Sirius Rocketry Refit USS Atlantis

Sirius Rocketry - Refit USS Atlantis {Kit} (S-0010)

Contributed by John R, Brandon III

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Published: 2011-09-29
Diameter: 1.33 inches
Manufacturer: Sirius Rocketry
Style: Futuristic/Exotic, Upscale

Brief

The Refit USS Atlantis is a classy update-upscale of Estes' old USS Atlantis exotic starship. The old one flew on 19mm motors, this one is set up for 21mm. It's mostly a plywood and cardboard-tube kit with some vacuum-formed plastic parts as decor. 

I have to brag on Sirius' customer support. I ordered the Atlantis kit on the first of September and their website reported it shipped on the third...When the fifteenth rolled around with no USPS box I emailed them to inquire. The email was answered on a Saturday; seems my kit went back to Sirius due to a mysterious torn label. They added a 12" nylon parachute, a sampler sheet of decals, and an Estes Alpha Three kit to the box to reward my patience! That, folks, is customer service.

Components

This was my first Sirius kit, the flagship of their product line...but it CERTAINLY will NOT be my last!! It came in the typical plastic bag with header card. I had a very brief scary moment during my initial readthrough of the 12-page instructions...I couldn't find the centering rings! Then I looked at the BIG sheet of laser-cut plywood...There they were! The centering rings are laser-cut plywood too.

Kit parts were a long BT-55 tube, a 10" BT-50 motor mount tube, a nice balsa nose cone, a screw eye, two feet of Kevlar line and two feet of sewing elastic for the recovery harness, the big sheet of laser-cut plywood that has all the fins and centering rings, two BT-5 tubes each of two slightly-different lengths, two sheets of vacuum-formed styrene parts, five wood dowels of three different lengths, a 24" Mylar parachute kit, an engine hook, a 3/16" launch lug, a body tube marking guide, the assembly manual...and FOUR sheets of waterslide decals! Notably absent from this kit was any sort of engine block ring...I had a spare Estes AR2050 ring and put it in. After I found the centering rings on the laser-cut plywood sheet I noted all parts were present and none damaged.

Construction

The instruction manual was well-written annd well-printed and included an interesting science-fiction "backstory" regarding the "history" of the Refit USS Atlantis. The tubes were nearly spiral-free, the balsa nose cone needed a few swipes of sanding and a coat of Testor's tube plastic cement to be glassy smooth, and the plywood surfaces were so smooth no filler or sealer was needed.

I added an AR2050 ring salvaged from an old Esytes motor mount as a thrust ring, just because I have seen high-thrust motors shift motor-retainer clips.

The Refit Atlantis went together smoothly and in good time...She came in one morning and was assembled in time for dinner! The slotting of the tubes was done with my trusty #1 X-acto knife guided by a section of steel angle.

Those vacuum-formed styrene "ample nacelles" which bedeviled other reviewers were not too big a problem for me...but then I have forty-four years of plastic modeling on my resume too. There is a neat straight one-eighth-inch gap between my nacelle shells along the tube top and bottom...I left it unfilled but filled the nacelle ends.

Used cyanoacrylate gel and yellow wood glue for assembly throughout...typical of me these days.

PROs -- Nice parts, moderate parts count but delightful detail level, lots of tips on doing it right.

CONs -- Only one I see was the lack of a thrust ring. Well, they MIGHT could have tossed in a nylon parachute and a baffle...but that's just a cost quibble.

Finishing

This was a rare bird in surface terms. Plywood was glassy-smooth as it popped out of the sheet and I swear to see the tube spirals I had to use a magnifying glass! Three mist coats of Krylon Matte Silver (leftovers from my Nell kit...see my last review) did the trick; a bit of royal blur acrylic added with a brush picked out the nacelle intercoolers.

Four sheets of really-crisp three-color waterslide decals were provided, and these are what makes this beauty a work of art. Sirius has some artists in their decal-design team...there are ARBORETUM windows on this starship, and you can TELL that is what they ARE! There's a piece of forest inside this starship, for recreation or life-support or both.

PROs -- The decals. Simple paint job, enhanced by the decals. Did I mention the decals?

CONs -- I'm still trying to find cons...they must all be behind bars.

Construction Score: 4

Flight

I have to wait until Texas is no longer under a burn ban to fly this beauty...well, a friend of mine has a possible plowed field we could use in early October. I'll update this with flight data.

My Atlantis Refit is under target weight thanks to my adhesives decisions so she ought to fly a bit better than the ones reviewed before...I MIGHT put an APCP E in her to see her superluminal performance!

Recovery

The gorgeous silver Mylar 24" chute should be just about right...I'll keep you posted when I can fly safely!

Flight Rating:

Summary

All in all a fun build of a classy starship-look rocket.

PROs -- Solid parts, good instructions, well-considered design that falls together nicely. Stronger than it needs to be...but easier to build too strong than it used to be.

CONs -- A bit pricey for what you get...but it can be argued that it's money well spent.

Overall Rating: 4
Other Reviews
  • Sirius Rocketry Refit USS Atlantis By John Lee (October 22, 2008)

    Brief: According to my records, my Refit USS Atlantis has been sitting in my build pile for about a year. That jives with my memory. It was one of the first kits I ordered and it has been intimidating me ever since. I really wanted to build it but I wanted it to look good too. Finally, I decided to give it a try, not because I think I can do it justice but because I want it so bad. ...

  • Sirius Rocketry Refit USS Atlantis By Drake "Doc" Damerau (March 26, 2007)

    ( Contributed - by Drake "Doc" Damerau - 03/26/07) Brief: I saw that Chan Stevens, a top-notch builder and reviewer, already reviewed this kit but I wanted to add to it by going a little further into the construction and offer more construction details. It’s not a “second opinion” review, rather one to complement Chan’s review. Construction: Engine ...

  • Sirius Rocketry Refit USS Atlantis By Chan Stevens

    Brief: Inspired by Star Trek, this futuristic spaceship design will draw a crowd at the pad and flies surprisingly well. At $60, it's a bit on the pricey side, but it is made with quality components and design and is challenging and enjoyable to build. Construction: I ordered my kit via the Sirius Rocketry website with their flagship Saturn V kit. There was a delay of a couple ...

Flights

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