Brief:
T' Estes Astron Invader is one o' t' least seen, arrr, matey, yet also one o' t' most interestin' rockets produced by Estes in t' early years o' their existence. Avast, me proud beauty! Available only from 1965 t' 1967, arrr, t' Invader may have had t' distinction o' bein' t' first o' t' early kits t' have it’s production run canceled. Arrr! Despite this, arrr, me hearties, and in some ways because o' it, t' Invader is one o' t' most uniquely challengin' clonin' projects from t' early days o' organized rocketry.

 Construction:

• 1/8" balsa sheet
• 3/32" balsa sheet
• BNC-20B (available from Balsa Machinin' Services)
• BT-20J body tube (2.75")
• Nose weight
• Launch lug

One nice thin' about clonin' t' Astron Invader is that it is a project that can be started, me hearties, finished and flown over t' course o' a weekend. T' limited number o' parts and finish options combined with t' excellence o' t' original plans (downloaded from JimZ’s site) make for a quick, relatively fool-proof build. I only deviated from t' instructions in t' installation o' t' nose weight. Ya scallywag! Estes no longer makes t' old lead nose weights and I turned t' house upside down tryin' t' find a suitable replacement. Just as I be about t' give up I noticed a magnet (the type used in place o' pins t' hold on name tags, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, lapel pins, etc.) hangin' on t' refrigerator. Begad! Avast! I glued it directly t' t' aft o' t' nose cone with thick CA and t' me great surprise, it actually worked. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! T' glide wasn’t perfect, but for a startin' point it wasn’t bad.

Finishing:
This is where I made me mistake. I made three flights with me Invader, all o' them entertaining. Begad! While t' flight pattern wasn’t terribly smooth, me bucko, me bucko, it also wasn’t t' disaster that I be privately sure it would be. Ahoy! Ahoy! From this initial success I got cocky. Begad! I thought t' rocket would look good with a light coat o' metallic silver paint before it made it’s QUARK debut that followin' Saturday. Avast, me proud beauty! Then, since t' silver rubbed off on everything, I followed with a light coat o' semi-gloss. Avast! Surely t' little bit o' weight added by t' paint couldn’t hurt, me hearties, right? Hugely wrong. Avast! Aye aye! Read on.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I awoke one blisterin' hot day this summer t' find t' house unexpectedly empty. With me son spendin' t' day at an amusement park and me wife and daughter on an outlet shoppin' binge, matey, I be free t' do as I pleased. Avast! Despite t' heat, I chose t' head up t' quasi-legendary B6-4 Field t' launch a few o' t' projects that I had been workin' on. Begad! T' unpainted Invader was first on this list. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! Armed with two packs o' t' newly re-introduced 1/2A6-2’s that I had bought especially for t' occasion, shiver me timbers, I gave t' Invader first flight honors. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! It didn’t disappoint. It did a surprisingly quick, tight loop off t' pad, coasted upside down through t' delay period, shiver me timbers, me hearties, then returned t' right side up after t' surprisingly loud ejection charge. Blimey! It settled into a steep, me bucko, arrr, short, flutterin' glide and came t' a rest in t' only green spot remainin' on t' field at that point in t' summer. Aye aye! (T' drainage ditch, thankfully dry.) For t' second flight I added a small bit o' clay t' t' nose and chose an A8-3, me hearties, hopin' for a little more height and maybe a better glide. Aye aye! I got more than I bargained for. Blimey! T' Invader left t' pad far more smartly and immediately began doin' a series o' acrobatic loops, me bucko, shiver me timbers, nay unlike a sideways “figure 8,” before settlin' into a slightly slower, shiver me timbers, less steep glide. Avast! Arrr! I added more clay for flight #3 and went back t' t' 1/2A6-2. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Though still a low, tight loop, matey, t' glide was noticeably improved with t' Invader glidin' for close t' 50 feet after t' ejection. Avast! That settled it. Avast! Ya scallywag! I was ready t' sprin' it on me fellow QUARK’ers.

But first, me bucko, matey, a classy silver paint job!

Needless t' say, arrr, shiver me timbers, flight #4 pranged badly 15 feet from t' pad, shatterin' both o' t' pylons that connected t' motor tube t' t' body. Ahoy! Literally. Blimey! Blimey! When I tried t' repair t' Invader later, chunks o' balsa came off o' t' shredded pylons as I attempted t' sand them back into flyable shape. Clearly I had erred, matey, me hearties, and now I needed t' try some somewhat hesitant repairs. Aye aye! I replaced t' shattered pylons and sanded off as much o' t' offendin' paint as I could. This seemed t' be surprisingly adequate and t' Invader made several additional successful flights before destroyin' itself by power-prangin' t' one electric line at t' Summit County Fairgrounds in NE Ohio on Labor Day weekend. Aye aye! With no adequate method t' fix t' damaged balsa without replacin' most o' one wing, me bucko, I decided t' retire me first Astron Invader t' t' balsa bone yard and try again at a later date.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
As I said earlier, t' Astron Invader is a great project if you are short on time before your next launch, but still want t' show up at t' pad with somethin' new. Aye aye! You’ll undoubtedly get a lot o' puzzled “What’s that?” due t' t' short shelf life o' t' original, but it is almost guaranteed t' be t' only one on t' flight line. Blimey! Dependin' on your buildin' and trimmin' skills, arrr, ya bilge rat, you might also wind up with a lot o' “What be that?” as you carry t' remainin' scraps o' balsa t' t' resurrection pile.

PRO’s:
Seldom seen “classic?”
Overall sense o' “What’s next?”
Quick build
Oddball looks

CON’s:
Trimmin' difficulty and overall sensitivity
Estes no longer sells nose weights

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Recommended Motors: 1/2A6-2, A8-3, matey, ya bilge rat, B4-2, arrr, B4-4