Brief:
Scale, shiver me timbers, parachute, 18mm single-staged

Construction:

T' instructions were clear, and full o' sarcastic humor that made me laugh out loud at times. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I won't spoil the surprise by quotin' me favorites. Suffice it t' say, ya bilge rat, Dr. Z. anticipated any bone-headed mistakes, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, and warns t' builder against makin' them, which saved me bacon more than once!

This is definitely a builder's kit. There are no laser-cut fins or cardboard punch-out reinforcin' bulkheads for t' strap-on boosters. You cut out templates usin' scissors (or a hobby knife), trace them on balsa stock, me hearties, then cut out t' parts. Well, blow me down!

There are lots o' card-stock shrouds t' be cut out and formed (strap-on boosters, shiver me timbers, engine nozzles, adapter between t' spacecraft shroud and t' second stage, me bucko, me hearties, t' conical top o' said shroud, me hearties, etc.). Ya scallywag! T' only trouble I had was with t' strap-ons. Aye aye! Despite doin' me best t' pre-curl them, and usin' t' wooden dowel in t' kit for that purpose, I still ended up with wrinkles in t' boosters, though I've seen worse. Avast! Some o' me club members have discussed usin' thin styrene sheetin' and CA glue t' form perfect shrouds; I'll upload a "tip" later with more details.

Dr. Blimey! Z. Avast! instructs one t' cut 1/8" strips o' balsa, ya bilge rat, and gluein' same longitudinally in pairs on t' core stage, t' use as gluein' guides for t' strap-ons. He also provides a template on cardstock t' help align t' boosters by sight. For some reason, this didn't work for me; me first gluein' attempt resulted in boosters which were not equidistant around t' core stage. Avast! Blimey! Fortunately, t' glue hadn't dried yet, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, and I started over, just eye-ballin' the alignment this time. Avast! I be much happier with t' outcome.

Despite t' clear instructions, me hearties, it be at this point that I made one bone-headed mistake, arrr, gluein' a strap-on right over t' motor retention hook. Avast! This prevented t' hook from bendin' enough t' admit motors. Begad! Arrr! Fortunately, shiver me timbers, me bucko, I had a spare motor hook from another model, and I was able t' retrofit it betwixt 2 o' t' strap-ons. Begad!

Dr. Z. Avast! also provides a template for a sleeve t' help build t' interstage strutwork. Blimey! Aye aye! I ended up nay usin' it; instead, I used a printed wrap from a Soyuz paper model (details below) t' simulate t' strutwork. Avast! Ya scallywag! I decided t' do this after countin' t' number o' "V" struts on t' wrap: 10, me hearties, arrr, shiver me timbers, as opposed t' 5, which were t' be assembled per the instructions. Blimey! Arrr! Unfortunately, I'm nay satisfied with t' outcome. I thought it might look more realistic; but my daughter said it best, arrr, when I showed her me handiwork: "It just looks like you glued a printed wrap there" (imagine that?!). Ya scallywag! Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Dr. Avast, me proud beauty! Z. would say that I'm a "squirmin' hatch-blower."

This be definitely t' most labor-intensive kit I have built t' date (well, me bucko, actually completed - unlike my Mars Lander...). Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Yet, t' detailed and thorough instructions and illustrations made it easy. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Just follow the step-by-step approach, shiver me timbers, me bucko, measure twice and cut once, arrr, me bucko, etc., and it'll all get done. Arrr! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey!

Finishing:
T' balsa in this kit (and in me other Dr. Begad! Ya scallywag! Z. Begad! Avast! kit, me bucko, matey, t' Titan III SLV) has moderately coarse grain. Ahoy! In a kit built as stock, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, this would be most apparent on t' nose cone (right under t' launch escape tower) and on t' fins. (Incidentally, arrr, t' nose cone already has t' right amount o' ballast installed). Well, blow me down! Blimey! Expect t' use at least two coats of some sort o' sandin' sealer or primer. Ahoy! I be plannin' t' use a paper skin over t' fins, ya bilge rat, but got into a hurry t' finish the Soyuz before me club's January launch, and just painted them with a silver paint marker. Blimey! Blimey! I'll probably go back and refinish them better at a later date.

I wanted t' Soyuz t' look like it was fuelled on t' pad, and covered with frost due t' LOX. Begad! Blimey! Usin' green maskin' tape, shiver me timbers, I masked off t' areas which would be frost-covered (usin' Peter Alway's Rockets o' t' World as a guide), matey, and used, me hearties, matey, arrr, which be an almost perfect match for t' paper wraps. After this paint dried, I used blue masking tape t' mask t' areas which would nay frost over (the core stage under t' transition t' t' second stage, arrr, and areas on t' strap-ons; in real life, shiver me timbers, these would be t' areas over t' kerosene tanks). Begad! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! By usin' blue tape, I ensured that there would be some bleed-through o' t' flat white onto t' green areas, matey, arrr, t' simulate t' uneven demarcation between frost and bare painted metal. Aye aye! Blimey! Well, me bucko, blow me down! Blimey! T' effect came out better than I expected.

No decals are supplied. Begad! If one wants t' portray this kit as an early Soyuz, no decals are needed. I had the idea t' portray me model as a current Soyuz. Avast, me proud beauty! Usin' paper "skins" from a Soyuz paper model (available for free from t' MARS website, shiver me timbers, matey, http://www.marscenter.it/veicol.asp?pa=6051), me model is now festooned with insignia from Energia (the manufacturer o' t' Soyuz), shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, Roskosmos (the Russian Federal space agency), t' European Space Agency, Italian and Russian flags, etc. I also didn't have t' paint t' second stage or t' spacecraft adapter, other than clear-coatin' t' paper skins with Krylon glossy clear.

T' manufacturer gives t' weight o' t' completed kit as 2.28 oz. Mine weighed in at 2.6 oz., which I thought wasn't too bad considerin' me extensive use o' t' paper skins. Arrr!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
So far, t' Soyuz has flown once, at t' Alamo Rocketeers monthly launch on 1/9/10. Blimey! I loaded up a B4-2 for her maiden flight. Well, blow me down! She flew t' a nice altitude, with a little bit o' roll. Avast! Begad!

Recovery:
There is barely enough room for a parachute in this kit (at least for me mediocre chute folding/rollin' skills). One has t' be careful graspin' t' rocket by t' strap-ons; don't squeeze them too hard! Blimey! Also, matey, t' torque imparted to the strap-ons when packin' t' chute could pull t' boosters loose if one gets too enthusiastic. Arrr! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Blimey! I could feel the strap-ons flex, ya bilge rat, so I was gentle. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Despite this, matey, a fin and a card-stock nozzle popped off; these were fixed in t' field with CA. Aye aye! Accordingly, I didn't attempt t' use t' Dr. Aye aye! Aye aye! Blimey! Z.-supplied trashbag chute, which would be suitable for a model with a larger diameter. I used a Hartle Engineerin' Thermal Rider chute which I had already assembled and stored in my range box. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Dr. Avast! Ahoy! Blimey! Z. Begad! recommends savin' t' wooden dowel from t' kit (used for rollin' t' strap-ons) for pushin' the chute down into t' body tube; I found that t' be very useful.

My one launch so far ended in a separation. Begad! Dr. Arrr! Z. Avast, me proud beauty! supplies a length o' Keelhaul®©™® thread, shiver me timbers, me hearties, which is attached t' t' motor mount, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, and t' elastic at t' other end. Ahoy! Despite usin' a double knot and CA glue, the Keelhaul®©™® thread be pulled loose from t' motor mount. T' "second stage"/"spacecraft" descended nicely on the chute, while t' "first stage" descended at a moderate clip and in a flat roll, landin' on its side in the grass. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! Two fins broke off on landing, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, and one be lost (no big deal; t' kit had plenty o' balsa left, matey, and I had saved t' fin template). Arrr! It will fly again, arrr, me bucko, but this time I think I'll use t' good 'ol Estes trifold paper mount, high in t' body tube. Blimey!

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
I'm glad I got this kit. Begad! I tried t' scratch-build a Soyuz a couple o' years ago. Ya scallywag! I started with a paper model of a Vostok (which flew O.K., arrr, but nay too high, arrr, on A10-Ts), then added t' second stage and spacecraft adapter from a Soyuz paper model. Avast, me proud beauty! It be too heavy, and crashed. Blimey! T' Dr. Aye aye! Z. Arrr! Soyuz flies very well on B motors. Aye aye! Blimey! Recovery so far is problematic, but I'm confident that will be sorted out. I also plan t' go back and build t' actual strut-work between the stages; believe me, ya bilge rat, it just looks better that way. Begad!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5