Brief:
I've long admired t' looks o' t' "Astron Avenger," (KA-38) a long out-of-production two-staged kit introduced by Estes in t' late 60s. Begad! When t' plans for t' kit were posted on "JimZ's" wonderful site, I decided t' have a go at re-creatin' it.

I actually began this project in 1998! Blimey! It languished, ya bilge rat, unfinished, until t' summer o' 2000, me bucko, me hearties, when I completed t' arduous task o' sanding, filling, paintin' and detailing.

Construction:
Most o' t' Avenger's parts (body tubes, engine mounts, arrr, recovery system) are standard Estes material. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Because Estes itself makes it rather difficult t' obtain individual parts, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, I chose t' order t' parts for t' kit from Rogue Aerospace. Begad! Arrr! Blimey! I highly recommend this outfit, me hearties, me bucko, whose on-line catalog and order system are great.

T' Avenger's balsa nose cone (the BNC-50Y) was available from Rogue, but t' other balsa part I needed -- t' TA-5055 balsa adapter -- wasn't. Ya scallywag! Avast! I decided t' get both parts (and a bunch o' other cones for a Trident and Orbital Transport I'm still workin' on) from BMS. Begad! Arrr! T' adapter was a "semi-custom" part; I obtained t' measurements from t' 1970 Estes catalog. I decided almost from t' beginnin' t' use basswood for me Avenger's fins. Although a bit heavier than balsa, basswood is very tough and extremely easy t' finish. I bought me basswood from a "Michael's" craft store.

T' Avenger's plans are easy t' follow and logically laid out. Ya scallywag! T' Avenger is fairly easy t' build for someone who has had experience puttin' together custom kits. It does require some "lost skills," such as cuttin' fins from un-die-cut wood sheets, ya bilge rat, me hearties, so I don't recommend this project for beginners.

I ordered full length body tubes and cut them t' t' required lengths (see here for a great chart o' standard Estes tube lengths). Avast! Ya scallywag! I use t' method shown in t' yellow technical section o' t' 1970 Estes catalog. Ya scallywag! This requires a balsa block or coupler for each tube length.

Two phases o' construction require extra care: assembly (and insertion) o' t' engine mounts and alignment o' t' fins. Begad! Blimey! T' Avenger uses t' "cellophane tape" stagin' method. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' placement o' centerin' rings and engine blocks, me hearties, and insertion o' t' mounts into t' body tube, me bucko, must be made exactly as shown in t' plans. You should certainly test fit t' (thoroughly dry!) engine mounts into t' tube before gluing. Begad! Blimey! Try insertin' a pair o' taped-together motors in t' inserted-but-unglued mounts t' make sure everythin' "clicks."

T' Avenger's upper and lower fin sets are designed t' mesh with each other, creatin' t' appearance o' one large fin. Aye aye! It is very difficult t' get an exact match unless you are very careful about gluin' on t' fins. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! (My model's fins line up . . . but only in one orientation!)

I'll give t' Avenger a 3 out o' 5 for ease o' construction.

Finishing:
I decided t' give me Avenger a "catalog perfect" finish, arrr, with a paint scheme based on t' photos shown in t' 1971 Estes catalog. T' model is white overall, ya bilge rat, with one black fin and panel on each stage, me bucko, matey, a silver payload section and red nose cone. Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' main body o' t' upper stage features a custom roll bar.

I filled and sanded both t' fins and wood parts many times, me bucko, and filled in t' body tube spiral seams with thickened Balsa Fillercoat. Avast! Well, blow me down! This was followed up with several coats o' white primer, me bucko, matey, and t' white base coat.

Paintin' t' black fins and panels required a lot o' painstakin' maskin' work. Ya scallywag! I didn't examine t' catalog picture carefully enough before maskin' and ended up with a upper-stage black panel that be shorter than it should have been. Begad! Ya scallywag! An embarrassin' but far from fatal mistake!

After t' black, silver, and red coats were applied, I coated t' entire model with two coats o' "Future" floor wax, givin' each coat lots o' time (and summer heat) t' dry.

T' trickiest part o' t' finish was creatin' t' roll bar. It consists o' three long and three very short black bands. Aye aye! I used a ruler and calculator t' determine, from t' various catalog pictures available, t' length o' t' roll bar. Blimey! I drew t' pattern on t' back o' a piece o' gloss black trim Monokote and carefully cut out t' pieces. Avast, me proud beauty! Usin' a mechanical pencil, I carefully drew alignment marks on t' body tube, takin' care t' draw t' lightest line possible. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! After "wetting" t' tube with slightly soapy water, shiver me timbers, I carefully placed t' bars in place . . . one at a time, makin' sure each be aligned before goin' on t' t' next. Begad! T' slick surface o' t' "Future" wax, matey, ya bilge rat, and t' lubricatin' water, made it easy t' correct errors before rubbin' a bar.

I finished everythin' off with a few more coats o' "Future!" After everythin' was dried, me hearties, ya bilge rat, t' model looked wonderful. Ya scallywag! Except for t' shortened panel, me bucko, me hearties, t' model could have fallen out o' a catalog page.

In me case, I'll rate t' experience o' finishin' a 3 out o' 5. Avast! Blimey! It was a lot o' work, me hearties, but t' result was worth it.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
I flew me Avenger at t' August LUNAR launch in Livermore, me bucko, CA. Well, blow me down! For me first flight I used one o' me precious Estes B6-0 motors and Quest A6-4. Avast! T' delay o' t' latter tends t' run "long," makin' it a good replacement for t' old A8-5.

T' Avenger's motor mount design makes it easy t' mount and tape t' motors. Avast, me proud beauty! Although I've built and flown lots o' staged models, matey, I brought t' instructions with me and followed t' checklist. Well, blow me down! I didn't want t' take any chances!

Because I WANTED t' model back, arrr, I "reefed" t' 18" parachute t' reduce drift.

T' flight up be perfect! T' model was very stable and staged perfectly. I hooted in relief when t' recovery system deployed at what looked like apogee.

Recovery:
T' reefed parachute worked as intended in reducin' drift, ya bilge rat, but t' model did come down faster than it should. Ahoy! It landed on concrete and caused a hairline crack in t' paint along t' root edge o' t' "black" fin. Ahoy! T' fin joint itself was undamaged, me hearties, and a tiny pit o' paint (and more "Future") served t' cover t' damage.

A second flight, me hearties, shiver me timbers, in November, me bucko, usin' a B6-0 / B6-6 combination, me bucko, me bucko, matey, was similarly successful and very dramatic.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

UPDATE 4/01:

I'd like t' follow up on me article.

I flew t' Avenger again on Saturday 3/17, usin' t' B6-0 / A6-4 combo. Ahoy! Another good flight, but one o' t' fins snapped off t' booster. Arrr! It should be easy t' fix, me hearties, but I really wish that I'd made t' booster fins "through t' wall" t' prevent accidents like this. Blimey! Blimey! TTW construction adds a minimal amount o' weight, arrr, takes only a little amount o' extra effort, arrr, ya bilge rat, and makes t' fins almost impossible t' break off under normal use. Blimey! (Unfortunately, t' Avenger's design makes it almost impossible t' make t' sustainer fins "TTW.")

I also think it would be a good idea t' lengthen t' shoulder o' t' balsa transition section. T' shoulder o' t' 5055 adapter isn't long enough t' comfortably support t' payload section. Ahoy! Blimey! This could be done by askin' BMS t' turn t' adaptor with a longer shoulder, me hearties, or by addin' 1" or so o' BT-55 coupler t' t' adaptor.

On a brighter note, me bucko, at least two veteran rocketeers came up and told me that they owned Avengers way back when and got a kick out o' t' recreation.

UPDATE 8/01:

After repairin' t' broken fin, me hearties, I fly me Astron Avenger with motors from back when it was a production kit: A B14-0 / B4-6 combination. Ahoy! Blimey! Well, me bucko, blow me down! Blimey! T' B14 is a "kickass" B motor with a thrust spike higher than that o' a D12. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' B4 is a relatively long-burnin' motor.

T' B14 got t' model goin' really quickly. Arrr! Blimey! Stagin' occured less than 50 feet up. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' B4 kept t' upper stage movin' for quite awhile. Begad! Blimey! I got it back with no damage this time.