Brief:
This 18mm version o' t' Lambda-Class Shuttle was produced in limited quantities by EAT (Essence Aerospace Technologies). Aye aye! Although t' kit isn't bein' produced, shiver me timbers, you can still purchase a plan pak [here]. Avast! It is one o' t' most innovative kits around and is a great addition t' anyone's fleet.

Construction:
Parts:

•  One 1/4" balsa sheet (3" x 6")
•  Two 1/8" balsa sheet (6" x 7" each)
•  One 3/32" balsa sheet (3" x 1")
•  3" 18mm motor tube
•  18mm thrust rin'
•  18mm thin plastic, ya bilge rat, 2 piece nose cone
•  1/8" launch lug
•  24" Keelhaul®©™® shock cord
•  18" plastic parachute
•  BB's
•  Decal set

Tools/materials:

•  Pencil
•  Metric ruler (T-Square is recommended, but I didn't use one)
•  X-acto-type knife with a new blade (I did follow this advice)
•  Estes 18mm motor (spent or not)
•  Wood glue - TiteBond Original is recommended
•  5-minute epoxy
•  CA
•  Maskin' tape
•  Sand paper (220 grit) on a block
•  Sand paper (220 grit) on a dowel
•  Sand paper (400 grit) on and off a block
•  Wood filler (Elmer's Fill-n-Finish, arrr, ya bilge rat, etc) or paper for lamination

This is nay your typical kit with 3 - 4 fins t' cut. Aye aye! T' Lambda-Class Shuttle has 13 unique balsa parts and 19 total. Ya scallywag! T' instructions were highly detailed with plenty o' color photos. Ahoy! T' kit includes a page o' templates and a couple o' alignment guides. T' parts were all o' nice quality, me hearties, except I thought t' nose cone was flimsy. Begad! I'm sure other cones could be substituted. Ya scallywag!

Your first build t' base assembly, which consists o' three balsa pieces, the motor tube and motor block. Ya scallywag! This was straightforward and went together easily with wood glue. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! T' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord is attached t' t' joint betwixt t' core and t' motor tube with 5-minute epoxy.

You then cut out t' large top fin and strengthen it. Well, blow me down! More on this later. T' fin is attached t' t' top o' t' motor tube usin' t' fin alignment guide. I used black rubberized CA in place o' wood glue.

T' canopy is constructed over t' base and around t' top fin. Begad! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! This consists o' four balsa sections. Begad! T' top and sides go on first and t' aft plate later. Avast, me proud beauty! I miss-measured ever so slightly and had to adjust t' aft plate slightly. Arrr! Ya scallywag! Luckily, ya bilge rat, I test fit t' template before I cut balsa. Begad! At this point, arrr, I also I added t' lower win' supports and let it all sit overnight.

I strengthened t' lower wings t' same way as t' top (again, shiver me timbers, me hearties, more later). While this be drying, shiver me timbers, I filled and sanded t' body.

For t' nose cone, you start by gluin' t' shoulder into t' cone with CA. I used black rubberized CA and accelerant t' assemble t' entire nose. Well, blow me down! Arrr! After it is dry, me hearties, you cut t' top away at an angle that sets t' downward slant o' the upper nose cone plate. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! T' shell o' t' cone consists o' six balsa sections. You start by alignin' t' top plate with t' body while it is layin' on the surface o' t' cone that you just cut, and gluin' it in place. Avast, me proud beauty! With t' plate flush with t' body, I simply twisted t' cone until it had t' best fit. Begad! You then add t' bottom and t' sides. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! T' side pieces have t' be beveled and took some effort t' assemble. Ahoy! I also found that t' sides were a bit long, probably due t' some problem with t' angle o' t' nose cone (?). Well, blow me down! This be easily compensated for. Avast, me proud beauty! T' final step is fillin' t' nose with BB's and epoxy. Avast! I ran out o' five minute so I used 20 minute epoxy. Arrr! I also threw in some #7 ½ lead shot t' boost t' weight, just in case I built t' body too heavy. Buildin' light is a consistent warnin' with this kit. Arrr! Oh, and I almost forgot to set t' shock cord in t' BB/epoxy mix. Blimey! Arrr! This would have been a major problem. Aye aye! After t' epoxy had cured, matey, I sanded t' edges and did some filling with fill-n-finish. Ahoy! Ahoy! T' nose cone did live up t' t' reputation as bein' the most difficult part o' t' kit. Nevertheless, t' cone looks fine and fits perfectly in spite o' t' few minor issues encountered.

I have t' rate t' construction o' t' kit a 4. Ya scallywag! I had a few minor difficulties, but you have t' realize t' kit is advertised as being skill-level 5. Avast! Luckily, these were all easily correctable.

Now for t' saga o' how I strengthened t' fins. Note that this be my problem and is nay a mark against t' kit. Avast! Begad! I'm merely tellin' this in case anyone else is so foolish. Blimey! I elected t' laminate it with draftin' vellum and 3-M spray adhesive. Well, blow me down! This be t' first time I tried this, me bucko, so it was itself an experiment. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! I sprayed two entire sheets with t' adhesive, sandwiched t' fin, and pressed it flat while t' glue dried. Aye aye! I then trimmed t' paper, applied thin CA t' t' edges, me bucko, and sanded them flat. Arrr! This seemed t' work well, me hearties, shiver me timbers, so I used the same method on t' lower fins. Ahoy! Begad! After a day, thar were a few bubbles, but nothin' that couldn't be fixed. But, shiver me timbers, disaster struck when I primed t' model. T' solvent in t' primer attacked t' glue and after it dried about 50% o' the paper was lifted from t' balsa. I ended up pullin' all t' paper off. Begad! The remainin' surface is gummy and a mess. Well, blow me down! Since I added a little extra nose weight, me hearties, I added 1/64" birch ply over both sides o' t' lower section of the top fin. Begad! Ahoy! It only extends from t' small tab where t' fin attaches up to where t' leadin' edge starts backwards. Ya scallywag! Still, me hearties, this is nay a recommended strengthenin' method. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty!

Finishing:
In t' final version, matey, all balsa surfaces were filled with fill-n-finish. Ya scallywag! I gave it a couple o' coats o' white primer and then painted it with Wal-Mart brand chrome paint. It was supposed t' be Plasti-Kote Car Color Ford Motors 8147 - Platinum, but I couldn't resist t' cheaper paint. Aye aye! T' kit included some decals, includin' one with t' kit's serial number - mine is S/N #3. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! I also managed t' wrangle an extended set o' decals that weren't in t' kit. Thanks, Nick! Theses decals were some o' t' easiest t' work with, me bucko, matey, possibly because they came pre-coated.

For a kit o' this size, thar be a lot o' balsa surface t' seal/finish - actually t' entire surface is balsa. I guess I give it a finishin' ratin' of 4, me bucko, which keeps t' overall construction ratin' a 4. Begad!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I carefully packed t' chute and stuffed it into t' cavity next t' t' motor tube. I repacked it a couple o' times and it still seemed too tight t' me. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! And it was. Begad! Avast! I flew t' Shuttle twice on a C6-3 and a B6-2. Aye aye! Both flights were straight and it appeared t' try t' fly parallel t' t' ground after burn out. This rocket was in general a crowd-pleaser and really caught t' attention of the visitin' scout troop! On t' first flight with t' C6-3 t' chute didn't budge, but it landed without damage. Begad! Begad! On t' second flight, t' chute almost deployed. Begad! Blimey! This time t' top fin snapped off. Blimey! Aye aye! It is easily repairable and will fly again. Well, blow me down! Due t' t' chute issues, I have t' give it a flight ratin' o' 3.5, me hearties, matey, includin' an extra point for t' cool factor.

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
This was a challenging, unique kit and was fun t' build and fly. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! The instructions were great and quality o' t' parts were good, with t' exception of maybe t' nose cone. Well, blow me down! There were a few places that I ended up havin' parts that didn't fit. This was probably me fault and was easily corrected. T' chute packin' issue be t' biggest con with this kit. Blimey! Begad! Goin' up it flies great, matey, coming down was another story. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag!

Jase, me bucko, how about a drag race at t' next TRF Meet?

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5