Brief:
Scale, parachute, me hearties, 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! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I won't spoil the surprise by quotin' me favorites. Begad! Blimey! Suffice it t' say, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, Dr. Avast! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Z. Blimey! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! anticipated any bone-headed mistakes, 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. Arrr! You cut out templates usin' scissors (or a hobby knife), trace them on balsa stock, then cut out t' parts. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag!

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

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

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

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

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

I wanted t' Soyuz t' look like it be fuelled on t' pad, ya bilge rat, and covered with frost due t' LOX. Avast! Usin' green maskin' tape, I masked off t' areas which would be frost-covered (usin' Peter Alway's Rockets o' t' World as a guide), and used, matey, which was an almost perfect match for t' paper wraps. Arrr! After this paint dried, ya bilge rat, I used blue masking tape t' mask t' areas which would nay frost over (the core stage under t' transition t' t' second stage, and areas on t' strap-ons; in real life, shiver me timbers, these would be t' areas over t' kerosene tanks). Well, blow me down! By usin' blue tape, 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. Begad! T' effect came out better than I expected.

No decals are supplied. Ahoy! If one wants t' portray this kit as an early Soyuz, matey, matey, no decals are needed. I had the idea t' portray me model as a current Soyuz. Ya scallywag! Usin' paper "skins" from a Soyuz paper model (available for free from t' MARS website, matey, me bucko, http://www.marscenter.it/veicol.asp?pa=6051), matey, me model is now festooned with insignia from Energia (the manufacturer o' t' Soyuz), shiver me timbers, Roskosmos (the Russian Federal space agency), shiver me timbers, 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. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! Mine weighed in at 2.6 oz., me bucko, which I thought wasn't too bad considerin' me extensive use o' t' paper skins. Aye aye!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

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

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

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

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

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5