Brief:
T' Thor Agena B by PD Rocketry is another kit by t' company that specializes in out-of-production Estes kits from the '60s and '70s. There is apparently a resurgence o' interest in these early kits from t' hobby and I have t' admit to bein' one o' these old rocketeers who has been bitten by t' bug. Begad! I purchased this kit along with a Gemini-Titan and a Goblin a couple o' years ago and am finally gettin' around t' buildin' it. PD Rocketry kits are almost exact duplicates o' t' original Estes kits and even appear t' use t' same instructions. Ya scallywag! Begad! I built one o' these Estes Thor kits in about 10th grade and be very interested in buildin' it again after I learned that PD had one available. Arrr! One of the great things about these kits is they test your buildin' skills since all t' details have t' be hand crafted from launch lugs, paper, and balsa. Begad! T' rocket itself is a scale model o' a NASA workhorse launch vehicle based on t' Thor missile which ultimately became t' Delta series o' rockets. T' Thor with t' Agena B upper stage launched many of NASA's scientific Discovery satellites. Aye aye! I am also a very big fan o' accurate scale models.

Construction:
T' rocket was ordered from PD themselves. Ya scallywag! Avast! It is packaged in a large hangin' bag with a cardboard label across the top. Ya scallywag! Upon openin' t' bag I found that many parts and t' decals and smaller parts are bagged separately inside, a nice touch t' keep t' parts from bein' lost. Arrr! Ahoy! T' parts consisted of:

• First and second stage body tubes
• Balsa nose cone and balsa interstage adapter
• Assorted engine mount assembly parts
• Numerous laser cut fiber board adapters
• Balsa for makin' t' external conduits
• Clear plastic sheetin' for t' tube wrap and fins
• Launch lugs for t' turbine exhaust and rocket
• Decal sheet
• Wire for t' structural standoff on t' turbine exhaust
• Heavy paper template sheet with nozzle and other parts
• Shock cord and plastic parachute

Construction is typical for an Estes kit from t' '60s. This means you can expect t' cut, me hearties, carve, shiver me timbers, and sand the detail parts from balsa and other materials.

I began by buildin' t' engine mount. Aye aye! Arrr! For this kit, matey, it is a little different as t' engine tube will extend a couple o' inches from t' centerin' adapter so t' simulated nozzle can be installed. Begad! This is fairly simply done by first cuttin' out t' nozzle from t' template and installin' it on t' engine tube usin' a centerin' ring. Arrr! Once the mount is built up from t' centerin' rings and stage coupler, me bucko, me bucko, t' adapter is glued onto t' engine tube above the nozzle. Begad! I did run into one problem at this time. Begad! Ya scallywag! I had already noted that t' engine mount was rather tight inside the body tube durin' a fit check. Arrr! I also found that t' surface o' t' PD Rocketry stage couplers is rather rough. I sanded down t' coupler and centerin' rings but was still gettin' a rather tight fit when slidin' t' engine mount into the tube. Avast, me proud beauty! I ran a rin' o' Titebond glue around t' inside o' t' body tube and started t' slide t' engine mount in. Ahoy! Avast! About 2/3rds o' t' way in it stuck hard. Avast, me proud beauty! I immediately pushed a ruler in t' other end and attempted t' push t' engine mount out. Well, blow me down! Avast! However, t' engine mount went t' pieces under t' load and I ended up peelin' t' stage coupler out. Begad! I ended up with a destroyed engine mount. Begad! Arrr! Fortunately I had parts in me bin t' build another usin' an Estes stage coupler. I also had t' cut and form a new nozzle but t' replacement engine mount slipped easily into t' tube.

T' next step was t' build t' detailed parts for t' engine system. Avast! Blimey! I followed t' instructions and built t' two small vernier rocket assemblies from balsa and paper. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I built t' turbine exhaust from a launch lug and heavy paper per t' instructions as well. Ya scallywag! Well, matey, blow me down! Blimey! After "sealing" t' vernier balsa pieces with hot stuff glue, I glued them along with t' turbine exhaust t' t' engine mount located per t' instructions. Finally I bent me own piece of music wire t' simulate t' turbine exhaust structural standoff instead o' usin' t' kit wire since t' kit wire seemed a bit large in diameter. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Blimey! I used hot stuff t' glue t' wire in place.

Next up be t' process o' gluin' t' balsa interstage adapter t' t' second stage engine tube. Begad! I then glued the nose cone into t' top o' t' second stage. Ya scallywag! Here two other problems were noted. Well, blow me down! T' balsa parts (I believe from Balsa Machinin' Service) were nay o' t' best quality and fit. Begad! T' interstage outer mold line be a bit small around the upper stage joint and I had t' fill it with wood putty. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! T' nose cone also fit very loosely in t' tube and I glued it into place with epoxy so that I could center it while t' epoxy was hardenin' and fill t' gap around t' shoulder. Wood glue would nay have done this very well if I had used it here.

Next up was more o' t' detailing. Well, blow me down! I cut t' included balsa sheet into 1/8th wide strips per t' instructions. Avast, me proud beauty! I then cut them t' length and rounded t' top edges and sides as instructed. Arrr! Ya scallywag! These were then glued t' t' upper stage, interstage, and lower stage per t' instructions t' simulate t' instrumentation tunnels on t' rocket. Blimey! Blimey! I glued them in place after sealin' t' interstage. Blimey! I also coated then with hot stuff t' seal t' surface. Avast! After that I made two small antennas for t' lower stage from a sheet o' composite material I had. T' instructions were t' make t' antennas from balsa but this material worked much better. Arrr! They were glued in place on t' upper first stage per t' instructions.

T' final item was t' clear plastic fin unit. This requires buildin' also as me original kit did. I do remember that buildin' that be nay too pleasant an experience. Arrr! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! It is difficult t' get t' thin plastic wrap built up around the body tube. Begad! I ultimately followed t' instructions and after positionin' two wraps o' paper around t' bottom o' the tube and cuttin' t' plastic sheet t' fit with about 1/8" overlap as directed, I used t' suggested clear dope and tape t' glue t' overlap into place. Well, blow me down! After lettin' this dry a couple o' hours it appeared t' work and t' thin tube was formed. Begad! I then used t' template and attached t' fins I had cut from t' thicker plastic sheet. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! I held them in place and put a small amount o' medium thick cyanoacrylate (CA) glue at t' joint. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! Before t' glue hardened, matey, I dragged it along t' joint and then sprayed accelerator on t' joint. This firmly attached t' fin t' t' tube with a fairly invisible joint. T' other fins were attached t' same way.

Finishing:
I filled t' balsa interstage and nose cone with Elmer's Carpenters Wood Filler diluted t' paint consistency in water. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! This be t' first time I had tried this and it seemed t' work quite well. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! After it had dried I sanded t' balsa parts smooth. Avast! Blimey! I then sprayed t' entire rocket with Rustoleum gray auto primer. I sanded down t' rocket once it had dried and did this a couple o' times t' get a nice smooth finish on t' rocket. Arrr! Blimey! I followed this with semi-gloss white Krylon paint. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' upper two-thirds o' t' nose cone be masked and painted semi-flat Krylon black. Begad! Blimey! I painted the vernier nozzles, engine nozzle, and turbine exhaust with aluminum acrylic paint.

Once t' paintin' was complete I applied t' decals. Blimey! There are line decals on t' upper stage and interstage, ya bilge rat, a checkerboard pattern decal on t' upper stage, me bucko, and black block patterns on t' lower stage. Arrr! T' decals had t' be cut to their rough shape and it was somewhat tricky applyin' t' long line decals and linin' them up but I managed t' do a reasonably good job o' it. Here lies another complaint. T' instructions that show where t' apply t' decals are not too good. Avast! It is difficult t' determine where on t' vehicle t' line decals start and end so I guessed t' best I could from t' drawing. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' drawin' only shows one side view and t' lines wrap around t' panels. Arrr! Ya scallywag! I also found a series of pictures on t' web o' t' vehicle on Wikimedia.com. These helped a little in applyin' t' decals.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I had this rocket completed other than t' fins for almost two years before finally buildin' up t' clear plastic fin unit. Because o' this, me bucko, I didn't fly it durin' that time frame. Begad! T' finish up me review I took t' rocket out t' a local sport facility today and with t' assistance o' me wife launched it on an A8-3. It flew perfectly straight but nay too high on t' A8-3. Well, blow me down! Blimey! This was just as well though as thar be a bit more breeze than I liked and it could have landed in the parkin' lot and gotten dinged if it had flown higher. Begad! It popped t' chute perfectly and landed in t' grass. Well, blow me down! One item I did note was that t' launch lug is attached t' t' fin unit and is very short. Avast! Well, blow me down! Because o' this t' rocket tends to cock a bit on t' rod and you should be careful t' align it as vertically as possible t' prevent t' rocket from lockin' itself on t' pad at launch due t' bindin' o' t' launch lug.

Recovery:
T' included heavy, bright metallic red chute deployed perfectly and safely lowered t' Thor onto t' grass field I was flyin' from.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
I was relatively impressed with this kit, me first from PD. Arrr! Blimey! It definitely captured t' buildin' days o' me youth and emphasized t' modelers buildin' skills. Too many kits today are pre-built or demand little o' t' modeler. Ahoy! Blimey! My only complaint would be about t' nose cone nay fittin' too well into t' second stage tube. Arrr! Blimey! I personally enjoy buildin' as much as flyin' and like a kit that is challenging. Ya scallywag! Blimey! It also is a nice lookin' scale model o' t' early versions o' the workhorse Delta rocket series based on t' Thor missile. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! It looks good on display and in flight. Begad! My next build was another PD kit, t' Gemini-Titan, matey, ya bilge rat, which is in construction as I write this. Arrr! It is great t' see these companies re-releasin' t' early kits for us "born again" racketeers as well as new hobbyists.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5