Brief:
This is a two-stage scale model o' t' WAC Corporal with Tiny Tim Booster from Aerospace Specialty Products. It has a 24mm booster stagin' t' an 18mm sustainer.

Construction:
Tiny Tim Booster Parts consist of:

• 1 Body Tube (BT-55)
• 1 Engine Tube (BT-50)
• 1 Stuffer Tube (BT-20)
• 1 Lower Telescopin' Tube (19mm)
• 1 Upper (Short) Telescopin' Tube (19mm)
• 1 Tube Coupler (BT-20 coupler)
• 3 1/16" Wood Dowels, arrr, 2 20/50 Centerin' Rings
• 3 50/55 Centerin' Rings
• 4 1/4" wide Strip Styrene
• 1 1/8" wide Strip Styrene
• 1 Paper Shroud
• 6 Rubber Bands
• 1 Basswood Strip
• 1 Launch Lug
• 3 Pre-Cut Fins

WAC Corporal (Upper Stage) parts consist of:

• 1 18mm motor tube
• 1 18mm Motor Block
• 2 20/50 Centerin' Rings
• 1 50/55 Centerin' Ring
• 1 Stuffer Tube
• 1 BT-55 Body Tube
• 1 Keelhaul®©™Shock Cord
• 1 Elastic Shock Cord
• 1 3/16" Launch Lug
• 1 1/4" Square Balsa Stick
• 1 Balsa Nose Cone
• 1 Screw Eye
• 3 Washer Nose Weights
• 3 Pre-cut Fins
• 1 Balsa Boat tail
• 1 Parachute Kit
• 2 Stagin' Tubes

T' BT-55 tube for t' upper stage had a significant crease in it. I'm nay sure where t' damage originated, but I contacted BRS Hobbies, which is where I purchased t' kit, matey, and Brian sent me a replacement tube immediately. Aye aye! BRS Hobbies is a great company t' deal with. Begad! Aye aye! Also, me bucko, matey, t' booster stage BT-55 tube was uneven on one end. Well, blow me down! I had t' trim about 1/8" t' make it even.

T' instructions were well documented with detailed steps and helpful illustrations. There is a checkbox beside each step t' help keep up with what you have done. Ya scallywag! If you read through them beforehand, you'll see some steps that can be done concurrently. Begad! There is also good information on how t' use t' necessary adhesives and different options for finishing. T' templates and illustrations were excellent except for t' fin marking/alignment guide. Begad! T' problem with t' fin markin' guide be t' body tube eclipses t' circle for t' body tube, shiver me timbers, so you don't know if it is perfectly aligned with it or not. Begad! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Instead o' usin' t' provided guide, I made me own with t' fin position wrapper and fin alignment guide printed from t' freeware program VCP. T' only other deviation I made was leavin' out t' washer nose weights. Aye aye! Based on t' CP/CG relationship they were nay necessary for stability. I learned a lot o' new scale modelin' techniques buildin' this rocket. Begad! Well, me bucko, blow me down! T' styrene strips on t' booster section looked awesome. Avast, me proud beauty! T' fins took a bit o' work though but were nay too hard t' shape. Aye aye! I worked hard t' get them t' way ASP suggested.

Finishing:
I prefinished t' body tubes with 3 coats o' Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! After shapin' t' fins, I coated them with 3 light coats o' yellow wood glue and sandin' lightly betwixt coats. Ya scallywag! I also did this t' t' balsa nose cone, matey, boat tail, me bucko, and balsa conduit. Begad! Well, blow me down! After t' glue treatment, ya bilge rat, I used 2 coats o' Fill 'n' Finish on t' balsa sections. I used Krylon primer and paint with a matte finish.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
I had some really bilge-suckin' flights with this, but none o' it be due t' t' rocket. Blimey! Blimey! T' recommended motors seem appropriate compared t' what I saw and simmed. Please note, nay t' try t' fly t' upper stage by itself on an A motor. Ahoy! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! T' recommended minimum is a B4-2. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! I tried it on an A8-5 and it lawndarted before t' ejection occurred. Avast! For t' first flight, shiver me timbers, I attempted a 2-stage configuration but forgot t' install t' upper stage motor. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! T' booster still pressurized t' upper stage enough t' deploy t' chute while boostin' and t' chute was destroyed. Avast! When it landed, matey, ya bilge rat, matey, t' booster suffered a broken fin, but I fixed it at t' field. Ya scallywag! I tried again t' same day. Arrr! On t' second flight, ya bilge rat, t' upper stage motor lit but did nay separate. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! I think I didn't secure it well enough and it got stuck on t' passport tube. It fried t' entire inside o' t' booster section. Aye aye! Through both flights, ya bilge rat, t' upper stage be nay damaged. Begad! Ahoy! I repaired t' booster section later and tried again. Ya scallywag! Begad! I flew t' upper stage by itself on too small a motor and lawndarted. Avast! Blimey! T' only damage was t' very tip o' t' nose cone. It looked a little mashed and I trimmed it at t' field. Begad! I then flew t' 2-stage configuration again. Well, blow me down! T' stagin' and flight were perfect, but t' field was a little too small and wind a little too strong. Arrr! Ya scallywag! I recovered t' booster, matey, but t' upper stage drifted off far away. I never found it. Blimey! I noticed afterwards thar was a big difference in me RockSim weight and t' ASP weight, which probably affected t' differences in estimated altitude. Ahoy! RockSim was predictin' only 400+ feet but ASP calculated 710'. I think t' rocket be probably a lot lighter than what I had modeled in RockSim. If I had weighed it beforehand and adjusted t' RockSim design, I probably would have gotten a more accurate estimation. Begad! Ya scallywag! I should have used a smaller chute and/or waited t' fly it in a bigger field.

Recovery:
T' booster uses tumble recovery and on t' one successful flight, me hearties, arrr, it came in undamaged. Begad! Arrr! T' upper stage comes with a 12" mylar chute. Blimey! Begad! Mine be destroyed on t' first flight when it came out too early. Avast! For subsequent flights I used a 12" military silk chute. Aye aye! Seein' as how I lost it, I'd say it came down too slow, matey, especially in 10+ mph wind. Blimey! In me opinion, t' upper stage is sturdy enough t' come down faster and nay sustain any damage.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
I think this is an excellent kit. Arrr! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I learned a lot about scale modelin' and stagin' . Even though t' flights were all ill-fated, me bucko, matey, it was from no fault o' t' rocket. This rocket suffered lots o' abuse and with minor repairs was still flyable. Aye aye! Blimey! T' durability is one o' t' main PROs o' this kit. Begad! Blimey! It also provides a good education t' those gettin' into scale modelin' and t' learn about direct staging. Aye aye! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I think t' only CON I found was t' alignment guide, which be probably usable I just didn't trust it. Arrr! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! This be an awesome rocket, and I look forward t' buildin' more kits from ASP in t' future.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5