Brief:
T' 500-F be a facilities checkout vehicle supportin' t' Saturn V program. Full sized and almost fully functional, arrr, this is another fine Saturn that never flew (see my Zooch Saturn C5 review). Begad! Fittingly, this is a review o' a not-yet-introduced beta kit, so for t' time bein' you'll never get t' fly one either. Well, blow me down! Begad! Still, it's a neat kit, great scale model value, and if you bug Wes hard enough, arrr, he just might kit one o' these up for you too.

Construction:
Like all Dr. Avast! Zooch kits, this one comes in a distinctive small white cardboard box that sized just right t' also hold t' finished model (in two pieces). Avast! It's a small thing, but t' me t' packagin' is one o' me favorite aspects o' Zooch kits--it stores t' model nicely and has a picture label on t' outside so you always know what's what.

For t' beta kit, me hearties, shiver me timbers, t' parts list on t' instructions was incomplete. Well, blow me down! I was also missin' a couple parts, ya bilge rat, but that issue was smartly resolved.

T' parts list:

• 1 BT-60 body tube
• 1 BT-20 motor tube
• 2 20/60 centerin' rings (black fiber)
• cardstock wraps/patterns
• 2 BT-20 tubes
• 2 balsa transitions
• balsa fin stock
• waterslide decals
• red garbage bag chute
• assorted dowels/trim do-dads

Instructions are another distinctive feature o' Zooch kits, and this one is typical. You'll either love or hate 'em (and you'll have t' appreciate sarcasm and dry humor t' love 'em). Well, blow me down! Begad! T' instructions were generally well written and illustrated although it certainly helps t' have built at least one other Zooch kit, ya bilge rat, matey, me bucko, preferably a Saturn V before.

Motor mount construction is an 18mm tube, ya bilge rat, metal clip, matey, and pair o' 20/60 centerin' rings. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! No motor block is included so it wouldn't be a bad idea to slip one in if you've got a spare.

Then t' instructions suggest pre-paintin' most body parts. Well, blow me down! Considerin' the paper wraps added later, this is an excellent suggestion. Ya scallywag! Don't bother painting the 60/20 transition as it's covered by a wrap later.

Next up are t' fin fairings. Well, blow me down! These are cut from a BT-20 tube after you've glued pattern wraps t' t' tube. Begad! It's a fairly slick idea. Ya scallywag! Begad! One suggestion I have for makin' t' cuttin' go more smoothly would be t' slip in a spent 18mm motor before you cut. Blimey! This keeps t' tube from bendin' in.

Then comes t' S-II/S-IVB adaptor. Well, blow me down! This is nothin' more than gluin' a paper wrap t' t' balsa transition. Arrr! Aye aye! I found t' wrap t' be slightly oversized but easily trimmed it t' fit.

T' body wraps fit fine, matey, me hearties, but t' beta instructions had a typo on the spacin' o' t' lower wrap that I didn't catch until too late, matey, makin' mine a not-very-scale 500-F. Begad! Blimey! T' space betwixt t' lower two wraps be listed as 11 1/16 inch (with "inch" typed overlappin' t' 1/16). A couldn't tell if it was meant t' be 1-1/16 or 1-11/16, me bucko, shiver me timbers, so guessed 1-11/16. Wrong. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Blimey! 1-1/16 might work, shiver me timbers, but I suspect it be supposed t' be 11/16. Begad! Blimey! I'm sure t' problem will be corrected before final release.

With t' wraps in place, you can then attach t' fairings then start to work on t' Apollo spacecraft/upper stage. Ahoy! This starts with a (pre-weighted) balsa transition and you add a paper wrap, arrr, paper shroud, and wood dowel tower. There's a paper wrap tower base that goes around t' dowel and a red shroud base cap. It doesn't look too bad for ant scale, me hearties, however, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, I do still prefer the painful yet detailed work o' makin' a tower by hand as it be an option in Zooch's earlier Saturn kits.

Next up is cuttin' and paintin' then attachin' t' fins. Arrr! My fins didn't quite fit through t' slots I cut in t' fairings, me hearties, so I had a good deal of tinkering/rework t' get everythin' in place.

At this point we hit on one o' me pet peeves o' t' Zooch Saturn V's: the wraps don't cover t' entire black stripes on t' lower stage. Arrr! Begad! Blimey! You have to "connect" t' lower two wraps with black paint. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Blimey! This doesn't quite match t' wrap shade, and unless you're extremely careful, me hearties, you might find your wraps don't line up perfectly either. Begad! Blimey! I have no idea why this isn't done with either a single wrap or at least printed black inserts.

T' last "construction" aspect is fabrication o' t' F-1 engines. These are fairly tricky but are an amazin' detail, especially once you hit them with silver or aluminum paint. See any o' me other Zooch Saturn reviews for more details on these plus pictures.

Finishing:
Since t' majority o' t' finishin' is done via paper wraps, finishin' this is fairly easy. Ya scallywag! Avast! T' only real finishin' work, me bucko, arrr, if you could call it that, lies in cutting/shapin' t' various details out o' dowel stock, then paintin' and attachin' them. Begad! That probably accounted for about 3 hours o' me time versus the roughly 1 hour I spent paintin' t' tube/transitions and attachin' t' wraps.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
For t' maiden flight I decided t' go for t' lowest recommended motor, an A8-3, ya bilge rat, mainly because I had one left in a pack and needed somethin' t' stick it in. Arrr! Ya scallywag! As t' instructions note, "that's for wimps--this is a Saturn V! You're a steely-eyed rocket engineer, me bucko, so shove a C6-3 into this baby and watch it blast out o' sight". Begad! Begad! T' A8-3 was indeed, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, a very wimpy choice. Avast! It flew fine although barely 100 feet up, and I'll certainly be flyin' this on Bs and Cs in t' future.

Recovery:
T' recovery on this is a red garbage bag with adhesive reinforcements and shroud lines. Arrr! It is effective although on other Zooch kits I've found the Keelhaul®©™® rips through t' reinforcements. Ya scallywag! I typically wind up swappin' out t' stock chute for a 15" rip stop nylon from me range box.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
This is another fine addition t' t' Zooch Saturn line. Begad! If you haven't built one, you're really missin' out. Avast, me proud beauty! I don't know that I'd start with this one, but it's certainly worth considerin' if you're lookin' for a Saturn V that's a bit off t' beaten path. Blimey! Most o' t' Zooch Saturns have never been previously offered in kit form by any manufacturer, so this is your only chance t' build a unique slice o' history.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5