(07/20/01) A local hobby shop was going out of business and I bought everything that was left for $100. I figured it to be about $300 worth of stuff. In that, I gained a Custom Razor and since I like tube-fin rockets I went ahead and built this one.

This kit is designed as a Skill Level 1 for the beginner and starter. Yes, you build it, but it is not necessary to paint it as it comes with gloss yellow tubes and a black plastic nose cone. So I just built it the way the kit was originally intended.

See my Tube-Fin Rocket Comparison Page

The Razor comes with a plastic nose cone, a single 9" body tube, six (6) 1 7/8" tube fins, an 18mm motor mount with a motor retainer clip, a short (12") piece of elastic shock cord and a plastic 12" parachute. There are some water transfer decals for the finishing touch.

CONSTRUCTION:

The instructions for the kit were thorough and allowed for any skill of builder to be successful in assembly of the Razor. They include diagrams to ensure accuracy. They also included finishing (although that is only putting on the decals) and flight instructions.

As mentioned, I planned to build this rocket quickly and with no plans to paint it since the body and fin tubes were already gloss yellow and the nose cone was black. I literally assembled this rocket in 5 minutes. All except the shock cord and parachute. I used Quick Grab glue on this model (additional comments about Quick Grab glue) for everything except gluing the 3-fold shock cord mount into place.

I decided not to use the 12" piece of elastic because I feel it is too short, so I added 18" of 1/16" Kevlar® to it. I used the Kevlar® in the 3-fold method of shock cord attachment. I also replaced the parachute with a 18" x 3" plastic streamer just to help in recovery. It is such a light rocket that I would rather see it drop faster.

Even though the kit is designed so that you don't have to paint, the tube spirals are very evident. The black water-transfer decals include tube stripes, the numbers 1 through 6 for each tube and the word "Razor".

Overall, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this kit 3 ½ points. It's fast and easy, like a skill level one should be but also has too short of a shock cord and this would have been a good candidate for a streamer (like Custom's Serval came with).

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

Custom recommended the following motors: 1/2A6-2, A8-3, B4-4, B6-4, C6-5, and C6-7.

The first day I could fly the Razor was perfect! No wind and so I loaded it up with a C6-7 for its first flight. I had added a piece of Rogue Perma-wadding so preparation was easy. At ignition, this little guy was out of here and it went very high, in fact I lost track until the tracking smoke. It was clear that it was still going up upon ejection. The streamer deployed and it was recovered close by.

The next opportunity I had to fly was also very nice, so I loaded up the Apogee C10-7 and let her rip! Wow, zoom off the pad and straight up, except for a little tight tail swing. It was way up there and I could track the position by the nice amount of tracking smoke in the C10. It arced over and ejected and then I heard the ejection a split second later. The streamer was folded/rolled and got caught in the shock cord and the rocket fell to the ground with no damage. However, the poor Rogue Perma-wadding just isn't cut out to handle the powerful Apogee motor ejection charges!

The third flight, in the same day, was also on an Apogee motor, the C4-5. This time I used some wadding and the remains of the Perma-wadding. Again, ignition and a straight flight (no wiggle this time) and you could hear the extra time in the burn. It was at apogee, perfect, when the ejection charge fired. I followed the rocket down only to find it missing the nose cone and steamer.

For FLIGHT/RECOVERY, I would rate this kit 4 points. It is definitely a fun flier after changing the shock cord and adding a streamer. You can fly it on 1/2A's, A's and B's, but I was taking it to its limits. Make sure you have a calm day and a large field with C motors and have some fun!

Overall, the Razor is good first rocket for someone looking for a Tube-Fin. It is fast to assemble and gives nice flights. Make the modifications though, because otherwise I fear you'll only be getting a couple of flights on it before banging the body tube, breaking the shock cord or losing it on a parachute. I give the kit an OVERALL rating of 3 ½ points.

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

The following excerpt is from "Sport Rocketry". The intention is to allow guests to get a basic feeling about a kit. We strongly suggest that you get a copy of the referenced Sport Rocketry and read the entire article. Inside you will find many helpful hints in construction as well as other useful information. For more information, use the two links above.

"The Razor is an inexpensive way to try out tube fin flying." 
"The kit features a plastic nose cone, Mylar parachute and tube fins." 
"Construction of the rocket is fairly easy. The instructions are clear and well illustrated." 
"The plastic nose cone . . . is molded in black, so it fits the yellow and black color scheme without painting." 
"A few simple decals are included to dress up the rocket." 
"The first test flight was on an A8-3 with the 12-inch parachute." 
"Despite winds of 10 to 15 mph, the rocket showed little tendency to weathercock." 
"The Razor is an inexpensive, durable sport flyer that should add a change of pace [to] your rocket activities." 

The entire article gives the impression is that this is a good first tube-fin kit for beginners and novice modelers.