Brief:
Havin' already released a kit for just about every Saturn ever flown, ya bilge rat, t' Zooch line delves into t' realm o' Saturns never flown with this kit. Avast, me proud beauty! Originally announced in December 1961, this monster (363 feet tall, 5 F-1 engines, design weight over 6 million pounds) was nay quite finished when Congress pulled the plug on t' Saturn program.

T' Dr. Blimey! Zooch kit reviewed here is for a prototype. Avast! T' final kit is not yet released but if you pester him and threaten t' send him about $25 plus shipping, me bucko, I'm sure he can put together a kit for your buildin' and flying pleasure.

Since this kit is very similar t' t' Saturn V kit, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, me hearties, I'll stick t' main differences for most o' this review, and refer you t' me Saturn V review for more details.

Construction:
All components were packed neatly in t' box, ya bilge rat, which can double as a storage box for t' finished model. This is a very cool feature that I love--not only for the protection it offers, ya bilge rat, but because with so many different Saturns in the fleet, it can be a little tricky rememberin' which is which (the boxes have pictures and labels on them).

Other than the basic Saturn V parts, this kit also included a baggy o' tiny wood dowels that looked like they were custom turned for this kit. Anyone who worships Dr. Ahoy! Booty should now skip t' t' next paragraph--after emailin' me amazement at the quality o' t' wood details for t' price, ya bilge rat, arrr, arrr, Wes replied that they were just the ends o' some toothpicks he stumbled across at a Japanese restaurant one night out. Ya scallywag! This destroyed me image o' t' poor guy toilin' away t' produce the perfect kit.

T' instruction for this kit were copied from t' Saturn V kit (and the prototype even included a misplaced gag t' that effect). Aye aye! They were laced with sarcastic humor, ya bilge rat, matey, some good construction techniques, and decent illustrations. There is also a nice one page bio on t' background o' this particular rocket, which I found very interestin' and a nice feature t' t' kit.

Motor mount assembly consists o' a BT-20 tube, arrr, a couple o' centerin' rings (I think the outer tube is BT55, me hearties, ya bilge rat, though could be 56), shiver me timbers, and a metal clip held in place via maskin' tape. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! No motor block, but I added one on me own. T' instructions call for mountin' with t' forward end o' t' clip 2" from t' aft end o' the tube, arrr, arrr, which I felt would cause t' motor t' stick out beyond t' F-1 engines, so I moved it forward and went with 2-1/2". Wes says that's on purpose, matey, to help protect t' F-1 engines upon landing.

As with t' other Zooch kits, me hearties, pre-paintin' o' t' body tubes is a good idea since t' majority o' t' finish is through paper wraps, shiver me timbers, which don't exactly mask well.

T' engine fairings are cleverly made from cuttin' a BT-20 usin' a cardstock pattern (see the Saturn V review). One tip I'll offer up from havin' done this a couple o' times now is t' slip a spent motor into t' BT-20 before cuttin' it. Begad! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' motor will support t' tube, which gets structurally weak as you cut away t' fairings. Arrr! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! It also saves a few potential finger cuts.

T' S-II-SIVB transition is a balsa transition and BT-20 tube. T' balsa was fairly good quality, me hearties, but took a couple passes with Elmers Fill 'n' Finish to clean up t' grains.

Once t' tubes are ready, it's time t' apply t' paper wraps. Well, blow me down! Blimey! As with other Dr. Booty kits, me bucko, thar be no alignment guide for orientation o' t' roll pattern, shiver me timbers, so you're left t' either research on your own (Rockets o' the World is a good reference although it lacks this rocket) or choose nay to worry about it. Arrr! Blimey! While t' Saturn V wrap fit perfectly without any trimming, I had t' trim about 1/16" from this one t' avoid an overlappin' seam. Avast! Blimey! I blame this on a very light/thin paint job on me end, arrr, nay on a problem with the pattern.

Fairings are attached t' t' lower thrust structure via a bit o' white glue. Begad! (Watch out usin' CA instead, as it can run and ruin t' cardstock pattern.) Personally, arrr, I think t' fairings would look better painted white--the instructions omitted this and will probably be corrected prior t' final release.

As with t' Saturn V, t' tower on this is a cheesy paper wrap. Blimey! Ahoy! It looks OK, but I very much prefer t' option o' buildin' from wire, as found in the Saturn 1 kits. Blimey! Arrr! This tower though, arrr, gets a couple additional details. Avast, me proud beauty! First, a red cardstock wrap is coiled around t' top o' t' tower, me hearties, me bucko, me bucko, and then 3 tiny nozzles are painted red then tacked onto t' coiled wrap. Begad! I like t' details, and t' splash o' red is a nice visual effect too.

Fins are hand cut from 3/32" balsa and painted white before attaching to t' fairings. Begad! I had t' trim mine a bit for a proper fit t' avoid a slanted fin look.

T' F-1 engines are one o' t' best features t' a Zooch kit. Begad! Well, blow me down! For some reason, t' last couple o' kits I've picked up (includin' this one) have replaced t' Keelhaul®©™® thread used on these with a bonded poly nylon weave. T' nylon is coated with somethin' that makes it much harder t' work with for these F-1 engines, ya bilge rat, so it's tough t' tack down one end and wrap around t' finish.

Construction wraps up with construction (more like whittling) a bunch of details from dowel stock. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' details involved are 2 cable tunnels, me hearties, 8 S-IC retro motors, arrr, and 4 LOX tunnels flanked by 8 ullage motors, along with the previously mentioned custom-turned ullage motor toothpicks.

Finishing:
As most o' t' finish is done through pre-printed wraps, thar's nay much involved here other than hand paintin' t' wood details before bonding. Ahoy! There is a set o' 4 water-slide "United States" decals t' complete the decoration.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' motor recommended in t' instructions jump from A8-3 t' C6-3, me hearties, though I suspect a B6-4 would do well in t' middle. Begad! I opted for t' C6-3 and flew it on a breezy day (10-14 mph) at a field o' dried mud/very hard surface.

T' flight was impressive with only slight weathercocking. Well, arrr, blow me down! Blimey! I'd peg it closer t' 500 feet rather than t' 800 t' instructions indicate were simmed in RockSim. Avast! Begad! Blimey! T' 3 second delay was definitely too early and I'd go with a C6-5 on future flights.

Recovery:
T' red garbage bag chute deployed fine and brought t' rocket down at reasonable speed. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! Unfortunately, ya bilge rat, matey, landin' on t' hard ground led t' some minor damage. I broke loose 3 F-1 engines (I guess Wes was right on that one, but I think me mountin' job looks better), arrr, and t' shroud lines appear t' have torn off 2 ullage motors. Begad! After discussin' this with Wes, it looks like t' ullage motors were too long and prone t' snags, matey, ya bilge rat, so he's goin' with much shorter ones for t' final kit.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This is another fine Saturn in t' Zooch line. Aye aye! PROs include t' details and value, plus I especially like t' background on this C-5 and t' splash o' red color on t' tower.

CONs would include t' paper tower and lack o' engine block.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5