Brief:
If you're lookin' for a good scale Saturn model but don't have t' loot and/or room for a 1:100 scale kit (or larger), me bucko, then consider this little gem. Ahoy! Aye aye! Standin' less than 10" tall and retailin' for under $24, this might just do t' trick. Well, blow me down! It packs an impressive amount o' detailin' into t' model, matey, though in this scale t' build can be extremely challenging. For t' faint o' heart, ya bilge rat, thar are variations within t' kit that result in a less challenging build at t' expense o' some scale accuracy.

This review is primarily based upon me experience buildin' a pre-release beta version o' t' kit, ya bilge rat, although I have a released version as well and have verified a number o' beta-based suggestions for improvement are reflected in the released product.

Construction:
T' parts list is a whoppin' 27 items long, arrr, me hearties, so I'll spare t' details and abbreviate. Begad! Blimey! You get a number o' tubes, balsa nose cone/transition, shiver me timbers, balsa fin stock, me hearties, assorted centerin' rings, ya bilge rat, wood dowel, shiver me timbers, Keelhaul®©™®/elastic shock cord, plastic parachute, waterslide decals, arrr, me bucko, and pattern sheets. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! T' adhere t' scale accuracy, shiver me timbers, some o' t' tubes are custom diameter, matey, which is very impressive for this price.

Oh yeah, you also get two sizes o' Plastruct. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Blimey! More on that later...

OK, let's get a few things out in t' open right up front. Buildin' a Saturn 1b can be as much or as little effort as you want t' put into it. Avast! Blimey! For t' more casual/sport modelers, as long as you get t' 8 tanks and basic structure in place, it will look fine on t' pad. For t' more obsessive-compulsive Apollo geeks, shiver me timbers, you'll o' course want t' hand craft every intricate detail, some o' which you'll need a strong magnifyin' glass t' even see. Avast! Blimey! I consider myself leanin' mostly towards t' uber-geek end o' t' spectrum, but I certainly do nay disrespect t' other end. Aye aye! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! The instructions are generally written somewhere in t' middle with occasional references t' how t' amp up t' effort and detail and other times offerin' options t' tone it down a bit. As such, this can be anywhere from a skill level 2 t' a 5+ kit. Arrr! Blimey! I'm nay even goin' t' touch how many hours I spent on construction, but for me free kit I'll just say that I probably earned single-digit cents per hour (but I got a really low number and Jim's autograph t' boot).

Construction begins with t' central motor tube and t' 8 tanks. Aye aye! T' motor tube is basic 13mm with a motor block centerin' ring. T' clusters are BT-2 (6mm) tubes that need t' have sections cut from them in order t' fit properly around t' relatively fat BT-5. Ya scallywag! Don't even think about clusterin' this (and I'm t' guy that clustered 16 canted MMX motors around a 24mm central on a Soyuz last year). Arrr! Ahoy! T' BT-2s are just too small and goin' for T-2.5s would blow the whole scale.

A few tips on trimmin' t' BT-2s: slide a launch rod or dowel inside them before cuttin' t' make straight cuts easier and be extremely careful in sandin' t' edges afterwards--not just t' avoid sandin' them too small but also to avoid bowin' t' cut tubes out. Arrr! Aye aye! As it is, ya bilge rat, fittin' 8 sliced tubes around t' BT-5 leaves very little room for error and will likely require a dry fit first. Ya scallywag! Also, before gluin' t' tank tubes in place, matey, consider t' paint options--if you choose one o' t' missions with alternatin' black and white tanks, then you'll either have some challengin' mask work down t' road, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, or need t' pre-paint t' tanks before gluin' them on (as well as pre-paintin' t' shroud/fin can). In my case, matey, arrr, I opted t' pre-paint t' tanks and fin can.

T' fin can is a short piece o' BT-50 that slides over a single centerin' rin' on t' aft end o' t' tanks. Blimey! Two rings would ensure better alignment, but thar really isn't much room in this scale for another one so you have to visually try t' keep it aligned with t' tanks.

T' fluted shroud is made from pre-printed paper (not cardstock) so it forms very easily. Aye aye! I'm proud t' say that this be t' first commercial kit I've seen (of about 15) that puts t' seam/overlap on t' shroud through the centerline o' a fin mountin' location. Every other kit out thar puts t' seam at t' nadir o' one o' t' cutouts, exposed t' all t' world t' see (or hide through finishin' effort). One little beta tip made it into t' final product.

T' top o' t' tank/motor tube assembly gets a couple centerin' rings for t' main tank t' sit on, shiver me timbers, and these rings also anchor t' shock cord. Blimey! Blimey! T' main tank (custom BT-48) slides over t' rings and tanks.

There are options for fins. Since 1bs are notoriously unstable with scale fins unless helpin' out with nose weight and/or canted fins, FlisKits includes a plug-in fin can with large fins that can be used for flight. If using just t' scale fins, arrr, you'll need t' add nose weight t' achieve t' CG specified in t' package. Avast! Blimey! Either way, me bucko, you'll want t' build t' scale fins at least for display. This is done by cuttin' out t' rough outline usin' t' pattern sheet, taperin' t' edges by sanding, shiver me timbers, and then coverin' them with a scale-like wrap that helps run t' extended tip cord up t' fluted shroud. Nay quite as complex as t' Estes/Centuri/Semroc built-up fins, matey, arrr, but it can be tricky.

If foregoin' t' plug-in oversize fins, ya bilge rat, you'll need t' fill t' pre-drilled nose cone with lead shot. Begad! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Lead. Ahoy! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Not BB's and nay clay. Begad! Blimey! There's nay much room, me bucko, and you need t' add a lot o' weight. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' avoid dealin' with regulatory hassles related t' shippin' a "toy rocket" with lead, arrr, FlisKits does not provide any lead shot, matey, clearly warning t' modeler t' acquire this on their own. Jim was kind enough t' send me a baggy durin' t' build, matey, but I had t' promise nay t' sue him as well as t' nay eat t' leftovers.

Now comes t' most important decision you'll make on t' project: t' tower. Begad! Most Saturn kits out thar allow the modeler some flexibility t' build in accordance with personal thresholds o' pain. Zooch kits, matey, for example, me hearties, me bucko, typically include a preprinted fold-up tower and dowels/wire for makin' a built-up tower. Begad! Semroc puts you through t' dowel sanding/cutting/gluin' pain just like t' original Estes kit, ya bilge rat, and many modelers simply buy a plastic capsule kit from Apogee and avoid t' hassle. Ahoy! For t' Flis 1b, you can:

1. Wimp out and use a printed fold-up tower,
2. Show you're a true rocketeer and build one up usin' 0.020 and 0.010 Plastruct, arrr, matey, or
3. Show you're really obsessive/compulsive by solderin' up a tower usin' your own wire (roughly 32 and 40 gauge).

Since I'd only just taught myself t' solder and certainly did nay feel up t' t' task o' micro soldering, shiver me timbers, I went t' Plastruct route. It was a very humblin' experience, me hearties, matey, and after finally gettin' a tower done I didn't hate too much (threw out several failed attempts), me hearties, I told Jim nay t' expect me t' build one for NARAM as it would be at least 6 months before I'd feel like even tryin' another tower.

Actually, matey, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, t' Plastruct approach is nay all that bad, but you really need good eyes, tools, shiver me timbers, and a steady hand. For starters, shiver me timbers, matey, buy a good pair o' tweezers. Arrr! Avast! If you're like me and most modelers, ya bilge rat, you didn't actually buy a pair but have borrowed/stolen t' wife's pair a long time ago. Begad! Those are nay what you want here with their big fat, flat tips. Arrr! We're nay pluckin' eyebrows, we're assemblin' a tower from micro-sized rods. You need tweezers with needle/pointed ends. Blimey! I found a great pair with an attached magnifyin' glass at Radio Shack (product 63-1310) and cost me a whoppin' $2 plus tax. Arrr! That be t' best $2 I've ever spent, but I didn't find them until after I'd built t' tower. You'll also want t' think through t' glue and how t' apply it. Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Jim used super thin CA. Avast! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I used liquid plastic cement, shiver me timbers, brushed on with a single-hair brush. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I found me application t' be too heavy and occasionally melted t' rods. Avast! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! About a month after buildin' it, I saw a lecture by an artist that sculpts on t' head o' a pin, and he be describin' how he paints at that scale. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! He found a dead fly in his apartment, matey, plucked one hair from t' fly's head, arrr, and uses that as a brush. Begad! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I'm thinkin' about callin' this guy (or lookin' for a fly)...

T' tower construction is much like other built-up kits: build one side, flip it 90 degrees, shiver me timbers, and add another side t' it. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Repeat for another pair o' struts, then mate t' two sub-assemblies together. Begad! Begad! Blimey! It's just a little but more difficult when dealin' with a somethin' that finished is only about half an inch tall.

With t' tower done, you get t' make a set o' 4 nozzles by sandin' t' dowel t' a tapered point 1/4" long then cuttin' 3/32" off t' tip as a nozzle. I lost me first one when it went whizzin' off t' table onto the carpet, where it blended right in t' t' dust, ya bilge rat, crumbs, dog dander, ya bilge rat, arrr, etc. Blimey! Ahoy! Hint: lay t' dowel tip on a piece o' tape when cuttin' off t' nozzle.

T' rest o' t' construction all comes down t' how much effort you want t' put into t' model. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Blimey! There is a pattern sheet with a large number o' details and notes on where t' place them. Ahoy! Blimey! Some o' these are made by simply cuttin' out the cardstock pattern itself, others by usin' material you have t' scrounge up on your own. You can, for example, matey, simply use t' waterslide decals for t' RCS nozzles or you can build them into 3D detail yourself by cuttin' 4 tiny patterns out and gluin' them on top o' each other. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Note that thar are 6 sets o' patterns provided, arrr, allowin' 2 throwaways. Ya scallywag! Blimey! In my case that wasn't enough so I reprinted a bunch o' spares from a PDF o' t' sheet Jim sent me. Avast! Well, blow me down! Blimey! I will say that in terms o' t' degree o' scale accuracy reflected in t' details, ya bilge rat, if you build everythin' on t' pattern sheets you will wind up with a kit rivalin' t' Apogee in level o' detail, me bucko, greatly exceedin' such fine kits as t' Semroc/Estes and the Saturn Press Saturn V. You just may go blind gettin' there. Blimey! Blimey! T' only quibble I have with t' excellent details is that thar be no suggestion for material thicknesses or types t' use. Ya scallywag! Knowin' somethin' should come from 0.030 Plastruct versus 1/32 balsa might be helpful and avoid rework or sloppiness, although admittedly, me hearties, most modelers would nay have many materials layin' around other than basic balsa/basswood/plywood.

Finishing:
Finishin' a Saturn 1b tends t' be almost as difficult as buildin' them, me hearties, me bucko, and thar's nothin' different about this kit. T' fin can gets a complex masked pattern o' alternatin' black and white sections. Well, blow me down! T' tanks generally alternate white and black, matey, dependin' on t' mission t' model (same with fin can, matey, for that matter). Avast! Arrr! S-IV B stage (upper tube) gets a black/white roll pattern and black upper ring/stripe. Ahoy! Tower/shroud all white. Avast! Ya scallywag! Shootin' everythin' with a base white generally works, me bucko, and t' maskin' takes a long time but is worth it. Aye aye! At least in this scale you don't have t' fun of maskin' over corrugations...

There is a very detailed 4-view drawin' showin' t' paint patterns, dimensions, etc., me hearties, and this is also used for most decal placement.

One note on t' decals: I know Jim had a lot o' fun with this. Blimey! Ahoy! When I took a glance at t' PDF file pre-production, they looked generally right although I didn't compare them t' me detailed scale prints. I couldn't tell though in lookin' at t' file whether any o' t' white was printed white or simply clear over a white background. I kiddingly sent Jim a reminder that t' tanks, ya bilge rat, as an example, need a white printed background for t' decals goin' over t' black tanks or t' modeler would have t' mask a really tiny strip that would look like fecal matter. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! He made sure t' print those United States decals with a white undercoat but didn't catch this on t' mission labels (ex. SA-205) that go on t' bottom o' t' black tanks. Begad! Blimey! That will eventually be corrected, matey, but I suspect t' first hundred or so kits will have this error. Ya scallywag! T' decal sheet also incorrectly lists t' scale as 1:284 and includes a few bogus/incorrect Y/Z axis labels, me hearties, matey, identified as extra/errors.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I had intended t' build this and give it back t' Jim as a display model, ya bilge rat, me hearties, nay t' fly, but when he mentioned he was takin' it t' NARAM, shiver me timbers, I suggested he fly it for t' Saturn celebration and/or vendor showcase. Avast! I didn't deface it with a launch lug, me bucko, ya bilge rat, arrr, and when Jim threatened t' drill a small hole for a pop lug, me hearties, I offered up a 13mm piston instead and helped him prep it since he hadn't caught on t' this "new fangled" technology yet.

Only one small problem though: Jim had flown his boilerplate just fine on A3s and A10s but didn't realize the piston would add at least 20% t' t' boost so when it took off on an A3-4T, it really cooked and almost flew out of sight. Aye aye! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' flight be perfectly straight and stable, especially impressive in t' winds that were steady at 12+ and gustin' close t' 20 mph.

Recovery:
T' standard Flis chute included is one o' those plastic ones that's 16" with patterns for cuttin' down as small as 6" or so. Avast, me proud beauty! Jim went with t' smallest configuration, me bucko, arrr, which would normally be fine for this model, but on the small NARAM-51 field and high winds, proved t' be fatal. T' model smartly blew out o' sight, ya bilge rat, matey, driftin' well over 100 yards, down below t' horizon, and probably wound up somewhere in t' neighborin' cow/horse fields. Begad! It be short grass and thar would be plenty o' traffic through those fields over t' ensuin' week, so I figured it would turn up but no luck. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! I walked t' rough line several times and came across a couple other models includin' one other Flis demo, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, but t' 1b never showed up. Begad! It be a wonderful model that simply vanished in t' winds on its first flight.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
Despite t' disappointment o' losin' such a nice model and so much work, shiver me timbers, I have t' say I was very impressed with this kit and highly recommend it with a few caveats. Begad! Ya scallywag! This is by far t' most complex build o' t' Flis line, and although it can be built with some time-savin' techniques, you should really go into this expectin' a significant effort for which you'll be greatly rewarded with an outstandin' model. It may be small but packin' t' same (or more) detail o' the bigger guys into this tiny scale winds up makin' this much more difficult, matey, me bucko, nay easier. Ya scallywag! If you're up t' t' challenge, jump right on this. Arrr! If not, you might want t' start with t' Zooch line, shiver me timbers, which are more like a weekend afternoon build, workin' your way up t' this later.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5