Construction

This is definitely not your simple 3-fin model, so reading the fairly good instructions is a must. I would generally agree that the "sanding guide" and approach used to bevel the 3 sides for a flush fit is the weakest part of the project. I spent just a couple minutes before recognizing the futility and decided to just eyeball it. My main issue was that the sides are about 8" tall, the the template lines up against the bottom edge. Trying to sand a consistent angle all the way up by looking at how you're doing relative to the bottom edge is not exactly an exact science. I wound up just using a 10" long sanding block and going smoothly along the side all at once, then comparing it to the template, tweaking a bit here and there. In the end, I realized it's mainly just to make sure I've got a good glue joint, so I filled the gaps and imperfections and covered them up with the skins afterwards.

I'd also suggest two deviations from the sequence of steps in building this. First, as Dick figured out after the fact, cutting out the small opening for the launch rod BEFORE gluing everything together is a little bit easier, mainly because you can work on a flat surface/cutting mat. Second, that little limewood brace that anchors the shock cord in place is a bugger to get in there far enough up to be out of the way. I think anchoring that to one side before putting them together would allow for better placement and probably a more secure glue joint.

Overall, this was a little more challenging build than I'd anticipated, and I don't mean that in a bad way. From the outside of the bag I'd figured it would be a quick cut/glue job and a few minutes of work, but it wound up taking a good couple hours making sure everything fit, was securely constructed, and rugged enough to handle multiple flights.