Brief:
The Razor is a tube-finned, no-paint-necessary, easy to assemble rocket from Custom. It comes with a 12" parachute for recovery and will take a number of different engines, per the manufacturer.

Construction:
Since this was the first Custom kit I had built, I wasn't sure what to expect. Upon opening the kit, I was impressed with the packaging & parts. each 'section' of the rocket had its own packaged parts (motor mount/chute/tube fins) and all were high quality. The nose cone had some flashing which needed to be trimmed and sanded. The engine hook was a bit thin, but worked out fine. The shock cord was a thin piece of elastic. The pre colored tubes looked quite good and sturdy, with no apparent defects.

Construction was straightforward with easy to follow instructions. This was also the first tube fin rocket I had ever built, even in my first incarnation as a rocketeer, so it was new. The kit went together easily without the need for anything besides glue and a hobby knife. The tube fins were a snap, and I drizzled a bit of thin CA between the tubes to make them more stable. This is not in the directions, but I think it makes for a more stable kit. I also did a mod on the shock cord, using a length of Kevlar®. I attached the Kevlar® cord using the supplied cord mount (which needs to be bigger!). I then attached the supplied shock cord to a loop in the end of the cord, much like the Quest kits. The elastic cord is then tied to the nose cone. One other mod I did was to ditch the supplied parachute and use a streamer instead. The kit is so light, it would drift forever on the chute. I used a 2 1/2 foot piece of Mylar for a streamer which was attached via a snap swivel. The nose cone required a couple wraps of tape around the shoulder to have a good fit. Overall construction was easy and best of all, fun.

Finishing:
Since this was a pre-colored kit, finishing consisted of putting on the water-slide decals. These were quite thin, and one tore. I wasn't overly impressed with them, but they looked OK.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight:
Flying the kit was fun. Not knowing what to expect from a tube-fin kit, I went with the A8-3 on first flight. It went decently high (it is a very light kit after all) and was recovered without incident. The streamer worked nicely. Second flight was on a B6-4, and boy does it rip off the pad on this. Very high, and almost tough to see. Very little drift, and landed near the pad. On a "C" engine, this thing would go out of sight. Wonder what would happen on an Aerotech "D"? :) PROS: Nice high flights on low powered motors CONS: tough to track at higher altitudes

Recovery:
As stated above the shock cord was modified with a length of Kevlar. I do this to all my kits now and have not had one incidence of burn-through on ejection. Also, use a streamer. Given how high this can go on relatively low powered motors, it would drift off in even the most light of winds if the supplied parachute is used.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:
Overall, this is a fun, easy to assemble and fly kit. Its unique looks make it interesting, and its high flights are great.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5