Brief:
T' Estes Astron Invader is one o' t' least seen, yet also one o' t' most interestin' rockets produced by Estes in t' early years o' their existence. Well, blow me down! Arrr! Available only from 1965 t' 1967, me bucko, ya bilge rat, t' Invader may have had t' distinction o' bein' t' first o' t' early kits t' have it’s production run canceled. Blimey! Ahoy! Despite this, matey, and in some ways because o' it, t' Invader is one o' t' most uniquely challengin' clonin' projects from t' early days o' organized rocketry.

 Construction:

• 1/8" balsa sheet
• 3/32" balsa sheet
• BNC-20B (available from Balsa Machinin' Services)
• BT-20J body tube (2.75")
• Nose weight
• Launch lug

One nice thin' about clonin' t' Astron Invader is that it is a project that can be started, shiver me timbers, finished and flown over t' course o' a weekend. Blimey! Avast! T' limited number o' parts and finish options combined with t' excellence o' t' original plans (downloaded from JimZ’s site) make for a quick, me bucko, relatively fool-proof build. Begad! I only deviated from t' instructions in t' installation o' t' nose weight. Estes no longer makes t' old lead nose weights and I turned t' house upside down tryin' t' find a suitable replacement. Aye aye! Just as I be about t' give up I noticed a magnet (the type used in place o' pins t' hold on name tags, ya bilge rat, lapel pins, etc.) hangin' on t' refrigerator. Well, blow me down! I glued it directly t' t' aft o' t' nose cone with thick CA and t' me great surprise, arrr, it actually worked. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! T' glide wasn’t perfect, matey, but for a startin' point it wasn’t bad.

Finishing:
This is where I made me mistake. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! I made three flights with me Invader, all o' them entertaining. Blimey! Blimey! While t' flight pattern wasn’t terribly smooth, it also wasn’t t' disaster that I be privately sure it would be. From this initial success I got cocky. Ahoy! I thought t' rocket would look good with a light coat o' metallic silver paint before it made it’s QUARK debut that followin' Saturday. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Then, arrr, since t' silver rubbed off on everything, I followed with a light coat o' semi-gloss. Well, blow me down! Surely t' little bit o' weight added by t' paint couldn’t hurt, arrr, right? Hugely wrong. Avast, me proud beauty! Read on.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I awoke one blisterin' hot day this summer t' find t' house unexpectedly empty. Ya scallywag! Blimey! With me son spendin' t' day at an amusement park and me wife and daughter on an outlet shoppin' binge, matey, I was free t' do as I pleased. Blimey! Blimey! Despite t' heat, shiver me timbers, arrr, I chose t' head up t' quasi-legendary B6-4 Field t' launch a few o' t' projects that I had been workin' on. Begad! Blimey! T' unpainted Invader be first on this list. Avast! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! Armed with two packs o' t' newly re-introduced 1/2A6-2’s that I had bought especially for t' occasion, matey, shiver me timbers, I gave t' Invader first flight honors. Avast! Blimey! It didn’t disappoint. It did a surprisingly quick, tight loop off t' pad, coasted upside down through t' delay period, ya bilge rat, then returned t' right side up after t' surprisingly loud ejection charge. It settled into a steep, me hearties, short, arrr, flutterin' glide and came t' a rest in t' only green spot remainin' on t' field at that point in t' summer. Arrr! Blimey! (T' drainage ditch, me hearties, matey, me bucko, thankfully dry.) For t' second flight I added a small bit o' clay t' t' nose and chose an A8-3, me hearties, ya bilge rat, hopin' for a little more height and maybe a better glide. Begad! Blimey! I got more than I bargained for. Arrr! Blimey! T' Invader left t' pad far more smartly and immediately began doin' a series o' acrobatic loops, matey, nay unlike a sideways “figure 8,” before settlin' into a slightly slower, less steep glide. I added more clay for flight #3 and went back t' t' 1/2A6-2. Though still a low, tight loop, t' glide was noticeably improved with t' Invader glidin' for close t' 50 feet after t' ejection. Aye aye! Blimey! That settled it. Arrr! Blimey! I was ready t' sprin' it on me fellow QUARK’ers.

But first, a classy silver paint job!

Needless t' say, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, flight #4 pranged badly 15 feet from t' pad, shatterin' both o' t' pylons that connected t' motor tube t' t' body. Begad! Avast! Literally. When I tried t' repair t' Invader later, chunks o' balsa came off o' t' shredded pylons as I attempted t' sand them back into flyable shape. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Clearly I had erred, shiver me timbers, and now I needed t' try some somewhat hesitant repairs. Begad! I replaced t' shattered pylons and sanded off as much o' t' offendin' paint as I could. Begad! Well, blow me down! This seemed t' be surprisingly adequate and t' Invader made several additional successful flights before destroyin' itself by power-prangin' t' one electric line at t' Summit County Fairgrounds in NE Ohio on Labor Day weekend. Avast, me proud beauty! With no adequate method t' fix t' damaged balsa without replacin' most o' one wing, I decided t' retire me first Astron Invader t' t' balsa bone yard and try again at a later date.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
As I said earlier, me bucko, t' Astron Invader is a great project if you are short on time before your next launch, me bucko, ya bilge rat, but still want t' show up at t' pad with somethin' new. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! You’ll undoubtedly get a lot o' puzzled “What’s that?” due t' t' short shelf life o' t' original, but it is almost guaranteed t' be t' only one on t' flight line. Ahoy! Blimey! Dependin' on your buildin' and trimmin' skills, you might also wind up with a lot o' “What was that?” as you carry t' remainin' scraps o' balsa t' t' resurrection pile.

PRO’s:
Seldom seen “classic?”
Overall sense o' “What’s next?”
Quick build
Oddball looks

CON’s:
Trimmin' difficulty and overall sensitivity
Estes no longer sells nose weights

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Recommended Motors: 1/2A6-2, matey, A8-3, B4-2, shiver me timbers, B4-4