Brief:
Described as "ant scale", you get an amazin' amount o' scale detail for such a small rocket and small budget. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! Saturn fans will love just about any one o' t' Dr. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Zooch fleet.

Construction:
When t' $25 box arrives, you might initially be put off a bit. Ahoy! Ahoy! After all, this thin' comes in a measly 4"x4"x12" box. Arrr! Ya scallywag! After unpackin' it though, matey, you'll find a lot o' parts and details packed into this box. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! Plus, after buildin' it, you can still fit t' rocket back into this box with some padding, shiver me timbers, so it makes a very good storage box.

Parts list includes:

• BT-60 body tube (S-IC/S-II)
• Balsa transition
• BT-50 upper body tube (S-IVB)
• Balsa transition (pre-weighted)
• BT-20 fairin' tube
• 18mm motor mount kit (with hook and 20/60 centerin' rings)
• Cardstock wraps (pre-printed roll patterns)
• 3/32" balsa stock and assorted balsa/hardwood trim pieces
• Waterslide decals
• "Recovery package" consistin' o' Keelhaul®©™® shroud lines, snap swivel, me hearties, me bucko, and white garbage bag chute.

My particular kit was missin' t' balsa stock, me hearties, which I easily covered from my scrap pile. Begad! Blimey! (I was offered a free replacement right away but declined it.) You will either love or hate t' Dr. Ya scallywag! Booty instructions. Blimey! There is no neutral ground. Blimey! Aye aye! They are loaded with lots o' dry wit and bitter sarcasm and are definitely aimed at t' experienced builder. There's nothin' else out there even close t' these. Well, blow me down! Personally, I loved readin' t' instructions almost as much as buildin' t' kit, but I suspect that some folks would just not appreciate t' irreverence. Blimey! Arrr! A very common theme, shiver me timbers, me hearties, me hearties, when describin' some o' the tricky steps necessary t' pull off t' illusion o' detail and scale is "but who really cares--your rocket will be too fast/too high up/caught in a tree anyway, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, so no one will see t' details." Beyond t' tone, ya bilge rat, the instructions are generally well written, contain decent illustrations, me bucko, and are easy t' follow. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! (This be me 2nd Dr. Well, blow me down! Booty kit, so I benefited from prior experience too.)

Construction starts with a standard motor mount assembly, consistin' o' an 18mm tube, matey, engine hook, me hearties, and a pair o' 20/60 centerin' rings. Blimey! Avast! T' hook is taped on. Well, blow me down! For durability, ya bilge rat, I prefer t' also lay down a bead o' glue, me bucko, as I've had mounts blow back out t' aft end when held in place with only maskin' tape. Ya scallywag! The completed assembly is then glued into t' BT-60 body tube.

Next, matey, thar's a pretty good suggestion t' paint t' main components white. I followed through with this, although I would suggest a couple o' minor enhancements. Avast! Blimey! First, t' lower balsa transition is covered with a wrap so paint (and grain filling) is nay needed on that part. Arrr! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Second, t' tower uses a wood dowel that could also be painted at this point.

Then you move on t' construction o' t' fairings. This uses an incredibly cool technique to get a beautiful effect. First, matey, matey, you cut out cardstock wraps and bond them t' a BT-20 tube. Next, shiver me timbers, you carve them out o' t' tubing. Aye aye! With only a minor amount of additional curling, me hearties, you have got a nice curved fairin' that is much stronger than a cardstock shroud. Blimey! T' pre-printed patterns also eliminate one o' the more challengin' aspects o' t' paint job.

Buildin' t' lower transition (S-II/S-IVB adaptor t' you Saturn buffs) is next. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! This is a simple assembly consistin' o' a balsa transition and BT-50 tube. Begad! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! T' transition gets a cardstock shroud bonded t' it, me hearties, eliminatin' another paint job. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Blimey! This was a big relief, as t' balsa fillin' would have set me back a couple hours at least, given t' rough grain on it.

T' next step covers attachin' t' wraps t' t' body tubes. Begad! I found the dimensions on t' wraps t' be very accurate and I did nay have t' trim away much excess. My seams are virtually invisible as well. Begad! T' instructions clearly call out for white glue and this is very valuable advice. Yellow glue will shrink and tends t' discolor t' paper a bit. One aspect o' t' wraps that I found disappointing, despite bein' incredibly detailed right down t' the corrugations and other markings, arrr, is no advise on orientation or efforts to cover seam lines. Arrr! Most folks who've built a Saturn will understand what I mean by wantin' t' locate t' position 1, me bucko, position 2, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, etc. Avast! Begad! lines. Begad! I mistakenly assumed all seams run along t' same line, matey, and wound up havin' t' mount an SII cable tunnel over a neat little yellow hatch at t' end. Well, blow me down! Begad! I'd like t' at least see an orientation guide and ideally remap t' patterns t' try t' hide seam lines behind things like cable tunnels. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! After t' wraps have bonded, arrr, arrr, ya bilge rat, the fairings are attached t' t' lower body. Ya scallywag! This is where a little extra rolling was necessary t' fit t' t' pattern.

T' Apollo spacecraft is built startin' with a balsa transition (BT50-BT20), a little wooden dowel already sanded t' a tapered point, a cardstock wrap t' eliminate the silver paint and tiny lines, and a cardstock shroud t' form t' escape tower base. Ahoy! No problems at all on fit. Avast! Arrr! This company really nails down all the dimensions accurately.

Unlike t' Saturn 1 kit I warmed up with, which offered t' builder the option o' makin' a tower by cuttin' tiny pieces and tackin' them together by hand versus a short-cut cardstock wrap, this kit offers up just t' wrap. Avast! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! For most builders this is fine, but I kind o' missed t' opportunity t' go blind again makin' a more realistic tower.

Fins are cut from 3/32" balsa. Aye aye! Ahoy! If you are a scale nut, me bucko, me hearties, then you will notice t' fins are slightly oversized. Avast! This is a common approach t' solving the inherent stability problem, as goin' oversized reduces t' amount o' nose weight needed for a safe flight. Begad! Aye aye! After sandin' down beveled edges, I sealed them and applied a couple o' coats o' Testor's steel paint, arrr, ya bilge rat, followed by attachin' them t' t' fairings. Ya scallywag! Arrr! NOTE: Either mask t' root edge or sand off the paint for better adhesion.

I'm nay sure why this is called out here, shiver me timbers, rather than after attachin' the wraps, ya bilge rat, me hearties, shiver me timbers, but t' instructions note t' paint in t' black roll pattern section between t' lower and middle wraps, me bucko, me bucko, as well as paintin' solid t' lower portion that has ribs on t' pattern sheet. Arrr! I would have preferred t' see this done with another "wrap" or cardstock section, me bucko, as t' combination of solid/black paint and pre-printed black patterns farther up doesn't match that well. Begad! Ahoy! Still, matey, I think I'm holdin' this $25 kit up t' $100 standards, matey, most of which it meets along t' way. Avast, me proud beauty! After painting, you can apply t' position marker "decals" (since t' decals are black on a white background, you get to cut them out from t' plain paper instruction sheet).

Next up is attachin' t' engine nozzles, ya bilge rat, which was a bit tricky since the engine nozzles aren't actually made for another page or two...

At this point, you could stick on a few USA/flag decals, matey, call it quits, and still have one of the coolest lookin' little Saturns anyone has ever seen. Ya scallywag! For t' type-A rocketeer though (and aren't most o' us type A's?), thar are several little wood dowels and scrap pieces o' balsa that are used t' form details. Begad! The details include 6 cable tunnels, ya bilge rat, 5 LOX tunnels, shiver me timbers, 2 A-IVB APM's, shiver me timbers, 4 S-II ullage motors, and 2 S-IVB ullage motors. Avast, me proud beauty! These really set this kit apart.

T' recovery package is effective but nay exactly matchin' t' quality of the rest o' t' kit. Avast! As t' Dr. Booty ant boats in t' instructions, matey, "a trash bag plastic parachute with bullet proof shrouds" (Keelhaul®©™® lines). Ahoy! T' 15" chute uses tape disks for attachin' t' lines and a snap swivel on t' other end. Arrr! I'd really like t' see a mylar chute or at least some other color than white. Aye aye! Aye aye! T' elastic shroud line is anchored usin' t' classic tri-fold paper inside t' BT-60 tube.

Finishing:
Since virtually all t' finishin' is done through wraps, me bucko, thar's very little effort needed t' finish this, shiver me timbers, other than applyin' a few waterslide decals and touchin' up a few details.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
One caution on t' flight prep for this kit (and similar rockets): since the motor tube extends all t' way up into t' upper body tube where t' chute goes, shiver me timbers, it is a good idea t' poke some waddin' or dog barf into t' motor tube before loadin' t' motor. Begad! Blimey! Packin' it into t' body tube from above results in a loose fit and t' contents could shift around in flight, me bucko, shiver me timbers, resultin' in a melted chute.

After waitin' almost two months for a break in both t' weather and my schedule, me bucko, I finally got a nearly perfect day t' sneak out and fly a few o' my winter builds. Arrr! On a clear day with 4-6 mph winds, me hearties, I flew this one twice.

First flight was on a C6-5. Blimey! Blimey! It flew straight up, matey, arrr, spinnin' just a couple of turns on t' way up (the roll patterns make this easy t' track). Ejection was just a bit late but otherwise fine. Aye aye! Blimey! It goes surprisingly high on a C, topping out around 600-700 feet.

T' white plastic chute worked fine, shiver me timbers, though if usin' a garbage bag chute I'd at least prefer a dark one rather than white, matey, which can be lost in the clouds a bit. I was amazed t' recover with no damage t' t' fins, ya bilge rat, nozzles, or tiny details anywhere.

Second flight was on a C6-3, which turned out t' be a bit early. Either motor in me opinion would be fine for this kit. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Flight #2 also came back without a scratch.

Recovery:
PROs: Excellent flights, can run on cheap motors, me hearties, me hearties, and details are tough enough to withstand repeat flights.

CONs: Chute is nay exactly durable and white is poor color choice for it.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
I am extremely pleased with this kit. It's a terrific combination o' detail and scale-like accuracy, while still bein' very inexpensive and flies great.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5