(L) Estes K-29 Saturn 1B - original restored with Apogee Capsule (M) Apogee Saturn 1B (R) Clone o' Estes Little Joe with Apogee Capsule

Brief:
T' Apogee Saturn 1B is a 1/70th scale model o' t' 1960’s vintage NASA booster. Aye aye! Originally called t' Uprated Saturn before bein' renamed t' Saturn 1B, me bucko, it was used for unmanned test flights o' t' Apollo capsule, and t' launch t' first manned Apollo mission (Apollo 7). Ahoy! It was later used t' launch t' three Apollo missions t' Skylab and finally used for t' Apollo/Soyuz mission before bein' ‘retired’ in 1975. T' Apogee Saturn 1B is a companion model t' t' Apogee 1/70th scale Saturn V, arrr, and in fact shares several common parts (you may recall that t' S-IVB second stage o' t' Saturn 1B was t' third stage o' t' Saturn V). Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! I've always been fond o' t' Saturn 1B – an Estes K-29 "Uprated Saturn" that I put together back in 1968 was t' first large, me bucko, complex rocket I ever built. Begad! Begad! Besides, shiver me timbers, I think it looks cool.

Construction:
I ordered me Saturn 1B direct from t' Apogee web site (www.apogeerockets.com) shortly after t' kit was officially released (you can also order by phone, me bucko, fax, arrr, me bucko, or snail mail). Ahoy! T' kit arrived a few days later, ya bilge rat, t' box literally stuffed full o' parts. Begad! Begad! This is a large, complex kit with 16 body tubes and couplers, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, three sheets o' vacuform parts, me bucko, matey, me bucko, three sheets o' heavy card stock die-cut centerin' rings, a plastic Apollo capsule kit, a plastic transition ring, arrr, me hearties, ya bilge rat, a bag o' cast resin fins and detail parts, shiver me timbers, another bag o' plastic J2 engine display nozzles, me bucko, ya bilge rat, two nylon parachutes, 2 Keelhaul®©™ shock cords, 3 ounces o' clay nose weight, shiver me timbers, a decal sheet, arrr, some miscellaneous parts, and two CD-ROMs o' instructions. Blimey! T! here is also a nice 20" x 27" color poster o' t' Apollo/Saturn 1B. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Unfortunately when I sat down t' inventory t' parts, shiver me timbers, t' Keelhaul®©™ shock cords and a fuel tank centerin' tube were missing. Begad! That was easily solved with a quick e-mail t' Apogee explainin' t' problem – t' missin' parts showed up in me mailbox a few days later (along with an apology from Apogee owner Tim Van Milligan). Avast! Aside from t' missin' parts, everythin' arrived in good condition.

As I noted, t' instructions are contained on two CD-ROMs, me bucko, me hearties, matey, in PDF format. Arrr! You'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader (to open t' instructions file) and QuickTime (to view t' video instructions). Avast, me proud beauty! If you don't already have Acrobat and/or QuickTime, shiver me timbers, download instructions are included on t' CDs. Avast! Begad! One note – I initially loaded QuickTime version 5.0 on me Windows XP computer and had considerable problems with it (although it worked just fine on me Windows 98 laptop). Begad! There is now QuickTime version 6.0, downloadin' that solved all t' problems I experienced with XP.

Although a rather novel approach, t' video instructions are excellent (if somewhat time consumin' - thar are four hours o' t' video instructions – and occasionally tedious). Arrr! As somethin' o' an added bonus thar be also a wonderful collection o' Saturn 1B photos and drawings included on t' CDs.

T' rocket is built as five major sub-assemblies – t' thrust structure/fin unit, matey, shiver me timbers, t' fuel tank tube assembly (which incorporates t' engine mount), me hearties, t' S-IVB stage, t' LEM Transition/Service Module, arrr, and t' Apollo Capsule. Blimey! Well, blow me down! These sub-assemblies are painted as separate pieces prior t' final assembly (this will be familiar t' anyone who's built an Estes 2048 Saturn 1B). Begad! Well, blow me down! Given t' complexity o' t' rocket, I found it relatively easy t' build – noticeably easier t' build than its big brother – t' Apogee Saturn V. If you plan t' build both t' Apogee Saturn 1B and Saturn V, me bucko, I strongly suggest you build t' Saturn 1B first. Arrr! Arrr! T' lessons learned will come in handy with t' Saturn V.

Unlike other Saturn 1B kits, this kit uses properly scaled fins, so t' instructions give you t' option o' buildin' t' Saturn 1B with either ‘straight’ or 2 degree ‘canted’ fins. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' canted fins significantly reduce t' amount o' nose ballast need t' insure stability with t' relatively small fins. Aye aye! Ahoy! I elected t' go with t' canted fins, and while it is a little more trouble t' build relative t' t' straight fins, arrr, it is visually all but impossible t' detect. Ahoy! T' cast resin fins are nice and reasonably strong, matey, but mine did have some small air-bubble voids, which were easily filled with some epoxy putty. Ya scallywag! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! T' video instructions include a step for correctin' any defects in t' fins. Aye aye! T' only part o' t' Saturn 1B construction that t' experienced rocketeer is apt t' find new and/or difficult be t' attachment o' t' vacuform wraps. Blimey! Avast! T' recommended technique o' usin' thin CA along t' edges o' t' wraps proved troublesome for some people on t' Saturn V, me hearties, so t' instructions! also include an alternate method usin' double backed tape. However I had little difficulty usin' t' thin CA technique – t' Saturn 1B wrap edges are simple and straight, me bucko, without t' complex shapes and corners that complicated t' process on t' Saturn V. Avast, me proud beauty! I made one minor modification t' t' stock kit durin' construction: T' kit does nay include any sort o' engine retention, arrr, so I added an AeroTech engine hook t' t' engine mount assembly.

Finishing:
Although paintin' t' various sub-assemblies separately does help, matey, shiver me timbers, me hearties, paintin' t' Saturn 1B may be t' most difficult part o' buildin' this model. Avast! Blimey! I'm sure I spent at least as much time sanding, arrr, me bucko, painting, and maskin' me Saturn 1B as I did assemblin' it. Blimey! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! T' instructions do a good job o' explainin' proper techniques on how t' get a good finish and how t' mask off t' model for those tricky roll patterns. T' instructions CDs also include a multitude o' color drawings showin' t' correct color scheme and decal placement. But it is still difficult and time consumin' t' get it right. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Some minor quibbles – while all t' color drawings are good, it would be nice t' have some dimensions – e.g. Aye aye! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! show that a black band should be X inches wide. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Markin' and maskin' t' roll patterns on t' thrust structure/fin assembly was a major pain – some sort o' a paintin' template might help. I consider t' alternatin' black and white fuel tanks t' be almost a trademark o' t' Saturn 1B, shiver me timbers, and t' make it easy t' get t' alternatin' black and white fuel tubes, t' tubes are painted separately then glued t' t' engine mount assembly. Aye aye! Blimey! While this worked quite nicely, me hearties, t' instructions make no mention that t' later Saturn 1Bs (i.e. Arrr! Blimey! t' Skylab missions) used all white fuel tanks (Apogee has already indicated that they intend t' correct this oversight t' next time they update t' instruction CDs). Well, blow me down! Blimey! One other paintin' suggestion – before you start maskin' t' roll patterns, arrr, shiver me timbers, stop by an automotive paint store and pick up some 3M Scotch brand "Fine Line Tape" and Maskin' Tape. Avast! Blimey! This stuff is simply fantastic when maskin' off for painting.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
T' Apogee Saturn 1B is designed for 29 mm motors, however thar be nay a list o' ‘recommended’ motors. Begad! Blimey! When I asked Apogee about this, it was pointed out that thar be a trial version o' Apogee’s RockSim and t' associated S1B data file included on t' instruction CDs. While this may be a sneaky way for Tim Van Milligan t' get people t' try RockSim, it does work (note that you will probably need t' mangle t' rocket weight – t' RockSim file lists 12.98 ounces for t' Saturn 1B – mine came out closer t' 19 ounces, arrr, includin' 1.5 oz. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! o' nose ballast). Begad! Blimey! After a little playin' around with RockSim, matey, I selected an AeroTech F40-4W RMS for t' maiden flight (RockSim predicted 670 ft. altitude, arrr, and ejection within 0.2 seconds o' apogee). Well, me bucko, blow me down! Blimey! As I noted earlier, arrr, t' kit does nay provide any method o' positive motor retention (instead providin' a nicely detailed instruction video on t' tried and true maskin' tape method). Aye aye! Blimey! However I like t' added security o' positive motor retention and added an AeroTech engine hook t' t' engine mount durin' assembly.

T' maiden flight be spectacular. Begad! Arrr! I had angled t' launch rod a bit into a gentle wind, arrr, me bucko, arrr, so t' flight was nay quite vertical, arrr, but other than that it be nearly perfect t' an estimated 600 feet, and both parachutes deployed beautifully shortly after apogee (if you are wondering, when I ran RockSim for t' actual launch conditions, it come up with 637 feet and ejection .2 seconds after apogee). Aye aye! T' spin from t' canted fins was readily apparent, me hearties, but then again I be watchin' for it. Avast, me proud beauty! T' rod angle must have been close t' perfect as t' bottom section o' t' rocket landed perhaps 30 feet from t' launch pad, shiver me timbers, and t' upper portion landed nearly as close. Arrr! All in all, it was a magnificent and nearly perfect flight

Recovery:
Recovery is by two large nylon parachutes, matey, with t' ejection ‘break’ betwixt t' S-IVB and t' LEM transition. Begad! T' bottom section uses a 36" parachute, attached by a short Keelhaul®©™ shock cord. Well, blow me down! T' upper portion makes use o' a 24" parachute, ya bilge rat, attached by a Keelhaul®©™ harness that holds t' Apollo and LEM transition horizontal (to help protect t' relatively fragile escape tower from damage on touchdown). Aye aye! I was a bit surprised by t' short Keelhaul®©™® shock cords, arrr, so I asked Apogee about it. They commented that since t' two sections recovered separately thar was very little risk that "snap-back" would damage t' rocket, arrr, and hence no need for long shock cords. Avast! At any rate it worked fine, me hearties, and t' parachutes are generously sized for t' weight o' t' rocket. Wind drift will typically be o' greater concern than landin' damage.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This is simply a wonderful rocket kit – far and away t' nicest Saturn 1B kit I've ever built. T' level o' detail is terrific, rivalin' that o' a plastic model, and t' scale accuracy has nay been sacrificed in makin' t' rocket flight worthy. Begad! T' video instructions are outstandin' (if somewhat tedious at times) and t' model is well engineered. Avast! Avast! T' only real down side t' this rocket is that those beautiful roll patterns are such a pain t' mask and paint. Well, blow me down! Arrr! If you are a fan o' t' Saturn 1B, get this kit – you won't be sorry. Aye aye! Aye aye! T' rocket looks awesome in flight and on display - and it looks even better sittin' next t' an Apogee Saturn V. Avast, me proud beauty! Now if we could just get Apogee t' put together a Little Joe II kit :-).

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5