Overall, this flying model rocket kit is not hard to build. The pieces are of the highest quality, as are the instructions. The metallic paint used really makes the Star Fighter 152 stand out. The trick is to apply many light coats, a few minutes apart. It actually looks much better in real life than it does in the picture on the right. The shine is hard for me to capture in photographic from. The kit doesn't appear to have a skill level listed, the face card does state that the kit is recommended for those with model rocket building experience. For those with modeling experience, this kit should be easy enough to assemble. Simply make sure to build it strong, especially if you plan to use it with higher thrust motors than those recommended. This kit was picked for review to build something other than the traditional style rockets. This rocket looks like a futuristic fighter yet, as suggested by its name.

Parts List

The kit comes complete with all parts required to build this flying model rocket. Other than recovery wadding, launch supplies are not included.

- nose cone
- airframe tube (1.62" diameter)
- motor mount tube with 2 centering rings
- motor mount adapter (29mm to 24mm)
- 2 wings, 4 stabilizers and a tail
- 18" nylon parachute
- section of 24mm tubing
- instruction sheet
- recovery wadding (dog barf)

The instructions are on the back of the face card. There are no illustrations with the instructions. There is a fin alignment guide and a diagram which shows where to attach the tail, wings and launch lug.

Due to some of the high-thrust motors used, the use of epoxy is recommended for construction.

Construction

First was the nose cone. I sanded smooth the molding seam line and filled the remainder with putty. This prepared the nose cone for primer.

The tubes were sanded next, to ensure good epoxy adhesion. This is common sense and is recommended in the LOC/Precision instructions. The parts were tacked together with 30 minute epoxy. For strength, West System epoxy (thickened with colloidal silica) was used for epoxy fillets.

The centering rings didn't fit around the motor mount tube, the inside diameter was slightly too small. After removing a layer of paper from the inside of the centering rings, they fit perfectly. The instructions say to epoxy the centering rings 1/8" from each end of the motor tube. I changed one of those to 1/4" to use an Aeropack motor retainer.

After cutting out the fin alignment guide, the body tube was marked for wing, tail and launch lug placement.

Gluing the stabilizers to the wings is the hardest part of building the LOC Star Fighter. Getting them placed and lined up correctly can be a little tricky.

Next, the wings and fins are attached to the airframe. As seen in the image on the right, the plywood pieces were filled with watered-down wood filler. Possibly not for beginners is the launch lug cover tube. The supplied 24mm tube is cut in half lengthwise and glued over the launch lug. This helps give the Star Fighter its unique and cool look.

Finishing

After two coats of gray and one coat of white primer, it was time to paint this LOC bird.

This was my first time using the Rust-Oleum metallic paints. They turned out to be easy to work with and the results are very rewarding.

First, the wing and fin tips were painted silver metallic and then masked off. The rocket was then painted cobalt blue metallic and the masking tape was removed. Finally, some light coats of clear coat were applied.

Measurements

The LOC face cards list the measurements for the Star Fighter 152 as 23.5" long, with a 1.62" diameter. The weight for this flying model rocket is listed as 12.5oz.

Flight Data

The motor suggestions listed on the face card are all Aerotech single use motors : E30-4, F23-4, G38-7.

When flow on an F20, it also performed quite well. The motor chuffed on the pad for a bit and then the Star Fighter took off. It rotated once or twice on the way up, which made for a pretty cool flight.