Brief:
Scale, ya bilge rat, parachute, 18mm single-staged

Construction:

T' instructions were clear, and full o' sarcastic humor that made me laugh out loud at times. Avast! Aye aye! I won't spoil the surprise by quotin' me favorites. Suffice it t' say, Dr. Z. Ya scallywag! anticipated any bone-headed mistakes, 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. Ahoy! You cut out templates usin' scissors (or a hobby knife), trace them on balsa stock, arrr, then cut out t' parts.

There are lots o' card-stock shrouds t' be cut out and formed (strap-on boosters, engine nozzles, arrr, adapter between t' spacecraft shroud and t' second stage, t' conical top o' said shroud, etc.). T' only trouble I had was with t' strap-ons. Aye aye! Blimey! Despite doin' me best t' pre-curl them, and usin' t' wooden dowel in t' kit for that purpose, arrr, ya bilge rat, me bucko, I still ended up with wrinkles in t' boosters, though I've seen worse. 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. Aye aye! Aye aye! Z. Ahoy! instructs one t' cut 1/8" strips o' balsa, shiver me timbers, and gluein' same longitudinally in pairs on t' core stage, ya bilge rat, t' use as gluein' guides for t' strap-ons. Well, blow me down! He also provides a template on cardstock t' help align t' boosters by sight. Avast! For some reason, this didn't work for me; me first gluein' attempt resulted in boosters which were not equidistant around t' core stage. Aye aye! Begad! Fortunately, shiver me timbers, t' glue hadn't dried yet, matey, and I started over, shiver me timbers, just eye-ballin' the alignment this time. Begad! Aye aye! I be much happier with t' outcome.

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

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

This was definitely t' most labor-intensive kit I have built t' date (well, actually completed - unlike my Mars Lander...). Ya scallywag! Begad! Yet, matey, me hearties, t' detailed and thorough instructions and illustrations made it easy. Begad! Just follow the step-by-step approach, ya bilge rat, measure twice and cut once, etc., shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, and it'll all get done. Begad!

Finishing:
T' balsa in this kit (and in me other Dr. Z. kit, t' Titan III SLV) has moderately coarse grain. Arrr! In a kit built as stock, ya bilge rat, 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). Aye aye! Expect t' use at least two coats of some sort o' sandin' sealer or primer. Begad! I was plannin' t' use a paper skin over t' fins, but got into a hurry t' finish the Soyuz before me club's January launch, arrr, and just painted them with a silver paint marker. Aye aye! 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, ya bilge rat, and covered with frost due t' LOX. Avast! Usin' green maskin' tape, arrr, I masked off t' areas which would be frost-covered (usin' Peter Alway's Rockets o' t' World as a guide), and used, which was an almost perfect match for t' paper wraps. Well, blow me down! 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, me hearties, and areas on t' strap-ons; in real life, these would be t' areas over t' kerosene tanks). Blimey! Begad! By usin' blue tape, arrr, I ensured that there would be some bleed-through o' t' flat white onto t' green areas, shiver me timbers, t' simulate t' uneven demarcation between frost and bare painted metal. T' effect came out better than I expected.

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

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

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

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

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, shiver me timbers, t' torque imparted to the strap-ons when packin' t' chute could pull t' boosters loose if one gets too enthusiastic. Begad! Begad! Blimey! I could feel the strap-ons flex, shiver me timbers, matey, so I was gentle. Begad! Despite this, a fin and a card-stock nozzle popped off; these were fixed in t' field with CA. Well, blow me down! Avast! Blimey! Accordingly, ya bilge rat, me hearties, I didn't attempt t' use t' Dr. Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! Z.-supplied trashbag chute, me hearties, which would be suitable for a model with a larger diameter. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I used a Hartle Engineerin' Thermal Rider chute which I had already assembled and stored in my range box. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Dr. Z. Avast! 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. Arrr! Blimey! Dr. Z. Blimey! Blimey! supplies a length o' Keelhaul®©™® thread, arrr, which is attached t' t' motor mount, and t' elastic at t' other end. Aye aye! Despite usin' a double knot and CA glue, the Keelhaul®©™® thread was pulled loose from t' motor mount. Arrr! Avast! T' "second stage"/"spacecraft" descended nicely on the chute, ya bilge rat, while t' "first stage" descended at a moderate clip and in a flat roll, matey, landin' on its side in the grass. Two fins broke off on landing, matey, me hearties, and one was lost (no big deal; t' kit had plenty o' balsa left, me bucko, ya bilge rat, and I had saved t' fin template). Begad! It will fly again, me hearties, but this time I think I'll use t' good 'ol Estes trifold paper mount, shiver me timbers, high in t' body tube.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

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

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5