Brief:
This is a two-stage scale model o' t' WAC Corporal with Tiny Tim Booster from Aerospace Specialty Products. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! 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. Aye aye! I'm nay sure where t' damage originated, matey, but I contacted BRS Hobbies, me hearties, which is where I purchased t' kit, matey, and Brian sent me a replacement tube immediately. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! Blimey! BRS Hobbies is a great company t' deal with. Ahoy! Blimey! Also, shiver me timbers, matey, 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. Begad! Avast! There is a checkbox beside each step t' help keep up with what you have done. Blimey! If you read through them beforehand, you'll see some steps that can be done concurrently. Begad! There is also good information on how t' use t' necessary adhesives and different options for finishing. T' templates and illustrations were excellent except for t' fin marking/alignment guide. Avast! Avast! T' problem with t' fin markin' guide be t' body tube eclipses t' circle for t' body tube, so you don't know if it is perfectly aligned with it or not. Ahoy! Instead o' usin' t' provided guide, shiver me timbers, I made me own with t' fin position wrapper and fin alignment guide printed from t' freeware program VCP. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! T' only other deviation I made be leavin' out t' washer nose weights. Avast, me proud beauty! Based on t' CP/CG relationship they were nay necessary for stability. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! I learned a lot o' new scale modelin' techniques buildin' this rocket. 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. 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! After shapin' t' fins, I coated them with 3 light coats o' yellow wood glue and sandin' lightly betwixt coats. Begad! I also did this t' t' balsa nose cone, shiver me timbers, boat tail, and balsa conduit. Avast! Begad! After t' glue treatment, I used 2 coats o' Fill 'n' Finish on t' balsa sections. Blimey! I used Krylon primer and paint with a matte finish.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
I had some really bilge-suckin' flights with this, shiver me timbers, but none o' it was due t' t' rocket. T' recommended motors seem appropriate compared t' what I saw and simmed. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Please note, me bucko, nay t' try t' fly t' upper stage by itself on an A motor. Blimey! Avast! T' recommended minimum is a B4-2. I tried it on an A8-5 and it lawndarted before t' ejection occurred. For t' first flight, I attempted a 2-stage configuration but forgot t' install t' upper stage motor. Begad! T' booster still pressurized t' upper stage enough t' deploy t' chute while boostin' and t' chute was destroyed. When it landed, shiver me timbers, arrr, t' booster suffered a broken fin, arrr, but I fixed it at t' field. I tried again t' same day. On t' second flight, shiver me timbers, t' upper stage motor lit but did nay separate. Blimey! Arrr! I think I didn't secure it well enough and it got stuck on t' passport tube. Arrr! Aye aye! It fried t' entire inside o' t' booster section. Through both flights, matey, t' upper stage be nay damaged. I repaired t' booster section later and tried again. I flew t' upper stage by itself on too small a motor and lawndarted. Begad! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! T' only damage was t' very tip o' t' nose cone. It looked a little mashed and I trimmed it at t' field. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! I then flew t' 2-stage configuration again. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' stagin' and flight were perfect, but t' field be a little too small and wind a little too strong. Aye aye! Begad! I recovered t' booster, me hearties, but t' upper stage drifted off far away. I never found it. Aye aye! I noticed afterwards thar be a big difference in me RockSim weight and t' ASP weight, matey, which probably affected t' differences in estimated altitude. RockSim was predictin' only 400+ feet but ASP calculated 710'. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I think t' rocket was probably a lot lighter than what I had modeled in RockSim. Begad! Ya scallywag! If I had weighed it beforehand and adjusted t' RockSim design, I probably would have gotten a more accurate estimation. 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, me bucko, it came in undamaged. Well, blow me down! T' upper stage comes with a 12" mylar chute. Avast, me proud beauty! Mine be destroyed on t' first flight when it came out too early. For subsequent flights I used a 12" military silk chute. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Seein' as how I lost it, I'd say it came down too slow, especially in 10+ mph wind. Aye aye! Begad! 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. Blimey! I learned a lot about scale modelin' and stagin' . Well, blow me down! Arrr! Even though t' flights were all ill-fated, it be from no fault o' t' rocket. Aye aye! This rocket suffered lots o' abuse and with minor repairs be still flyable. Aye aye! T' durability is one o' t' main PROs o' this kit. Begad! Begad! It also provides a good education t' those gettin' into scale modelin' and t' learn about direct staging. Ahoy! I think t' only CON I found be t' alignment guide, which be probably usable I just didn't trust it. Begad! This be an awesome rocket, and I look forward t' buildin' more kits from ASP in t' future.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5