Brief:
This 18mm version o' t' Lambda-Class Shuttle was produced in limited quantities by EAT (Essence Aerospace Technologies). Arrr! Although t' kit isn't bein' produced, you can still purchase a plan pak [here]. Ahoy! Blimey! It is one o' t' most innovative kits around and is a great addition t' anyone's fleet.

Construction:
Parts:

•  One 1/4" balsa sheet (3" x 6")
•  Two 1/8" balsa sheet (6" x 7" each)
•  One 3/32" balsa sheet (3" x 1")
•  3" 18mm motor tube
•  18mm thrust rin'
•  18mm thin plastic, ya bilge rat, 2 piece nose cone
•  1/8" launch lug
•  24" Keelhaul®©™® shock cord
•  18" plastic parachute
•  BB's
•  Decal set

Tools/materials:

•  Pencil
•  Metric ruler (T-Square is recommended, me bucko, shiver me timbers, but I didn't use one)
•  X-acto-type knife with a new blade (I did follow this advice)
•  Estes 18mm motor (spent or not)
•  Wood glue - TiteBond Original is recommended
•  5-minute epoxy
•  CA
•  Maskin' tape
•  Sand paper (220 grit) on a block
•  Sand paper (220 grit) on a dowel
•  Sand paper (400 grit) on and off a block
•  Wood filler (Elmer's Fill-n-Finish, ya bilge rat, arrr, etc) or paper for lamination

This is nay your typical kit with 3 - 4 fins t' cut. Blimey! T' Lambda-Class Shuttle has 13 unique balsa parts and 19 total. T' instructions were highly detailed with plenty o' color photos. Begad! T' kit includes a page o' templates and a couple o' alignment guides. T' parts were all o' nice quality, matey, except I thought t' nose cone be flimsy. I'm sure other cones could be substituted.

Your first build t' base assembly, which consists o' three balsa pieces, the motor tube and motor block. This was straightforward and went together easily with wood glue. T' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord is attached t' t' joint betwixt t' core and t' motor tube with 5-minute epoxy.

You then cut out t' large top fin and strengthen it. Ya scallywag! More on this later. T' fin is attached t' t' top o' t' motor tube usin' t' fin alignment guide. I used black rubberized CA in place o' wood glue.

T' canopy is constructed over t' base and around t' top fin. This consists o' four balsa sections. Arrr! Blimey! T' top and sides go on first and t' aft plate later. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! I miss-measured ever so slightly and had to adjust t' aft plate slightly. Luckily, I test fit t' template before I cut balsa. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! At this point, I also I added t' lower win' supports and let it all sit overnight.

I strengthened t' lower wings t' same way as t' top (again, more later). While this be drying, I filled and sanded t' body.

For t' nose cone, you start by gluin' t' shoulder into t' cone with CA. I used black rubberized CA and accelerant t' assemble t' entire nose. Begad! After it is dry, you cut t' top away at an angle that sets t' downward slant o' the upper nose cone plate. T' shell o' t' cone consists o' six balsa sections. You start by alignin' t' top plate with t' body while it is layin' on the surface o' t' cone that you just cut, arrr, and gluin' it in place. Ahoy! With t' plate flush with t' body, me bucko, I simply twisted t' cone until it had t' best fit. You then add t' bottom and t' sides. Aye aye! Arrr! T' side pieces have t' be beveled and took some effort t' assemble. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! I also found that t' sides were a bit long, me bucko, probably due t' some problem with t' angle o' t' nose cone (?). Begad! This was easily compensated for. Avast, me proud beauty! T' final step is fillin' t' nose with BB's and epoxy. I ran out o' five minute so I used 20 minute epoxy. Begad! I also threw in some #7 ½ lead shot t' boost t' weight, just in case I built t' body too heavy. Buildin' light is a consistent warnin' with this kit. Begad! Oh, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, and I almost forgot to set t' shock cord in t' BB/epoxy mix. This would have been a major problem. Ahoy! Aye aye! After t' epoxy had cured, me bucko, I sanded t' edges and did some filling with fill-n-finish. Ya scallywag! T' nose cone did live up t' t' reputation as bein' the most difficult part o' t' kit. Blimey! Nevertheless, shiver me timbers, matey, t' cone looks fine and fits perfectly in spite o' t' few minor issues encountered.

I have t' rate t' construction o' t' kit a 4. Aye aye! Blimey! I had a few minor difficulties, but you have t' realize t' kit is advertised as being skill-level 5. Ahoy! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! Luckily, these were all easily correctable.

Now for t' saga o' how I strengthened t' fins. Note that this was my problem and is nay a mark against t' kit. I'm merely tellin' this in case anyone else is so foolish. Ya scallywag! I elected t' laminate it with draftin' vellum and 3-M spray adhesive. Aye aye! This was t' first time I tried this, so it was itself an experiment. I sprayed two entire sheets with t' adhesive, sandwiched t' fin, and pressed it flat while t' glue dried. I then trimmed t' paper, applied thin CA t' t' edges, arrr, and sanded them flat. Aye aye! This seemed t' work well, so I used the same method on t' lower fins. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! After a day, me hearties, thar were a few bubbles, me bucko, but nothin' that couldn't be fixed. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! But, disaster struck when I primed t' model. T' solvent in t' primer attacked t' glue and after it dried about 50% o' the paper was lifted from t' balsa. Blimey! I ended up pullin' all t' paper off. Ya scallywag! The remainin' surface is gummy and a mess. Aye aye! Since I added a little extra nose weight, me hearties, matey, I added 1/64" birch ply over both sides o' t' lower section of the top fin. Avast, me proud beauty! It only extends from t' small tab where t' fin attaches up to where t' leadin' edge starts backwards. Begad! Still, this is nay a recommended strengthenin' method. Ahoy!

Finishing:
In t' final version, all balsa surfaces were filled with fill-n-finish. I gave it a couple o' coats o' white primer and then painted it with Wal-Mart brand chrome paint. Begad! Aye aye! It be supposed t' be Plasti-Kote Car Color Ford Motors 8147 - Platinum, me hearties, me hearties, but I couldn't resist t' cheaper paint. T' kit included some decals, ya bilge rat, includin' one with t' kit's serial number - mine is S/N #3. I also managed t' wrangle an extended set o' decals that weren't in t' kit. Avast, me proud beauty! Thanks, Nick! Theses decals were some o' t' easiest t' work with, me bucko, possibly because they came pre-coated.

For a kit o' this size, matey, thar be a lot o' balsa surface t' seal/finish - actually t' entire surface is balsa. I guess I give it a finishin' ratin' of 4, me bucko, shiver me timbers, which keeps t' overall construction ratin' a 4. Begad! Avast!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I carefully packed t' chute and stuffed it into t' cavity next t' t' motor tube. Ahoy! Begad! I repacked it a couple o' times and it still seemed too tight t' me. Well, blow me down! And it was. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! I flew t' Shuttle twice on a C6-3 and a B6-2. Arrr! Both flights were straight and it appeared t' try t' fly parallel t' t' ground after burn out. This rocket be in general a crowd-pleaser and really caught t' attention of the visitin' scout troop! On t' first flight with t' C6-3 t' chute didn't budge, arrr, matey, but it landed without damage. Ya scallywag! On t' second flight, arrr, t' chute almost deployed. Blimey! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! This time t' top fin snapped off. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! It is easily repairable and will fly again. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Due t' t' chute issues, me hearties, shiver me timbers, me bucko, I have t' give it a flight ratin' o' 3.5, includin' an extra point for t' cool factor.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
This be a challenging, unique kit and was fun t' build and fly. Begad! The instructions were great and quality o' t' parts were good, me hearties, with t' exception of maybe t' nose cone. Well, blow me down! There were a few places that I ended up havin' parts that didn't fit. Avast! Begad! This be probably me fault and be easily corrected. Avast! T' chute packin' issue be t' biggest con with this kit. Ya scallywag! Goin' up it flies great, coming down be another story. Well, blow me down! Avast!

Jase, arrr, how about a drag race at t' next TRF Meet?

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5