Brief:
Depending on how you look at it, this is either a downscale to the upscale SLS Huster or an upscale to the downscaled Centuri KF-8 Lil' Hustler. Either way you're gonna want to look at it, as it's a beautiful mid-sized rocket and at $35, it won't hit you quite as aggressively in the wallet as some of the other SLS series kits.

Construction:
The components for this are top notch quality and include some very nice features for the price. Comparing it to the larger SLS Hustler, you basically get the same stuff although the Lil' Hustler lacks a baffle system, single piece fin construction, and instead of a twist-lock motor mount, the kit offers a 29/24mm adapter instead.

Parts include:

• Balsa nose cone
• Balsa transition
• Payload bay (1.84")
• Body tube, slotted (1.34")
• Laser-cut basswood fins (4)
• 29mm motor tube with block
• 24/29 adapter kit
• Kevlar®/Elastic shock cords
• 18" nylon chute
• Waterslide decals

Instructions are excellent--clearly written, easy to follow, and contain plenty of illustrations. This would rate about a skill level 2 kit on the 5 scale and can be built fairly quickly--maybe a long afternoon plus a couple days for painting. There are 20 construction steps listed, spanning about two 8.5" x 11" pages.

The motor adapter is a pretty simple job, consisting of two short outer tubes that slide over a 24mm motor tube. These in turn fit snugly in the 29mm tube. Worth noting though, is that the 24/29 adapter includes a metal retaining clip, while the 29mm tube does not--you'll need to friction/tape either this adapter or a 29mm motor in place to fly.

For the 29mm motor tube, you basically just anchor the Kevlar® line to a thrust ring, glue it inside the end of the 29mm tube, and you're done.

Fins are already laser cut and mount through the wall in the pre-slotted tube. All that's needed is a little light sanding for finish, then some decent wood glue fillets. The tabs are about the same length as the body tube thickness, as the motor tube mounts directly inside the body tube without needing centering rings.

Launch lugs are mounted on the lower body tube using laser cut standoffs to clear the payload.

The payload is standard--glue the payload bay tube to the transition then either friction fit or glue the balsa nose cone to the top. I went with friction fit so that I could actually use the payload bay.

Mount the screw eye anchor to the transition then rig the nylon chute, and you're ready for painting.

Finishing:
This was a breeze to finish even though it's a three color scheme. I went with three light coats of primer, sanding in between to get a nice spiral/grain free appearance. Between the basswood and the fantastic tubes, there's very little prep work needed (although the balsa nose and transition sucked down some Fill 'n' Finish).

The main base coat was Rustoleum gloss white. After allowing plenty of time to cure, I masked off the body tube for painting the fins yellow, painted the payload bay yellow on its own, and painted the balsa nose and transition black on their own (gluing the transition to the payload bay after painting).

There's a little roll pattern waterslide decal along with a name label. Semroc decals are great to work with--tough enough to slide around a bit for alignment and their clear seems to be invisible on just about every paint I've used.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
For the first flight, our club was graced with one of those absolutely perfect spring days that almost compensate for the months of canceled launches due to rain, snow, wind, and plagues of soccer moms. Winds were dead calm by Midwest standards (3-5 mph), and I went with the relatively modest E9-4 (the -6 was recommended).

According to the altimeter I slipped into the payload bay, my flight was 839 feet versus the predicted altitude of 1150, which indicates to me that Semroc uses RockSIM predictions without drag compensation/adjustments. My rocket weighed in at 6.1 ounces versus the spec'd 6.0, and flew dead straight with no spin. Knowing it won't quite hit the altitudes listed on the header card will give me the confidence to start moving up to full Es and what I think will be a magnificent motor for this: the AT-F12 reload.

Recovery:
The 18" nylon chute brought her down gently without a scratch. It was a nice day-glo yellow and looks so sharp in the sky.

Flight Rating: 5 out of 5

Summary:
This is just a great all around rocket. If it weren't against the rules, I'd even say it's a fine design for the TARC egg lofting challenges, capable of carrying a couple eggs safely, and designed for either 24 or 29mm motors for maximum flexibility. You TARC kids out there would do well to look over this and model yours after it.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

Brief:
Anyone with an appreciation for model rocket history should love this kit, which is a slight upscale of a late 60's/early 70's Centuri payload bird with large engine capability. In updating the kit, Semroc has added through-the-wall fins of laser-cut basswood and a Kevlar shock cord. Everything else remains pretty much the same, as well it should.

Construction:
The parts list:

• BC-17567 balsa nose cone
• LT-125150 main body tube
• LT-17560 payload tube
• BR-125-175 balsa reducer
• LT-11555 inner tube ;-)
• FV-57 laser cut basswood fins
• SCK-24 Kevlar® shock cord
• EC-236 elastic shock cord
• SE-12 screw eye
• LL-310 launch lugs
• FV-575 launch lug standoffs
• TR-115 thrust ring
• EM-9115 24mm engine mount
• PN-18 parachute
• 24mm engine mount
• Basswood fins
• Screw eye
• Kevlar® shock cord
• Elastic shock cord
• 18" Nylon parachute
• Decal

As is typical of Semroc kits, the Lil' Hustler comes with a booklet that explains the construction process clearly. That said, once I looked over the separate instruction sheet for the motor mount, the rest of the build was done while I watched football and talked rockets online. The instructions just stood by looking pretty and reminding me what the finished product would look like. While it is a nice size rocket, it's a very familiar build, and the only thing I really had to concentrate on was keeping the fins lined up as the glue set. The fins were slotted and needed a pass or two over a piece of sandpaper to slip into the body tube slots, but with a little wood glue in the right spots and the right amount of pressure, they pretty much set themselves. (Ah, the miracle of lasers.) The finished product looks great even before paint and feels incredibly solid.

Finishing:
I wanted to stick close to the original paint scheme, while at the same time clearly identifying the rocket as one of mine. I sprayed the entire rocket with Valspar primer when assembly was finished then two coats of thinned Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish killed off the body tube spirals, basswood grain, and balsa grain. There was a picture in Launch magazine of Bruce, Carl, and Lee Piester examining a Hustler at the NARAM 49, and I liked the looks of that paint scheme but wanted something that popped a little more. I sprayed three fins and the payload section with fluorescent orange while the remaining fin, nose cone and reducer were sprayed with Valspar gloss black. I then masked off the fins and sprayed the entire lower half of the rocket with Valspar gloss white. Decals are minimal, but they were in this rockets heyday also. Once all was done I sprayed the whole rocket with several light coats of Valspar satin to keep it looking as great as it did when I was done. Not too shiny but enough to protect the paint and decal.

Construction Rating: 5 out of 5

Flight:
Over the past few years I've found that rockets of this size are perfect candidates for the Estes E9-6, and to date, that's the only engine I've flown it on. While the Lil' Hustler was ready to fly for a couple of months before the first flight, the weather wouldn't cooperate except on non-launch weekends. Finally, after a seemingly endless series of rain and wind cancellations, we got a weekend with wind predictions under our limit. I carted a whole van-load of rockets to the VOA, but the Lil' Hustler was the one that I was most looking forward to flying.

Loaded with an E9-6, the Lil' Hustler left the pad slowly but obviously not struggling, arcing well out over the field due to some windcocking. 1150' was claimed by Semroc on the E9-6, and based on my observations, it made that easily. The nylon parachute looked small when I loaded it but brought the Lil' Hustler down plenty slowly but not slow enough that it drifted out of the park. I followed it down in the general direction of the dog park but found it within ten feet of a soccer field where a game was being played (despite an agreement by the soccer teams not to use the park on this particular weekend). The girls who were playing didn't notice a middle-aged rocket geek or his rocket, but the middle age referee in the yellow shirt and black socks gave me a bit of stink eye. I lived.

Flight #2 took place at the AMA Field in Muncie, Indiana, during the National Sport Launch. If there was ever a time and place for me to be tempted to put the Lil' Hustler up on an E15 this would have been it, however, I opted for the E9 again. (The weekend had already been expensive enough.) Once again the E9 in the Lil' Hustler proved to be a great combination with another flight that easily topped 1000'. The steady breeze that again caused some fairly major windcocking again made the recovery walk an adventure and the rocket was eventually recovered in the soybeans well out from the launch area.

Recovery:
Although the combination of elastic and Kevlar® provided for the shock cord would seem to easily be long enough, I had a fairly serious gash in the nose cone due to it rebounding into the fins, which also bore a mark from the collision.

Flight Rating: 4 ½ out of 5

Summary:
PROs: Vintage looks, solid feel.

CONs: Could use a little extra in the shock cord department.

Overall Rating: 4 ½ out of 5