Brief:
I have been a fan o' t' Astrobee 1500 for years. Ahoy! My first cut at one was a large scratch built bird for a NARAM many years ago. Begad! Begad! That bird be about 40" tall and flew on a composite engine. So when I saw an actual kit of this vehicle I knew I had t' have it. T' kit is produced from a Peter Alway design by Balsa Machinin' Service. Avast, me proud beauty! T' actual Astrobee is a conglomeration of rocket motors that was internally developed by Aerojet t' sell t' NASA for high altitude, me bucko, ballistic trajectory soundin' flights. Ahoy! It was t' largest sounding rocket that NASA has ever flown. Begad! I found this a very attractive scale model that I needed t' add t' me collection. Ya scallywag! Begad! With mostly precut parts and excellent components, this is a great scale model t' add t' any collection.

Construction:
My kit was ordered from Aerospace Specialty Products. Avast, me proud beauty! When it arrived, I immediately opened it t' see what type o' construction job I was goin' t' be performing. T' parts were all high quality based on Peter's design and BMS's materials. As is always true o' BMS parts, they were excellent quality. Begad! Ya scallywag! The large balsa nose cone that is actually t' second stage shroud and nose cone was a perfect turning. T' fins were very thin basswood that be laser cut. The attach fittings for t' strap on boosters t' t' first stage were also laser cut from basswood. There were also turned nose cones and balsa nozzle plugs for the strap-on boosters. T' tube "doublers" for t' strap-ons were laser precut from t' paper tubin' which made construction even easier. Blimey! The engine mount centerin' rings were laser cut from heavy fiber board. Begad! An elastic shock cord and parachute were included for recovery. Begad! Arrr! T' instructions were good although probably nay perfect.

T' kit includes:

• First stage body tube with laser cut slots for fins and strap-on boosters.
• Second stage/nose cone single piece balsa cone.
• Laser cut basswood fins.
• Laser cut fiber board centerin' rings.
• Strap-on booster balsa nose and tail cones.
• Strap-on booster tubes.
• Laser cut strap-on booster double tube.
• Engine mount tube.
• Mylar parachute and elastic shock cord.
• Launch lug.

T' basic construction is typical o' any smaller model rocket, shiver me timbers, however, the engine mount installation is a bit different. Begad! Blimey! T' upper centerin' rin' is attached t' t' engine tube but t' lower one is nay glued on at this time. Once t' front rin' be glued and dried, ya bilge rat, t' engine mount was glued into the rocket body at t' front end only usin' t' "loose" aft centering rin' t' center t' tube. Blimey! Blimey! T' aft rin' was then removed t' allow for internally gluin' t' through-the-wall fins into place from inside t' tube.

T' fins use built up construction t' correctly simulate t' actual vehicle. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! There are two side panels and three edge panels that make up t' fin. T' one thin' that troubled me with this kit was t' fins. Aye aye! Even though very thin basswood is used for t' fin, arrr, me hearties, t' leadin' edge joint is goin' t' have a flat edge twice t' thickness o' t' basswood as built per t' instructions. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! I knew t' actual vehicle had sheet metal fins with a relatively sharp leading edge. Well, blow me down! I actually contacted Peter about this and be told thar be no simple solution so he designed it this way. Aye aye! Arrr! I wanted t' have t' sharp leadin' edge so once I had t' fins completed, shiver me timbers, I took epoxy putty and built up a ¼" wide leadin' edge across t' fin that tapered t' a sharp tip. It means me model is slightly out o' scale, but it looks much better.

T' fins attached t' t' body through laser cut slots. It was a little difficult t' get t' fin tabs through these slots, matey, but it makes for a nice strong joint with no need t' fillet t' fin at t' tube t' maintain a scale appearance. T' filletin' is done internally at t' tube t' tab joints. Arrr! Ahoy! Once this internal filletin' be complete, t' aft engine mount rin' was glued in place.

T' strap-on boosters also required some extra work but t' laser cut attach rings and tubin' doublers made this a bit less tedious. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! T' doubler tubes were glued t' t' strap-on tube and then t' attach fittings are glued into place. Aye aye! There is a balsa nose cone and also a balsa tail insert. Ahoy! Avast! T' tail insert is glued in place and a paper nozzle cut from a template is glued around the balsa tail fitting. T' completed boosters should be set aside and painted before attachin' t' t' main stage. Ya scallywag! After finishin' and paintin' these boosters and t' overall rocket, I epoxied t' boosters t' t' main stage into t' laser cut holes on t' main stage. Blimey! Avast! These laser cut holes make alignment and attachment a relative breeze. T' shock cord is glued internally t' t' lower stage.

A launch lug was provided and glued at two locations on t' lower stage. T' large nose cone comes with a screw eye for attachin' t' shock cord and parachute.

Finishing:
T' most time consumin' job on this kit was t' finish t' large fins and nose cones. T' second stage/nose cone balsa turnin' is very large and requires some effort t' finish. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! I am still usin' model airplane balsa filler coat and sanding sealer. I applied two coats o' filler t' t' nose cones and fins followed by three coats o' sandin' sealer. Ya scallywag! I sanded betwixt each coat. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! T' completed wood parts were very smooth with a very nice finish. One thin' I should note is that I finished t' fins prior t' installin' them into t' main tube.

I painted t' vehicle per t' scale black and white pattern usin' Krylon paints. Arrr! Arrr! I also did nay attach t' strap-on boosters until I had painted the main stage and t' boosters separately. Begad! T' paint pattern was nay that involved and I started with a gray primer followed by gloss white overall then I taped off t' black patterns. There were also two silver bands at t' top and bottom of t' second stage t' simulate t' marmon clamps. Begad! Adhesive chrome mylar was included for simulatin' t' clamps, me hearties, but I masked and sprayed t' clamps with silver paint instead.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I actually had this completed rocket on t' shelf for some months before flying it. Begad! Arrr! T' rocket is designed for D12s and I used a D12-5 for t' first and only flight. It was a bit windy in Bunnell, me hearties, Florida, on t' day I flew it. Well, blow me down! Prepping is standard and I used flame proof wadding. Ahoy! T' parachute be mylar and I had installed an elastic shock cord. Blimey! At ignition, it lifted straight off t' pad in a nearly vertical flight even with t' breeze. That is due t' t' extreme stability t' large fins provide. Begad! T' D12 probably lofted t' Astrobee t' about 800 feet. Ya scallywag! Well, me hearties, blow me down! T' chute came out at apogee and it drifted down wind which required a bit o' a walk t' pick up. Avast! Begad! Upon retrievin' t' Astrobee, I noticed that unfortunately at ejection t' nose had recoiled into t' first stage tube and gouged a small chunk out o' t' balsa nose. Back at t' workshop I filled it with wood putty and sanded it back t' shape before repaintin' t' nose cone.

Recovery:
Recovery was nominal and easy usin' t' included parachute.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This was a very nice kit, but I would only recommend it t' a patient, experienced modeler. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! T' parts are extremely well made and all high quality. Avast! It flies very well due t' t' large fins and makes an excellent addition t' a scale modelers' collection as well as a great display model. Arrr!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5