Brief:
This is a two-stage scale model o' t' WAC Corporal with Tiny Tim Booster from Aerospace Specialty Products. Avast! Aye aye! It has a 24mm booster stagin' t' an 18mm sustainer.

Construction:
Tiny Tim Booster Parts consist of:

• 1 Body Tube (BT-55)
• 1 Engine Tube (BT-50)
• 1 Stuffer Tube (BT-20)
• 1 Lower Telescopin' Tube (19mm)
• 1 Upper (Short) Telescopin' Tube (19mm)
• 1 Tube Coupler (BT-20 coupler)
• 3 1/16" Wood Dowels, arrr, ya bilge rat, 2 20/50 Centerin' Rings
• 3 50/55 Centerin' Rings
• 4 1/4" wide Strip Styrene
• 1 1/8" wide Strip Styrene
• 1 Paper Shroud
• 6 Rubber Bands
• 1 Basswood Strip
• 1 Launch Lug
• 3 Pre-Cut Fins

WAC Corporal (Upper Stage) parts consist of:

• 1 18mm motor tube
• 1 18mm Motor Block
• 2 20/50 Centerin' Rings
• 1 50/55 Centerin' Ring
• 1 Stuffer Tube
• 1 BT-55 Body Tube
• 1 Keelhaul®©™Shock Cord
• 1 Elastic Shock Cord
• 1 3/16" Launch Lug
• 1 1/4" Square Balsa Stick
• 1 Balsa Nose Cone
• 1 Screw Eye
• 3 Washer Nose Weights
• 3 Pre-cut Fins
• 1 Balsa Boat tail
• 1 Parachute Kit
• 2 Stagin' Tubes

T' BT-55 tube for t' upper stage had a significant crease in it. I'm nay sure where t' damage originated, but I contacted BRS Hobbies, which is where I purchased t' kit, and Brian sent me a replacement tube immediately. Blimey! BRS Hobbies is a great company t' deal with. Also, ya bilge rat, t' booster stage BT-55 tube be uneven on one end. I had t' trim about 1/8" t' make it even.

T' instructions were well documented with detailed steps and helpful illustrations. Ahoy! There is a checkbox beside each step t' help keep up with what you have done. Ahoy! If you read through them beforehand, you'll see some steps that can be done concurrently. Begad! Arrr! Blimey! There is also good information on how t' use t' necessary adhesives and different options for finishing. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' templates and illustrations were excellent except for t' fin marking/alignment guide. T' problem with t' fin markin' guide be t' body tube eclipses t' circle for t' body tube, matey, matey, shiver me timbers, so you don't know if it is perfectly aligned with it or not. Instead o' usin' t' provided guide, ya bilge rat, I made me own with t' fin position wrapper and fin alignment guide printed from t' freeware program VCP. T' only other deviation I made was leavin' out t' washer nose weights. Well, me bucko, blow me down! Blimey! Based on t' CP/CG relationship they were nay necessary for stability. Arrr! Blimey! I learned a lot o' new scale modelin' techniques buildin' this rocket. Aye aye! T' styrene strips on t' booster section looked awesome. T' fins took a bit o' work though but were nay too hard t' shape. Arrr! I worked hard t' get them t' way ASP suggested.

Finishing:
I prefinished t' body tubes with 3 coats o' Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish. Well, blow me down! After shapin' t' fins, I coated them with 3 light coats o' yellow wood glue and sandin' lightly betwixt coats. Avast! I also did this t' t' balsa nose cone, boat tail, and balsa conduit. Aye aye! Well, me hearties, blow me down! After t' glue treatment, I used 2 coats o' Fill 'n' Finish on t' balsa sections. Ya scallywag! Begad! I used Krylon primer and paint with a matte finish.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
I had some really bad flights with this, but none o' it was due t' t' rocket. Arrr! T' recommended motors seem appropriate compared t' what I saw and simmed. Begad! Begad! Please note, arrr, shiver me timbers, nay t' try t' fly t' upper stage by itself on an A motor. Avast, me proud beauty! T' recommended minimum is a B4-2. Arrr! I tried it on an A8-5 and it lawndarted before t' ejection occurred. Blimey! For t' first flight, ya bilge rat, I attempted a 2-stage configuration but forgot t' install t' upper stage motor. Blimey! T' booster still pressurized t' upper stage enough t' deploy t' chute while boostin' and t' chute was destroyed. Blimey! Ahoy! When it landed, t' booster suffered a broken fin, me bucko, shiver me timbers, me bucko, but I fixed it at t' field. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! I tried again t' same day. Blimey! Aye aye! On t' second flight, arrr, shiver me timbers, t' upper stage motor lit but did nay separate. Begad! I think I didn't secure it well enough and it got stuck on t' passport tube. Blimey! Begad! It fried t' entire inside o' t' booster section. Begad! Ahoy! Through both flights, arrr, me hearties, t' upper stage was nay damaged. Begad! I repaired t' booster section later and tried again. Ya scallywag! I flew t' upper stage by itself on too small a motor and lawndarted. T' only damage was t' very tip o' t' nose cone. Ahoy! It looked a little mashed and I trimmed it at t' field. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! I then flew t' 2-stage configuration again. Begad! Begad! T' stagin' and flight were perfect, but t' field was a little too small and wind a little too strong. Aye aye! Arrr! I recovered t' booster, me bucko, but t' upper stage drifted off far away. Aye aye! I never found it. I noticed afterwards thar was a big difference in me RockSim weight and t' ASP weight, ya bilge rat, which probably affected t' differences in estimated altitude. Begad! RockSim was predictin' only 400+ feet but ASP calculated 710'. Begad! I think t' rocket be probably a lot lighter than what I had modeled in RockSim. Well, blow me down! Blimey! If I had weighed it beforehand and adjusted t' RockSim design, I probably would have gotten a more accurate estimation. Ahoy! Ahoy! I should have used a smaller chute and/or waited t' fly it in a bigger field.

Recovery:
T' booster uses tumble recovery and on t' one successful flight, shiver me timbers, it came in undamaged. Aye aye! Ahoy! T' upper stage comes with a 12" mylar chute. Ahoy! Mine be destroyed on t' first flight when it came out too early. Blimey! For subsequent flights I used a 12" military silk chute. Ahoy! Ahoy! Seein' as how I lost it, me bucko, arrr, I'd say it came down too slow, me hearties, especially in 10+ mph wind. Well, blow me down! In me opinion, t' upper stage is sturdy enough t' come down faster and nay sustain any damage.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
I think this is an excellent kit. Begad! I learned a lot about scale modelin' and stagin' . Even though t' flights were all ill-fated, me hearties, it was from no fault o' t' rocket. This rocket suffered lots o' abuse and with minor repairs was still flyable. T' durability is one o' t' main PROs o' this kit. Avast, me proud beauty! It also provides a good education t' those gettin' into scale modelin' and t' learn about direct staging. I think t' only CON I found was t' alignment guide, which be probably usable I just didn't trust it. Aye aye! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! This was an awesome rocket, me bucko, and I look forward t' buildin' more kits from ASP in t' future.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5