Just finished building Fliskits Pheord X150 saucer (sorry, no pics, as my brother has absconded with my digital camera) and have a few comments...
1) Excellent quality parts, clear instructions, and good patterns for the wire antennae/landing gear. It's obvious a great deal of thought went into this kit. Humor abounds, whether it's in the kit description, kit card, or on the saucer itself (Take some time to study the details, especially on the shroud - they're a hoot).
Still trying to figure out what to do with the 18mm thrust ring that showed up in my kit. Ain't covered in the instructions and the EMRR reviews make it quite clear there isn't such in their kits. Is it possible that Jim is placing random parts in kits as some sort of 'rocketry IQ' test?
2) Separating the self-adhesive "peel and stick" fin patterns from their backing is indeed a pain in the a** - my experience parallels the EMRR reviews. Probably requires a girlfriend with sharp nails to help. This is one of the two "hard" parts of the build.
3) Lots of cutting - both balsa and paper. The peel and stick patterns make cutting the balsa fins simple, even with my shaky hand.
4) After the fins and shroud are cut out, the kit goes together quickly. I like the supplied fin alignment guide - it really facilitated the build.
5) Shaping the wire antennae is the 2nd hard part of construction, as the wire is not that easy to bend into the U shapes at both ends. However, a less-tough wire would probably not be as survivable, given that this thing is supposed to land on the antennae.
In short, a fun and somewhat challenging build. I built mine over the course of two evenings (allowing the fin/body tube joints to dry overnight), but you can easily complete the kit in a few hours. Fliskits rates this a skill level 2, but it felt like a 3 to me, mainly due to the two "hard" parts mentioned above.
My Pheord is scheduled to roll off the rack on a C6-0 this weekend. I'll let ya'll know how well this puppy does.
1) Excellent quality parts, clear instructions, and good patterns for the wire antennae/landing gear. It's obvious a great deal of thought went into this kit. Humor abounds, whether it's in the kit description, kit card, or on the saucer itself (Take some time to study the details, especially on the shroud - they're a hoot).
Still trying to figure out what to do with the 18mm thrust ring that showed up in my kit. Ain't covered in the instructions and the EMRR reviews make it quite clear there isn't such in their kits. Is it possible that Jim is placing random parts in kits as some sort of 'rocketry IQ' test?
2) Separating the self-adhesive "peel and stick" fin patterns from their backing is indeed a pain in the a** - my experience parallels the EMRR reviews. Probably requires a girlfriend with sharp nails to help. This is one of the two "hard" parts of the build.
3) Lots of cutting - both balsa and paper. The peel and stick patterns make cutting the balsa fins simple, even with my shaky hand.
4) After the fins and shroud are cut out, the kit goes together quickly. I like the supplied fin alignment guide - it really facilitated the build.
5) Shaping the wire antennae is the 2nd hard part of construction, as the wire is not that easy to bend into the U shapes at both ends. However, a less-tough wire would probably not be as survivable, given that this thing is supposed to land on the antennae.
In short, a fun and somewhat challenging build. I built mine over the course of two evenings (allowing the fin/body tube joints to dry overnight), but you can easily complete the kit in a few hours. Fliskits rates this a skill level 2, but it felt like a 3 to me, mainly due to the two "hard" parts mentioned above.
My Pheord is scheduled to roll off the rack on a C6-0 this weekend. I'll let ya'll know how well this puppy does.
