Brief:
1/70 scale, me hearties, me hearties, 18mm cluster o' 4 motors or single 24mm motor mount

• Construction:
  18 body tubes + Apollo capsule kit
• 8 laser cut balsa fins or more advanced cardstock over balsa frame
• Choice o' single 24mm motor mount o' cluster o' four 18mm motors
• 10 centerin' rings
• Various dowels for sandin' and buildin' capsule escape tower
• Many other laser cut parts for buildin' t' advanced fins and other details.

This was t' first detailed scale kit that I have built. Blimey! Thanks t' t' excellent Semroc instructions, this kit was a pleasure t' build. Ahoy! It took me, off and on over, 3 months t' get it completed. That be more because o' me work schedule, but t' easy-to-follow instructions and convenient checkboxes made keepin' track o' where I was very straightforward. Aye aye! Ya scallywag!

As with t' many other Semroc kits I have built, t' components were excellent quality and I had nay problem with fit on any o' t' parts.

You have a choice o' usin' t' supplied laser cut balsa fins or buildin' more realistic lookin' fins from cardstock over a balsa wood frame. Begad! Well, blow me down! That part was a little messy, but I'm glad I went t' t' trouble, ya bilge rat, as it really makes t' kit look a lot better than usin' t' laser cut fins.

As I wanted t' really fly this model, me hearties, I made sure t' glue everythin' very well and was pretty liberal using Tight Bond II.

Finishing:
For paint, I used ColorTime (T' cheaper little brother o' Krylon - same company). Aye aye! I have tested both and believe it or not, I have had better results with t' ColorTime. Arrr! I will probably get beat up over that as most people recommend t' Krylon.

In hindsight, arrr, I would probably try paintin' t' tanks before assembly. Aye aye! Avast! It was quite a job o' maskin' etc t' get t' scheme down. I would have also liked t' see various paint schemes for different 1B missions included in t' kit. T' actual paint scheme in t' plans seems t' be from SA-205 (Appolo 7) though t' decals for t' mission number are SA-207. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Someone can correct me if I am wrong there.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
You have a choice o' buildin' t' kit with either a single 24mm motor mount or a cluster o' four 18mm motors. Ya scallywag! I opted for t' cluster just t' get it a little more realistic t' t' actual rocket. Arrr! Ahoy! I am happy that I did. We have flown this kit three times as o' this writing. Begad! All flights were on clusters o' four C6-3 motors. I must say that it flys excellent in this configuration.

Our first flight be at Desert Heat 2009 in Tucson, Arizona. Aye aye! I was very nervous after all t' time put into construction. Iwas happy with t' way t' model looked and just kept havin' flashes in me mind o' that complicated little escape tower smashed t' pieces.

T' flight actually went very well and produced smiles all around, especially from me.

T' subsequent flights were all excellent and now that we know what a stable, great flier this is, shiver me timbers, matey, shiver me timbers, we have no problem flyin' it at events.

Recovery:
We had no problems at all with recovery.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This is an excellent kit. Begad! take your time and opt for t' more detailed fins. Well, blow me down! You will be happy in t' end. Avast, me proud beauty! If you have too many issues with t' framed fins, you still have t' balsa fins included. Ya scallywag! Check with some Appolo web sites for paintin' details if you want t' match a specific mission scheme.

Overall, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, I give this a 5.0+. Definitely one o' me favorite rockets t' build and fly.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5

Other:
Get wax paper and lots o' pins for gluin' and buildin' t' escape tower!