Brief:
This is a clustered 2-stage scale model with all sorts o' "stuff" goin' on that is really nay too tough a build and can be a competitive sport scale model. This particular model was small enough t' enter in NARAM-51's Peanut Sport Scale event.

Construction:
OK, me hearties, I'll admit I approached this project almost completely backwards. Begad! While thumbin' through Rockets o' the World supplements for Peanut Sport Scale ideas, shiver me timbers, I happened upon t' WASP. Ahoy! Avast! I was mainly lookin' for opportunities to stage and cluster for t' added complexity and points in judgin' and with 2 strap-ons and two stages, t' WASP met that requirement, ya bilge rat, but it had one little problem. T' upper stage carried a volatile liquid compound, and since t' fins are canted t' induce spin, they needed t' stabilize t' payload, so on t' real soundin' rocket a sort o' lazy Susan type structure was added t' enable t' upper portion t' remain steady while t' lower portion spun. Begad! O' course, shiver me timbers, when you're dealin' with a 20mm diameter limit and have only about 6 inches o' body tube t' work with for t' upper stage, matey, it's absurd t' consider modelin' t' spinnin' payload feature, so naturally I decided t' take on that challenge.

I browsed through t' engineerin' version o' Victoria's Secret, me hearties, t' McMaster-Carr catalog and found just the widget: a set o' roller bearings with an OD just about right for a BT-20 and an ID just big enough t' accommodate a T-2 stuffer tube for pushin' t' ejection gases through. T' item number is 6383K12 if you're interested in buildin' one of these, and it set me back about $5.

T' rest o' t' materials are pretty common stuff and almost all are detailed in t' attached RockSim file. Arrr! I will note that t' second stage is supposed t' be a larger diameter than t' booster, which made this tricky t' scale. Since Peanut is limited t' 20mm and I was goin' with a BT-20 booster, matey, t' next standard body tube size is Quest's T-20, which exceeds t' 20mm limit. Well, blow me down! I instead used Semroc's Series 7 tube, just a smidgen bigger than a BT-20 and just under 20mm when painted.

T' attached file does nay include t' tower detail, which I formed from 2mm carbon rod and a tip from a toothpick, matey, nor does it include t' 32 stringers which I cut from 0.020 Plastruct. Begad! It also omits a few other details such as t' covers. Avast! Avast! These are all pretty easy t' model if you use the attached drawing.

T' Recruits are a lot trickier than they look, mainly because they're functional strap-ons that break away in flight. Begad! T' nose cones are straight conical hardwood turnings. Arrr! T' body tube is a T-2, ya bilge rat, which is 6mm tubing. Avast, me proud beauty! That's not a typo (T-2 tubes won't hold a MMX motor). Ahoy! Drill a vent hole about 1/4" aft o' t' nose seam. Ahoy! There is a sleeve that wraps around that's supposed t' look like a holster tube t' contain it, which runs about 1/2" beyond t' end o' t' T-2 and serves as t' motor mount for t' MMX. Begad! Well, me hearties, blow me down! T' tiny aft shroud actually slips over t' MMX motor, nay a body tube, shiver me timbers, arrr, makin' t' motor itself part o' t' structure (and in t' photos, t' motor be painted black t' match the Recruit). Now t' fun part: t' hold t' Recruits t' t' booster, arrr, I CAed two tiny pieces o' 0.010" music wire 1" apart and formed little Z-bends, arrr, then drilled pinholes in t' booster correspondin' t' these. Well, blow me down! T' wire hooks then slip into t' booster and are held tight when a motor is inserted into t' BT-20. Arrr! T' trick is t' make them so short that they just barely penetrate t' BT-20, so that when t' MMX ejection charges kick, t' music wire hooks are pulled out and t' Recruit falls away.

T' booster is pretty straightforward. Ya scallywag! BT-20 marked for 4 fins flush with t' aft end. Avast! Since this is gap staged t' a 13mm sustainer, I wanted t' use a stuffer tube so put a BT-5 into a 13/18 centerin' rin' and used a spent motor to push it up t' BT-20. Begad! I had added a forward centerin' rin' about 1/2" back from t' end and punched a couple vent holes at t' top. Begad! T' booster can generally tumble, but if you want a token streamer, it can fit in betwixt t' BT-5 and BT-20 if you leave a little more room by settin' t' forward 13/18 rin' back more than 1".

T' sustainer is similar t' t' booster--Series 7 tube marked for 4 fins but a MT-5 motor tube usin' 13/18 centerin' rings. Blimey! T' rings might need a wrap o' paper added t' them t' fit snugly inside t' series 7 tube. Blimey! I built up t' OD o' a piece o' T-2 tubin' through paper and centerin' rings so that t' end fit snugly into a 13/10 centering rin' motor block, arrr, which seals off t' sustainer motor tube. This T-2 is actually t' stuffer tube that vents the ejection charges through t' roller bearin' assembly and deployin' t' streamer from t' upper section.

T' spinnin' mechanism is actually pretty simple. Ahoy! T' sustainer body should be cut into two sections, ya bilge rat, lower and upper. Blimey! Arrr! T' roller bearings are mounted flush inside t' aft end o' t' upper section and probably need a couple wraps o' paper for a snug fit. Once that's completely dry (I'd consider usin' epoxy, shiver me timbers, but only if you can avoid any drips or runs onto t' bearings themselves), apply a little epoxy t' t' T-2 and slide t' bearin' assembly down until t' upper section is just a hair above t' lower section. Avast! When cured, this should now allow t' upper section t' spin freely while t' lower section remains fixed.

T' sustainer mounts t' t' booster by loadin' a 13mm motor that extends about 1/2" aft o' t' motor tube, which in turn slips into t' stuffer BT-5 tube in t' booster. Begad! Ya scallywag! T' sustainer body tube should rest on top o' (but not overlapping) t' booster.

I'll leave t' other detailin' up t' t' more serious builder t' sort out on his own, although I will offer one tip on a very easy way t' deal with t' stringers. Ahoy! I used t' template widget on EMRR t' print out a 32-fin pattern wrap for t' series 7 tube (0.759"). Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! I then cut it t' t' stringer length and glued it t' t' sustainer tube. Begad! With t' pattern in place, I then brushed on a thin CA and with careful use o' tweezers laid each stringer in place over one o' t' fin pattern lines. T' whole thin' is painted over with white anyway, me hearties, and t' paper wrap is nay at all noticeable. Well, blow me down!

Finishing:
Paint notes: Recruits are solid black. WASP is base white on everything, then follow up with fins--one yellow on each stage, 3 red on each stage. T' antenna is silver.

I also printed out a set o' decals (see attached pattern) for t' United States letterin' and for t' red stripe/box patterns.

Flight:
I had made a couple test flights on a boilerplate o' t' model, me hearties, me hearties, makin' sure t' basic design would work, matey, each of which went fairly well. Ahoy! I had some issues with t' Recruits--too tight and they would nay come off in flight, arrr, but when they did come off in flight, it tended t' be so high that they basically disappeared, matey, makin' them practically a flight consumable item. I wound up paintin' them day glo orange for tracking, which helped, but would hardly be useful for the finished model.

For t' NARAM flight, I loaded up a B6-0 in t' booster, arrr, t' lowest certified booster motor available and way more power than I wanted t' give this, me bucko, especially since I be forgoin' t' launch lug in favor o' a piston t' improve me scale score (lugs tend nay t' match t' real rocket and lead t' point deductions). Begad! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' Recruits each got MMX's with t' new Q2 no-pyrogen igniters. T' sustainer was flown on a 1/2A3-4T, although it would do just fine on a 1/4A as well, me bucko, given how high t' booster would be going.

T' first stage went beautifully with all 3 motors lightin' and clean, matey, straight boost off t' piston. Well, matey, blow me down! It zipped almost instantly up over 200 feet, strainin' eyesight t' track. T' second stage lit fine but hung on t' stuffer tube just a hair too long and tipped off for about a 45 degree slant. Aye aye! It fired t' ejection fine, and t' streamer brought it down safely.

Recovery:
I managed t' locate t' booster and t' sustainer, but only one o' t' two Recruits. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! T' Recruit I found be very close t' t' sustainer, indicatin' that it probably didn't separate in flight and popped off upon landing. T' other one probably same off in flight as designed, shiver me timbers, as thar was a definite scorch mark on t' booster where t' charge vented out. I be too pressed for time that day t' try t' find t' 4" piece o' black T-2 tubin' in t' grass area the roughly 60 yards o' flight distance from launch t' landing, so I will have t' make a replacement Recruit before it flies clustered again. It is still a perfectly fine flier without t' clustered strap-ons, shiver me timbers, however, ya bilge rat, it's just not nearly as cool.