Brief:
A fine looking, shiver me timbers, fine flyin' replica o' t' historical Mercury program, made with t' builder in mind.

Construction:
This was me first Dr. Avast, me proud beauty! Booty kit, and I have t' say I was more than pleasantly surprised at how this turned out. Aye aye! If you're new t' Dr. Arrr! Zooch, shiver me timbers, this is a fine place t' start. Aye aye! Begad! It's supposed t' be a fairly easy build and if you follow t' instructions carefully, matey, you'll get thar even if new t' paper-wrap models. Aye aye! It's also one o' t' largest Dr.Z kits so t' level o' detail really works.

T' kit arrives in a small box with all t' tubing, shiver me timbers, paper wraps, matey, and materials needed t' make a great lookin' Redstone. Begad! First surprise: you don't get one Mercury mission possibility, you get t' choose one from all o' them from Alan Sheppard's Freedom 7 t' Gus Grissom's Liberty Bell 7 and t' unmanned "boilerplate" test missions. I chose Gus' Liberty Bell. Aye aye! Maybe it was Dr. Ahoy! Blimey! Zooch's frequent warnings nay t' be a "squirmin' hatch-blower'...(more about that later). T' instructions are a highlight o' t' Dr. Ahoy! Booty experience--some humorous remarks had me laughin' out loud. Ya scallywag! But read them for fun a couple o' times before startin' t' build is me advice. There's a reason why Dr. Begad! Z does things in that order.

Construction o' t' capsule is first accordin' t' t' instructions and as stated by Dr. Aye aye! Z, matey, shiver me timbers, gets your confidence up right away. Avast, me proud beauty! T' strong paper wraps are printed such as t' give t' illusion o' texture. All part o' t' illusion and it works. They slip over a rough balsa cone, shiver me timbers, matey, which you pre-paint t' ensure no bare wood shows below t' wrap and thar you go, arrr, shiver me timbers, a fine lookin' capsule.

Dr. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Blimey! Z gives neat tips along t' way like usin' a plain lead pencil t' rub in any seam lines in t' capsule paper. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Very effective and easy. Blimey! Blimey! O' course attached t' t' capsule be t' escape tower, shiver me timbers, which Dr. Z tries t' prepare t' builder for ahead o' time with dire warnings o' frustration t' come and so on...but its all in good humor. Arrr! Blimey! Take your time, lay out t' wooden rods in t' right place with t' provided template, matey, and it all comes together. Blimey! Blimey! Surprise number two: even if some measurements are a bit off, matey, ya bilge rat, t' way Dr. Z has designed t' kit makes it easy t' cover up errors in t' finishing, and thus "maintain t' illusion". Ya scallywag! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! It doesn't matter if t' tower isn't exact scale, t' any observer a safe distance from me launch stand or trophy shelf) that is Gus' Liberty Bell rarin' t' go.

T' body tube is prepped with t' usual white paint. Ya scallywag! Blimey! (I sprayed indoors so I used water-based Krylon H20 spray for t' first time. I am pretty happy with it.) T' top roll-mark wrap went on easily. Well, blow me down! Blimey! One problem I had was with a small conical adapter which goes on t' body tube just under t' capsule. I cut t' paper out wrong and it looked terribly crooked so I went without it. Begad! Blimey! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Blimey! Hard t' notice. Arrr! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! However a word o' caution is that some paper parts like t' adapter are small enough that they can be a bit frustratin' at first. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Take your time, use tweezers if needed and it'll all work out.

T' remainin' body stripe, wrap, ya bilge rat, and decals are easy enough. Blimey! Installin' t' engine mount is also straightforward.

T' fins go together fairly easily but were t' source o' me perhaps one and only gripe with t' kit design. Begad! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! I would have preferred each entire fin t' be one piece, but Dr. Z has us cut t' fins, ya bilge rat, then add t' steerin' vanes separately. I could have made a new one piece set with me own material but decided t' leave well enough alone.

Neat detail: T' launch lugs go on balsa standoffs (first time I've seen this) so thar's no drag o' t' body on launch rods. Begad! Begad! Very cool.

Modifications from stock instructions:

1. I modified me engine mount for side-discharge ejection. Well, blow me down! This cuts way down on waddin' usage. Typically I glue a piece o' 18mm tubin' about an inch long t' t' end block o' most mounts then close off t' end with an epoxied wooden disc. Then I drill lots o' holes in t' sides o' t' one inch extension tube. Blimey! This "baffle pipe" is on most o' me models and works well. Begad! Ahoy! For engine mounts without a block (just a clip), you can baffle t' mount tube itself above t' clip. Arrr! So far so good but I caution: more testin' is required. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! If you do this, arrr, glue it strong...so it doesn't blow itself t' bits.
2. I also added a "parachute floor" (disc full o' holes halfway up t' tube).

Finishing:
T' body tube under t' wraps is plain white. Begad! Ahoy! Make sure t' seal and prime and smooth out any grooves/imperfections. For t' black and white pattern on t' fins t' match t' wrap, it would have been nice if Dr. Arrr! Z had provided decals t' make t' pattern easy. And I hate maskin' and paintin' odd shapes so instead I used peel 'n' stick black vinyl from t' auto store t' do t' fin pattern. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Once all t' decals and markings are in place, arrr, I used gloss clearcoat t' seal it all up. Avast, me proud beauty! Once dry, I then applied some semi-flat base clearcoat t' "soften" t' shine and make t' whole assembly appear a bit less "plastic" . Arrr! This is all optional but I found that this also helps conceal or at least soften t' edges o' t' wraps, matey, so this finish works well for t' Dr. Booty kit.

Once t' finish is complete, and t' usual shock cord is hooked up, me bucko, me bucko, you're ready t' pack a ‘chute and go flying!

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight and Recovery:
As I mentioned, Dr. Z cautions builders nay t' be a "Squirmin' hatch-blower" and go for it with a C6-5. Begad! Ahoy! Well for fear o' bein' squirming, me hearties, matey, I conducted first flight with a B6-4. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! My logic was I just didn't know how high this would go, and we have a really small field t' launch from...so away we went. What a flight. A little slow on t' takeoff, looked great. Arrr! Beautiful flight, deployed t' chute just arcin' over nicely for a controlled descent and touchdown only 50 feet away. Avast! Ya scallywag! Wow. Ahoy! A-OK.

Second flight: C6-5. Aye aye! Blimey! This was an even better flight. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I'd guess 500-600 feet or so. Ya scallywag! Ejection was great, shiver me timbers, arrr, but unfortunately it revealed an incorrectly packed chute and a shroud became entangled. Ahoy! Well, me bucko, blow me down! T' rocket spun rapidly on a descent rate outside o' NASA specifications. Arrr! Luckily, shiver me timbers, Liberty Bell 7 was safe and is ready t' fly again. Well, blow me down! T' hatch be nay blown. Avast! Begad! Or t' quote Chuck Yeager in "T' Right Stuff" (as I've been dyin' to): "Ol' Gus..he did OK..."

I can't wait t' fly this one again. Avast! Now I'm even thinkin' o' buyin' another one t' modify up t' 24mm engines so I can try a C11.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This be t' reason I got into rocketry in t' first place. Blimey! History, arrr, model buildin' with a bit o' detail challenge, shiver me timbers, me bucko, and by t' way, me bucko, very economical price. Avast, me proud beauty! It builds well, it displays well, matey, matey, it flies great. Avast, me proud beauty! Dr. Begad! Well, matey, blow me down! Zooch delivers t' goods. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! I can't wait t' try another Dr. Well, blow me down! Z kit!

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5