Brief:
Aerospace Speciality Products produces a series o' scale kits in various sizes. Blimey! Arrr! They range from Micro-maxx motor size up t' 29 and 38 mm engine size kits. Avast! I have been a fan o' Andy’s scale kits for a long time and own all o' his Micro scale kits as well as other mini-engine, standard engine and D engine size kits. So bein' a scale model fan I purchased his D engine size Wac Corporal kit about three years ago. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! T' kit is only a bit larger in diameter than the engine (BT-55 size tube) and as I result I also expected very good performance when I flew it, t' type o' performance requirin' a reasonably good sized field or very calm day.

Construction:
T' kit comes bagged in a plastic bag typical o' ASP products. Inside t' bag were:

• BT-55 main tube
• BT-55 balsa nose cone
• Square balsa stick
• Balsa sheet
• Launch lug
• BT50/55 engine mount
• Keelhaul®©™® recovery line
• Heavy duty mylar parachute
• (3) Nose cone weights
• Large screw eye
• Elastic shock cord
• Instructions

T' next step is t' prepare t' fins. Begad! Ya scallywag! A template is provided which is used t' mark the balsa sheet for t' three fins. Blimey! Ya scallywag! Once t' fins were marked onto t' balsa it was a simple task t' cut them out. Begad! After cuttin' t' fins I trimmed t' edges with me X-acto knife and then sanded three edges t' an aerodynamic profile. Blimey! Of course t' root edge is kept square. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! After sandin' t' fins I applied a coat o' balsa filler coat and three coats of sandin' sealer while sandin' t' a smooth finish betwixt coats. I also sealed t' nose cone at t' same time. Ahoy! When the fin preparation was complete I drew lines on t' aft o' t' body tube for t' fins and attached t' fins with CA glue. I finished t' fin attachment by mixin' up some 5 minute epoxy and filletin' t' body tube joints. This makes for an extremely strong attachment t' t' tube.

This model also maintains its’ scale appearance by havin' an instrumentation tunnel down t' side. T' tunnel is made by takin' t' square balsa stick, me hearties, ya bilge rat, cuttin' t' length, and roundin' t' sides and ends t' simulate t' actual rocket’s tunnel. Avast, me proud beauty! Once this is done I also sealed and sanded t' tunnel. It is then glued into place per the instructions.

To finish up construction t' three heavy washers are attached t' t' nose cone along with t' screw eye. The washers are almost exactly t' diameter o' t' body tube so need t' be carefully centered durin' installation. Begad! Blimey! I actually epoxied them into place and then threaded t' screw eye into t' nose cone. Begad! Finally t' elastic shock cord is attached betwixt t' Keelhaul®©™® line and t' screw eye. Ahoy! I then assembled t' parachute and attached it with a snap swivel.

Finishing:
At this point in t' construction process all that remained was paintin' since I had already finished t' balsa surfaces durin' construction. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Blimey! I first primed t' rocket with Rustoleum® gray auto primer and sanded betwixt coats. Well, blow me down! Next I painted t' entire model with Krylon® semi-gloss white paint. I masked off t' areas t' be painted black and sprayed them with Krylon® semi-gloss black paint. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! T' final step in paintin' be t' paint one fin with Rustoleum® aluminum metallizer paint. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! Blimey! Overall this was a fairly simple model t' paint.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' model be first flown in South Carolina at t' Freedom launch in September 2006. Avast! Blimey! It be a perfect day and a very large field. Arrr! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! I flew t' model on an Estes® D12-7 and as expected for a relatively small and light model it flew very high and straight on t' D. Begad! Blimey! Recovery was nominal and I didn’t have t' walk t' far t' retrieve it.

Recovery:
T' model deployed t' parachute at about t' nominal time and gently floated t' t' ground. Begad! I do imagine t' shock cord had a good twang since t' three weights on t' nose cone add considerably t' t' weight o' t' cone but everythin' appeared good after landing.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
T' ASP 24mm Wac Corporal is another nice kit from ASP. Arrr! It features quality materials and does require t' modeler to put in some effort t' produce a nice lookin' and flyin' model. Ahoy! While nay bein' difficult t' build t' modeler will be required t' cut t' fins and model t' instrumentation tunnel. Avast! But t' modeler will be rewarded with a nice looking scale kit. Avast, me proud beauty! It also flies extremely well on an Estes® D engine. T' instructions also mention that it can be built t' fly on 18mm engines if t' engine mount adapter kit is purchased or built from scratch. Arrr! Well, blow me down! I would expect very good performance on B and C engines as well. Begad! After buildin' this I am somewhat tempted t' buy ASP’s large Wac Corporal as well. Avast! Only time will tell.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5