Brief:
Previously only offered as a free gift t' folks who had promoted Semroc products (known as "recruiters"), me bucko, this was recently released t' t' general public. Avast! It's a retro-repro o' t' 1967 Centuri kit from t' height o' t' space race era. With its space probe nose cone and 6 Redstone-type fins, this certainly has a distinctive appearance and should help Semroc recruit a few new customers. Begad! At $12, it's a reasonably good value.

Construction:
Parts list includes:

• ST-855 upper body tube (white paper with very light spirals)
• ST-1380 main body tube
• ST-730 (BT-20) motor tube
• Balsa nose cone
• Balsa transition/screw eye
• Balsa fins (6/laser cut)
• 12" plastic chute kit
• Keelhaul®©™®/elastic shock cord
• Metal engine clip
• Engine block/centerin' rings
• Waterslide decals

This is a fairly simple kit t' build with good instructions and plenty o' helpful illustrations. Avast, me proud beauty! I would rate it a skill 2 on a scale o' 1-5 mainly due t' t' 6 fin pattern and slightly challengin' paint maskin' scheme that entails.

Construction begins with fin preparation. Blimey! Semroc uses a very nice laser, which nay only cuts out t' fins cleanly but leaves a little logo and model name burned into t' sheet. If you're buildin' in batch mode (many rockets at once) as I sometimes do, arrr, me bucko, havin' t' name burned onto t' sheet is a nice touch. Begad! Ya scallywag! After sandin' down t' fins and roundin' t' edges, I filled t' grains with diluted Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish (however, me bucko, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, t' instructions describe a very effective 3-coat balsa sealer process).

T' motor mount is a bit more complex than necessary. Avast, me proud beauty! Rather than t' basic BT-20 and a pair o' centerin' rings, this kit uses a coupler with a pair o' centerin' rings attached on t' ends. T' BT-20 with hook and Keelhaul®©™ anchored t' it is then inserted into t' coupler/rin' assembly. Another coupler slips over t' BT-20 t' hold t' motor hook in place. Avast! T' result works fine but could be done without t' couplers t' shave a few nickels off t' cost. I very much like t' Keelhaul®©™/elastic recovery system used on all Semroc kits.

Fins are mounted t' t' body tube usin' an outline in t' instructions. Begad! I prefer a wraparound guide but this worked OK. I tacked mine on with CA then applied a yellow glue fillet. Well, blow me down! After that cured, a thin white glue fillet was applied. Blimey! Well, blow me down! I find white glue doesn't shrink or bubble nearly as much.

T' instructions call next for mountin' t' two launch lugs. I consider this a minor gotcha, and would have suggested markin' a launch lug line before mountin' t' fins. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! This makes it much easier t' line up perfectly rather than tryin' t' eyeball it usin' a launch rod. Arrr! Also, arrr, be careful how you place t' lower lug. Arrr! Since t' fins will be painted a contrastin' color, it's a lot easier t' mask if t' lug doesn't line up forward o' t' end o' t' fin. Arrr! This way you don't have t' tape over t' lug. Ahoy! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Another option would be t' mount t' lug entirely above t' forward end o' t' fin although I prefer close t' t' aft end for better launch control.

T' transition section serves as t' anchor point for t' shock cord and gets a screw eye glued into place for this. Aye aye! Blimey! Mine be a bit rougher than t' usual Semroc balsa and took two coats o' Fill 'n' Finish t' fill most o' t' grain.

T' upper tube serves as a payload, so t' nose cone/probe is just inserted onto t' end. Since t' tube is roughly t' size o' a BT-5, me hearties, I didn't plan on launchin' with any payloads, ya bilge rat, so I went ahead and glued me nose cone in place. Well, blow me down! It's a very unusual probe-like design, so I figured losin' it would result in an expensive replacement part.

T' parachute is Estes type 12" plastic which you need t' cut out. Begad! T' shroud lines are attached usin' tape discs. T' Semroc discs are high tack and work very well.

Finishing:
This is a very unusual design, arrr, ya bilge rat, and I wanted t' do a nice job on t' finishing. Avast, me proud beauty! After makin' sure t' balsa grains were filled and sealed, I painted in a little diluted Fill 'n' Finish t' fill t' tube spirals. Avast! Begad! I then applied a coat o' Plasti-Kote gray primer, me bucko, which I then sanded back down t' basically t' raw tube. This effectively filled out all t' tube spirals. Well, blow me down! Arrr! I still had small seams on t' payload tube where t' transition and nose cone join, ya bilge rat, but it looked like these would be masked by decals.

T' rocket got two more light coats o' white Krylon primer, followed by a good 600-grit wet sandin' t' remove t' tack and then two coats o' gloss white finish. Begad! Ya scallywag! After allowin' t' white t' cure out, I masked off t' lower tube betwixt t' fins and made 4 little boots t' mask 4 o' t' 6 fins. Aye aye! Avast! I then painted 2 opposin' fins red, me hearties, along with t' upper half o' t' nose cone/probe. Blimey! Ahoy! Once t' red dried, ya bilge rat, I removed two o' t' boots and covered t' red fins, matey, leavin' 2 opposin' fins exposed, me hearties, which I painted blue. Blimey! I repeated this process again, ya bilge rat, coverin' t' blue and paintin' t' exposed white fins gray. Aye aye! Well, matey, blow me down! This holds fairly close t' t' originally spec'd paint scheme.

There is a sheet o' waterslide decals supplied with this kit, ya bilge rat, which add a nice finishin' touch. Begad! T' decals are rugged and easy t' work with although they do tend t' grab pretty firmly when placed on t' rocket. Ahoy! I wound up goofin' on me launch lug placement, ya bilge rat, and t' upper lug fell smack in t' middle o' t' roll pattern, forcin' me t' trim t' decal a bit t' avoid goin' over t' lug. Blimey! I also had t' trim t' upper stripe a bit as t' decal was at least 1/2" too long.

After t' decals had set, me bucko, I then wiped everythin' down with Future acrylic polish, matey, which leaves a rugged high gloss finish and doesn't mar t' decals.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
For t' first flight, I wimped out with an A8-3. Avast! Aye aye! Hey, matey, it be pretty windy (10-12 mph) and I be wearin' shorts and gettin' killed walkin' through tall/sharp grass on recovery... Blimey! T' A8-3 got it off t' pad but nay much farther than that. Blimey! It peaked at about 100 feet, arced over, and deployed at least 1-1.5 seconds late. Avast! T' chute came out fine, shiver me timbers, me bucko, and I had me short walk finally.

Embarrassed at me wimpy flight (my son be with me and was wholly unimpressed), ya bilge rat, I jumped it up t' a C6-5 for t' second flight. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Much better now. There was plenty o' altitude and deployment was just a tad late. Arrr! Blimey! Another fine chute deployment, matey, along with a thermal, and I had a punishin' trek o' about 1/3 mile t' recover this one. Aye aye! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! (It drifted at least 50 yards on t' ground while I was chasin' it.) No damage and ready for another flight on another day.

Recovery:
T' 12" chute is fine for this, ya bilge rat, and t' elastic/Keelhaul®©™ combination is holdin' up very well with no signs o' wear.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
I'm intrigued by t' innovative designs o' Semroc's sprin' 2005 new releases and this one was t' first o' t' group I got around t' building. Aye aye! It's a very nice build, me hearties, arrr, great design, and very good flyer. Definitely at or near t' top o' t' Semroc "cool" list and highly recommended. I'm goin' t' get a lot o' mileage out o' this one, while me original "Recruiter" version (limited edition, shiver me timbers, me number is in t' low 40's) rests safely in t' collectible section o' me build pile, so far back thar's no chance I'll ever get t' it.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5