructions are fairly thorough but contained a couple minor errors. There were very helpful illustrations and over 60 total steps listed.

Right off t' bat, matey, me bucko, find t' parts identification drawin' in t' beginnin' o' t' instructions, ya bilge rat, then swap disk labels 5 and 7 and also swap 20 and 21. These were misidentified and will probably be corrected in future releases.

T' first phase o' construction is buildin' t' landin' gear legs (fins). Aye aye! T' housing/covers are pretty easy t' build by usin' laser cut side pieces tacked onto die cut fiber stock covers. Avast, me proud beauty! T' legs are laser cut balsa, flanked on 3 edges by hand cut dowels. Begad! Arrr! T' angles on t' dowels are a bit tricky t' get right and if you have seams, arrr, arrr, I'd suggest usin' a microballoon-based filler. Ya scallywag! Note that thar are two rubber bands bonded inside a notched area in t' legs. Ya scallywag! This redundancy is presumably due t' problems with t' bands breakin' on t' original. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! Once t' dowels are in place, thar are decorative struts/covers for t' legs and a flexible tube/ball bearin' hinge mechanism that go on each one. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Finally, me hearties, t' bottom o' t' legs get small feet assemblies, shiver me timbers, consistin' o' small tube rings, 3 disks/pads, a couple o' angled trim pieces, ya bilge rat, and an embossed wraparound trim piece. Well, blow me down! T' trim piece on mine was about 1/8" too short.

Once you've got t' landin' gear assembled, it's a good idea t' fill and paint them, savin' a very difficult maskin' job for later on. I went with t' recommended red base then hand painted t' feet silver. I decided t' paint t' decorative strut/covers black, a move I regret, arrr, me bucko, as I think silver or orange would have looked much better. Go very easy on t' paint as you do nay want t' cover up t' embossed details. Avast! In me case, ya bilge rat, t' two coats o' gloss red applied overall covered up t' embossed ribs so even with a very thin silver coat, I was nay able t' see significant detailin' on t' feet.

T' motor mount assembly is nay too difficult. Avast! Arrr! It's a BT-20, me bucko, metal hook, arrr, me hearties, and a 20/50 centerin' rin' tacked on as a locator stop. Ahoy! At t' forward end, me hearties, arrr, me hearties, thar are 3 centerin' rings, 2 o' which have holes for t' landin' gear pins. Be very careful t' align these and set per t' dimensions in t' instructions and you'll have no problems later. Begad! I managed t' stumble on one little gotcha: t' forward rin' has a single hole for t' Keelhaul®©™ shock cord t' go through, in order t' anchor it t' t' tube. Ahoy! I wasn't payin' attention t' t' orientation and it lined up right underneath t' holes in t' other rings for t' landin' gear pin. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Once I had t' gear installed, shiver me timbers, t' hole for t' Keelhaul®©™ be covered up. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! No big deal as I just poked another hole in it.

T' lower thrust structure BT-100 needs slots cut out t' make room for t' gear. Well, arrr, blow me down! Blimey! This is marked off usin' a wraparound template. Avast, me proud beauty! T' instructions warn t' leave 1/4" at t' bottom not cut yet, which is very good advice. Leavin' that in results in a tube firm enough t' handle makin' t' other cuts plus bondin' t' gear housin' covers.

Once t' lower tube is cut out and t' gear covers are bonded, t' instructions call for puttin' together a bottom bulkhead and then gluin' t' motor tube, me bucko, bulkhead, arrr, launch lug and gear together. Well, blow me down! I decided t' hold off on bondin' in t' gear, wantin' t' paint all t' structure parts first. Begad! If t' gear were installed, arrr, me hearties, it would be very difficult t' paint later.

T' upper structures consist o' a couple o' roll-formed shrouds, reinforced with various centerin' rings and braces. Aye aye! Avast! There are a few opportunities t' goof these up, shiver me timbers, but if you pay careful attention t' t' directions, arrr, then you'll find helpful warnings along with "right" and "wrong" illustrations showin' you which way t' go.

With t' other structure pieces built and in me case painted, shiver me timbers, arrr, final assembly consists o' slidin' t' modules in place on t' BT-60 inner structure tube. Blimey! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I found t' fit t' be very good although me lower shroud/transition be a bit undersized. Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! (I wasn't sure how much overlap be needed and guessed too much overlap/to small ID.)

All that's left construction-wise is applyin' t' various embossed wrap details and makin' t' antennae. I found t' antennae t' be a neat little trick. They're made simply from a dowel, matey, die-cut base piece, and a disk "dish". You then attach t' end o' a toothpick t' t' dish and apply a "small ball o' glue" t' t' tip o' t' toothpick. Arrr! I be a little peeved t' discover t' kit doesn't include t' toothpicks as mine are all ugly squared ones, forcin' me t' go raid a local restaurant.

Finishing:
You really need a light touch on t' paintin' o' this or else you'll bury most o' t' embossed details. Begad! In me case, arrr, I applied a single coat o' Krylon white primer followed by two very thin topcoats o' gloss white. Begad! Arrr! Even with that light a job, I can barely see t' details unless I'm lookin' for them, so I'd consider usin' an airbrush system if you have one.

T' waterslide decals are excellent quality, and I had no problems applyin' them. Ahoy! Once t' decals were set, ya bilge rat, I followed up with 3 coats o' clear topcoat.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I weighed in me finished kit at 4.5 ounces with chute but without t' motor. Ahoy! This puts it a bit above Estes maximum recommended liftoff weight o' 4 ounces (includin' motor) for a C6-3. Ahoy! Still, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, with t' day nearly perfect for flyin' (winds 2-4mph and temperature in t' 60-70° range), shiver me timbers, I decided t' give it a shot.

My Lander left t' rod with decent speed but almost immediately flopped over into a horizontal and unstable path then arced over t' crash land still under thrust. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' chute deployed on t' ground. Begad! Ahoy! Fortunately, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, I suffered only minor damage and be able t' repair it in about 20 minutes. Begad! Ya scallywag! Now I have a couple o' permanent scars on an otherwise beautiful lookin' craft.

I've had some discussions with Carl at Semroc and various members o' T' Rocketry Forum and am stumped on what went wrong. Avast, me proud beauty! T' designed CG is supposed t' be about an inch forward o' t' edge o' t' BT-100 tube and in me case it be around half an inch above. Well, blow me down! Given that t' Semroc RockSim file when loaded with a C6-3 engine only shows a stability margin o' 0.87, arrr, that's a bit borderline. Still, ya bilge rat, this is a short, me hearties, fat rocket and marginal stability (less than 1.0) should be OK.

Over t' next couple o' weeks, I plan on swing-testin' mine and will look into addin' a bit o' nose weight as well as maybe flyin' on a D15 instead. I will post any updates in t' opinion/tip section o' this review.

Recovery:
Recovery deployed on t' ground, shiver me timbers, so I can't evaluate. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I will say t' 20" red plastic chute was pretty nice although I will likely swap out for a 30" chute t' really baby this back down. Begad! Blimey! Heck, with altitudes around 100-150 feet, me bucko, who cares about drift?

Flight Rating: 2 out o' 5

Summary:
I was extremely excited about this kit, havin' jumped on t' website and ordered it as soon as it was released (at NARCON 2006). Ya scallywag! I wanted t' love this kit. Unfortunately, t' poor flight experience be a big disappointment and has soured me a bit on it. Begad! Still, I've got t' give Carl and t' gang t' benefit o' t' doubt. Begad! There's no way they would have designed this, ya bilge rat, arrr, flown t' prototype, shiver me timbers, and released it with flight problems. Arrr! Avast! I'm thinkin' thar's somethin' wrong on me end. Begad! Given that mine weighs in at 4.5 ounces, shiver me timbers, versus a spec o' 3.8 ounces (Semroc's RockSim file pegs it at 4.1 ounces), I might have been too heavy on t' filler used on all t' balsa grain on t' legs. I'd love t' hear some feedback from others who have built and flown their Semroc Mars Lander, especially weight and CG locations. I still think this is a fantastic reproduction, me hearties, and if I ever manage t' work out t' flight problems on mine, arrr, matey, I'll undoubtedly wind up pickin' up another one for a "do over".

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5