I'm curious what people think is the most difficult 'off the shelf', currently available, LPR kit?
The FlisKits Decim8 looks like it should be a contender.
The FlisKits Decim8 looks like it should be a contender.
Most Difficult LPR Kit?
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That would be my vote. I recently finished one and it is the only kit I've had to put away for a period of time and then pull it back out, more than once.
That being said, the build is very rewarding, you actually feel like you accomplished something when your done.
I hope to fly my Decim8 for the first time this Saturday.
That being said, the build is very rewarding, you actually feel like you accomplished something when your done.
I hope to fly my Decim8 for the first time this Saturday.
dave carver
....what hump?
Wow that build looks fantastic, and the workmanship is second to none...great job Mike!
Das Model (Noris) Soyuz or Vostok will make any "Amerikan" kit look like child's play. Except maybe the Flis Kit Saturn 1B, which I have heard due to the size of the escape tower it will drive you crazy.
JAL3
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I would have to concur and it expand it to any Noris kit.
Stick with Fliskits. You get quality to go along with difficulty.
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I have a Flis Saturn 1b sitting right here next to me.....I have heard the same thing...the tower will drive you mad! I have long concluded that I am already nuts...so I am thinking about giving this one a try....what else could happen? now...it won't be like I am trying to make a German Heavy Cruiser fly or anything....with the Von Trapp family as crew...now THAT is a challenge!!
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Yep, building is one thing, flying is another. On a silly oddroc cluster you need all the motors to light at the same time or game over. Getting things to glide properly can be more difficult than any build and should only be attempted by those crazy guys who like Space Shuttle and lifting body kits . Scratch builds and some OOP kits will blow away the Noris kits, but we are talking about currently available LPR.
You will have to get the magnifying glass out for that Flis 1B and show us all how it is done.
With Noris you get Quality with a Capital Q! Like in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. Like adjusting the tappets on your old BMW motorcycle. It is a Teutonic thing I guess. Who needs directions or any sort of plan to your kit. Just make that vacuform fly. You are Der Ubermensch! Not some lazy Yankee who just puts in a bigger motor.:eyepop:
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I think I might just take a shot at her Daddy....going to be doing some work on the house here.....that is assuming my wife ever makes a decision on the paint etc....hey...only been few months! :eyeroll: no hurry...at this rate I could empty the build pile before I ever have to start painting...just happen to have a handy magnifying glass and I think I will need it on the Flis 1b. I think I will make her Tom Stafford's ASTP!
I am hoping the Hauptmann is doing well?
I am hoping the Hauptmann is doing well?
Yep, building is one thing, flying is another. On a silly oddroc cluster you need all the motors to light at the same time or game over. Getting things to glide properly can be more difficult than any build and should only be attempted by those crazy guys who like Space Shuttle and lifting body kits . Scratch builds and some OOP kits will blow away the Noris kits, but we are talking about currently available LPR.
You will have to get the magnifying glass out for that Flis 1B and show us all how it is done.
Rocket building trumps home repair. You need rockets to maintain your health. Building the Skill Level V Flis 1B is heavy duty exercise and will take you to the next Level of Flistopia.
Hauptmann is doing fine, the neighborhood rabbits and all other vermin are not.
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ahh...the Hauptmann enjoys the hunt and a little schnapps. This is necessary to maintain his fighter pilot/test pilot reflexes. He is busy...not only ridding your neighborhood of vermin that carry the pestilence, but he also inspects and approves your builds.
JoeLaunchman
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I'd say either the Xarconian Cruiser or the Asteroid Hunter. Both required numerous steps, fine skills and little margin for error.
Darn it people! I have enough in my build queue! Stop tempting me and feeding me new challenges. Is this some sort of sick joke?!? :wink:
I often get in a little bit of an overwhelmed slump building those difficult builds.
Have to clear the mind and get it away from it awhile and come back fresh.
Usually have 6 or so E2X, Endless of skill level 1's and 2's.
Get one of those in primer and send it up.
That puts me back in the mood to finish up the difficult one.
Wanting it see it fly. Sucks having ADD at times.
Body fries while brain is in a different Universe.
Have to clear the mind and get it away from it awhile and come back fresh.
Usually have 6 or so E2X, Endless of skill level 1's and 2's.
Get one of those in primer and send it up.
That puts me back in the mood to finish up the difficult one.
Wanting it see it fly. Sucks having ADD at times.
Body fries while brain is in a different Universe.
I found the Acme Spitfire from FlisKits to be an admirable challenge! There's lots of tube cutting, which for me is always a bigger challenge than most balsa work, and then you have to get the cut ends of the tubes to land and share space on a paperboard centering ring with an offcenter motor tube...crazy! The reward is worth it though...not as many greebles as the Decim8, but totally fun. That is, until I flew it with a shot-gun charged C11-3, blew the nose clean off, and wrecked the motor tube on impact.
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Hi-
First post just to say FlisKits' Nell, due to having to line up the long rods that hold it together, and the fact that a lot of paper is used. Totally worth it though.
Other names coming to my mind that are in my fleet are Estes Black Star Voyager and FlisKits USS Grissom.
First post just to say FlisKits' Nell, due to having to line up the long rods that hold it together, and the fact that a lot of paper is used. Totally worth it though.
Other names coming to my mind that are in my fleet are Estes Black Star Voyager and FlisKits USS Grissom.
Even the Flis Thunderbird can present challenges at skill level 2.5. Don't know if Semroc is still considered "available," but there is the Mars Lander, Hydra VII, and a Saturn 1B on a D12-3 for honorable mention. But they still don't hold a candle to DAS MODELL - Noris. Until you have a Vostok or Natter in the air they will just fart in the general direction of you silly English "bed wetting" types. Until you have mastered vacuform, avoiding gotchas, creating your own ways of attaching boosters, doing a proper frosty paint job and solving a host of other issues including balancing the model for D12 power, I will have to taunt you for a Second Time! Golly, I wonder why Americans hate these kits? Why do Germans love David Hasselhoff? Even a simple Natter kit can have a mean streak a mile wide. If you want the most difficult, currently available LPR kit then look no farther than Apogee Components, or lord help you, bid on a stock Noris kit someone opened and got scared of so they put it on Ebay. Time to risk the big bucks (or Euros) on these kits. Time to learn German and order direct from the Fatherland because that is the only language they speak. Don't go crying to Brother Maynard for the Holy Hand Grenade if you can't handle these nasty little kits.
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The Advanced Rocketry Products Parallel Staged Rocket 18/24 can make the young man cry. But since it is only periodically available on Ebay it is not really "off the shelf." And again, a D12-7 and four A8-3 cluster is not going to make our RSO's definition of low power. Yer a gonna fly that thing on a pad Far, Far Away!
Welcome to the forum, ClusterBomb. Grab a beef on weck for me.
Then for another challenge, download the plans for the scale launch tower and build that for the complete package.
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Flis Kits Rule!
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the Mars lander was a challenge.....fun kit to fly because that thing was on the edge of being stable.....crashed once...rebuilt her and she went on to have several successful missions landing on her gear....until she met her fate when my wife accidentally stepped on her in mid conversation.....
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TALON
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OK all you MASTER BUILDERS, get ready to laugh at me. The most difficult LPR kit for me was the SEMROC ARCAS.
The profiling of the fins, the fin roots and bolts drove me crazy (it ain't that far of a drive).:y: Heck, I have been putting off for 2 years building the SEMROC Aerobee 300! I start shaking just thinking about the "shrouds"! :eyepop:I would need a padded room to attempt any of the above kits. My hat is off to you MASTER BUILDERS.
The profiling of the fins, the fin roots and bolts drove me crazy (it ain't that far of a drive).:y: Heck, I have been putting off for 2 years building the SEMROC Aerobee 300! I start shaking just thinking about the "shrouds"! :eyepop:I would need a padded room to attempt any of the above kits. My hat is off to you MASTER BUILDERS.ClusterBomb
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OK all you MASTER BUILDERS, get ready to laugh at me. The most difficult LPR kit for me was the SEMROC ARCAS.
Hahaha, man, I'm far from a "master builder", you should see how my Nell turned out. It looks reasonably like the picture
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Had an Estes Mars Lander when I was a teenager, lost it in the trees at college flying it at night (you DO tend to do stupid things at that age...). It took awhile, but it really didn't require master building skills, just time. I have a Semroc Saturn 1B in the box, I look at it about every 6 months and decide I don't have the time to do it right. That kit is a LOT of work.
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