Brief
This is a big, fantasy-scale Surface to Air Missile kit, designed mainly for F and G motors.

Construction
This is an impressive-looking kit! Big box, big, heavy tubes and nose, thick, solid plywood fins. Looking into the box (which was solid as well!) for the first time, I was impressed by how solid everything looked. A quick inventory confirmed that all the parts were present, and in good shape.

The instructions were clear and well laid out. I did deviate from them a bit- I glued the upper section of BT to the nose, and made a cargo bay (a suggestion I read from Bob Kaplow- thanks, Bob!). I ditched the Gorilla-Lock retaining system in favor of Kaplow Klips- this was pretty much a necessity, as I replaced the NCR motor mount tube with a Loc tube, so I can use Aerotech SU motors (Darkstars aren't available in Canada anyway). This required a bit of sanding of the inside of the plastic centering rings, but that was all.

Otherwise, assembly was straightforward, with no problems encountered. The fins are mounted TTW, while the strakes are only bonded to the BT surface. There is some shaping (streamlining) required on the strakes and fins- just a bit of work with some sandpaper, nothing drastic. I was considering this for my HPR cert. bird, so I built it strong- I used 4 hour epoxy pretty much everywhere. The final product is heavy, but solid. Looks impressive, too!

Finishing
Finishing is pretty routine. The BT spirals are pretty shallow and can be hard to get filled, but that's the toughest part. Painting is all-white (gloss), with the included decals providing the final touch.

About the decals: I *hate* stick-on decals! I despise them with a passion. I find them much harder to work with than good 'ol wet-transfer decals. They don't cover with clear-coating as well, they tend to be very thick, etc. Because of the decals, I'm docking NCR half a point on the construction rating- it's my only real beef.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight
Well, I finally had a chance to fly my Archer this weekend. I was worried the delay on the G80-7 would be too long, so I doubled the length of the shock cord. With perfect weather (no wind, and clear blue sky), I had no excuse to delay.

What followed was the most beautiful flight I've ever had. The Archer was fast off the pad, but climbed slowly enough to watch and appreciate. We also had a chance to really appreciate the roar of that Blue Thunder motor, too!

Recovery
The "waist-band" type elastic shock cord is attached to a length of steel cable, which is secured to the motor mount. No way that's coming out! The cable does not protrude from the body tube, so no worries about it causing a zipper. The 3/4 inch wide shock cord could, but I added an extra length to mine (it's about double now). Recovery is via a 36" nylon chute, and it seems adequate, even for my 42 ounce (empty) version.

Recovery was text-book, although one fin sustained minor damage on landing. I may replace the 36" chute with two 24" ones, just to be safe.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary
This is my first HPR-capable rocket, and I'm impressed with the ruggedness of the components, and the finished product. This is one brawny-looking beast!

This is an awesome kit, for high-end mid power, or low end HPR. It is the beefiest rocket I've seen, yet it is also sleek. Flight performance is solid. It looks great, and flies great.

The problems with the kit are few. There is of course the non-standard motor mount tube to contend with, but that is an easy (but annoying) fix. I'm not a fan of bonding dissimilar parts for structural parts, like the Archer's plastic centering rings and thick paper body tube.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5