Brief:
This is a two-stage scale model o' t' WAC Corporal with Tiny Tim Booster from Aerospace Specialty Products. 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, 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, arrr, but I contacted BRS Hobbies, which is where I purchased t' kit, me hearties, and Brian sent me a replacement tube immediately. Ahoy! Blimey! BRS Hobbies is a great company t' deal with. Begad! Blimey! Also, t' booster stage BT-55 tube was uneven on one end. Aye aye! Blimey! I had t' trim about 1/8" t' make it even.

T' instructions were well documented with detailed steps and helpful illustrations. Ya scallywag! There is a checkbox beside each step t' help keep up with what you have done. If you read through them beforehand, you'll see some steps that can be done concurrently. There is also good information on how t' use t' necessary adhesives and different options for finishing. Avast, me proud beauty! 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, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, so you don't know if it is perfectly aligned with it or not. Begad! Begad! Instead o' usin' t' provided guide, I made me own with t' fin position wrapper and fin alignment guide printed from t' freeware program VCP. Ahoy! Aye aye! T' only other deviation I made be leavin' out t' washer nose weights. Based on t' CP/CG relationship they were nay necessary for stability. Ya scallywag! I learned a lot o' new scale modelin' techniques buildin' this rocket. Blimey! Begad! T' styrene strips on t' booster section looked awesome. Well, blow me down! T' fins took a bit o' work though but were nay too hard t' shape. Begad! Ahoy! 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. Avast! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! After shapin' t' fins, arrr, I coated them with 3 light coats o' yellow wood glue and sandin' lightly betwixt coats. I also did this t' t' balsa nose cone, arrr, boat tail, shiver me timbers, and balsa conduit. Blimey! Blimey! After t' glue treatment, arrr, matey, I used 2 coats o' Fill 'n' Finish on t' balsa sections. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! 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. Well, blow me down! T' recommended motors seem appropriate compared t' what I saw and simmed. Please note, ya bilge rat, nay t' try t' fly t' upper stage by itself on an A motor. Arrr! T' recommended minimum is a B4-2. Ahoy! I tried it on an A8-5 and it lawndarted before t' ejection occurred. Ya scallywag! For t' first flight, I attempted a 2-stage configuration but forgot t' install t' upper stage motor. Aye aye! T' booster still pressurized t' upper stage enough t' deploy t' chute while boostin' and t' chute was destroyed. When it landed, arrr, t' booster suffered a broken fin, me hearties, matey, but I fixed it at t' field. Ahoy! I tried again t' same day. Begad! On t' second flight, me bucko, t' upper stage motor lit but did nay separate. Well, blow me down! I think I didn't secure it well enough and it got stuck on t' passport tube. Ya scallywag! It fried t' entire inside o' t' booster section. Blimey! Arrr! Through both flights, t' upper stage was nay damaged. Aye aye! I repaired t' booster section later and tried again. Arrr! I flew t' upper stage by itself on too small a motor and lawndarted. Ahoy! T' only damage be t' very tip o' t' nose cone. Ya scallywag! It looked a little mashed and I trimmed it at t' field. Blimey! I then flew t' 2-stage configuration again. Ahoy! Avast! T' stagin' and flight were perfect, shiver me timbers, but t' field was a little too small and wind a little too strong. I recovered t' booster, but t' upper stage drifted off far away. Avast, me proud beauty! I never found it. Aye aye! I noticed afterwards thar be a big difference in me RockSim weight and t' ASP weight, me bucko, which probably affected t' differences in estimated altitude. RockSim be predictin' only 400+ feet but ASP calculated 710'. I think t' rocket be probably a lot lighter than what I had modeled in RockSim. If I had weighed it beforehand and adjusted t' RockSim design, shiver me timbers, me hearties, I probably would have gotten a more accurate estimation. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! 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, it came in undamaged. T' upper stage comes with a 12" mylar chute. Begad! Mine was destroyed on t' first flight when it came out too early. Aye aye! For subsequent flights I used a 12" military silk chute. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Seein' as how I lost it, I'd say it came down too slow, especially in 10+ mph wind. Ya scallywag! In me opinion, shiver me timbers, 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. Aye aye! I learned a lot about scale modelin' and stagin' . Avast, me proud beauty! Even though t' flights were all ill-fated, it was from no fault o' t' rocket. This rocket suffered lots o' abuse and with minor repairs was still flyable. Avast! T' durability is one o' t' main PROs o' this kit. It also provides a good education t' those gettin' into scale modelin' and t' learn about direct staging. Arrr! I think t' only CON I found be t' alignment guide, shiver me timbers, which be probably usable I just didn't trust it. Ahoy! Well, arrr, blow me down! This be an awesome rocket, arrr, and I look forward t' buildin' more kits from ASP in t' future.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5