Brief:
For anyone looking for a break from the 3FNC standards, try moving up to this 5 finned beauty. With its futuristic style, colorful decals, and funky fins, it qualifies as a fun kit to build and fly.

Construction:
Parts are of above average quality, and include:

• 1 BT-55 upper body tube
• 1 BT-50 lower body tube
• 1 BT-20 motor tube (with metal hook)
• 1 Balsa nose cone/screw eye
• 5 Laser cut balsa fins
• 2 Centering rings
• 1 1/8" launch lug
• 1 15" mylar chute
• 1 Elastic shock cord
• Waterslide decals

The tubes are glassine white with very light spirals and the laser cutting on the balsa fins was excellent quality: clean with little or no burn marks.

OK, while this is not a 3FNC rocket, it basically builds like one. Construction starts with a motor mount assembly--the standard 2.75" tube, hook, centering rings approach. Next use the wraparound tube marking guide to establish lines for the 5 fins and launch lug. You will want to sand the gloss off the tube before marking, as this will establish a better bonding surface than the glassine finish. Next comes bonding of the 5 fins, along with separate extension pieces. This is all fairly straightforward, just tacking them on with CA and then filleting using yellow glue.

One very unusual aspect of this design is that the forward/upper body tube is a larger diameter than the lower tube. The construction is not that tough, it is just the opposite of what you'd normally expect--mount a couple of centering rings to the forward end of the lower tube with them butting up against the fin extensions, then slip and glue the upper tube over the rings. Everything fit just fine on my kit and no adjustments or trimming were needed.

Construction wraps up with the installation of the shock cord and nose cone. This is the standard paper tri-fold mounted into the body tube. I'd prefer to see a Kevlar®/elastic combination anchored to the lower body tube or at the very least a longer shock cord (1.5-2 times the body length).

Finishing:
In a hurry to take advantage of a promising weather forecast, I skipped over my usual grain filling and went straight to primer on this job. Two coats of Krylon white primer, sanded down with wet 600-grit paper established a decent foundation for the topcoats. I went with the color scheme on the header card, which was a simple silver paint job. I used a Rustoleum silver metallic finish (the new stuff, not the old solid-colored cans) and two very light, thin coats resulted in a very nice finish.

After allowing the paint to cure out for a full 24 hours (I normally recommend 48 but was in a rush), I then applied the waterslide decals. The decals for this kit make for a very cool look and a silver base is an excellent match for the red/black decals.

I don't know if this would be a flaw, or just a minor peeve from an anal-retentive guy, but the decals for the upper body tube look like they weren't designed with symmetry in mind. There's pair of decals using a red streak that has a hatch at one end, and the "Astrid" name on the other. Placing them on opposite sides of the body tube, I'd want the "Astrid" to appear at the forward end of each, and the hatch to appear at the aft end of each. Since the decals are copies, not opposites of each other, it looks like one side is mounted backwards.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight:
For its first flight, I went straight to the C6-5 power. Its flight was absolutely straight and despite having 5 fins (and 5 opportunities for me to blow the alignment/mounting), it didn't spin at all. Ejection was nose down at apogee and the bright red 15" chute popped right out.

Recovery was fine, although I think the 15" chute is a little overkill. A 12" would work fine instead, assuming you're not flying over concrete. The pointy fins are fragile and need a soft landing.

My flight was cursed by a rough snapback from the fairly short shock cord. It knocked loose a cockpit decal and put a big smile in the very soft balsa nosecone. This will be quickly and easily repaired and this rocket is going to become one of my more frequent flyers.

I added 2 more feet of elastic, flew it two more times, and am now 3 for 3 on dents. At least these are easy to fill and repaint.

Recovery:
PROs: very stable flight, great (though oversized) mylar chute.

CONs: the shock cord is a bit short, could also use Kevlar® anchor

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:
This is just a great model rocket. Cheap, easy to build, flies fine, and has a very unusual design. You really can't ask for much more than that.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5