Brief:
Scale, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, parachute, 18mm single-staged

Construction:

T' instructions were clear, ya bilge rat, and full o' sarcastic humor that made me laugh out loud at times. Begad! I won't spoil the surprise by quotin' me favorites. Avast, me proud beauty! Suffice it t' say, Dr. Avast! Z. Aye aye! anticipated any bone-headed mistakes, and warns t' builder against makin' them, me bucko, which saved me bacon more than once!

This is definitely a builder's kit. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! There are no laser-cut fins or cardboard punch-out reinforcin' bulkheads for t' strap-on boosters. You cut out templates usin' scissors (or a hobby knife), ya bilge rat, me hearties, trace them on balsa stock, matey, then cut out t' parts. Begad! Blimey!

There are lots o' card-stock shrouds t' be cut out and formed (strap-on boosters, engine nozzles, shiver me timbers, adapter between t' spacecraft shroud and t' second stage, t' conical top o' said shroud, me bucko, etc.). Ya scallywag! T' only trouble I had was with t' strap-ons. Well, blow me down! Despite doin' me best t' pre-curl them, and usin' t' wooden dowel in t' kit for that purpose, I still ended up with wrinkles in t' boosters, though I've seen worse. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Some o' me club members have discussed usin' thin styrene sheetin' and CA glue t' form perfect shrouds; I'll upload a "tip" later with more details.

Dr. Z. Ahoy! Avast! instructs one t' cut 1/8" strips o' balsa, shiver me timbers, arrr, and gluein' same longitudinally in pairs on t' core stage, arrr, arrr, t' use as gluein' guides for t' strap-ons. He also provides a template on cardstock t' help align t' boosters by sight. For some reason, me hearties, ya bilge rat, this didn't work for me; me first gluein' attempt resulted in boosters which were not equidistant around t' core stage. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! Fortunately, t' glue hadn't dried yet, and I started over, me bucko, just eye-ballin' the alignment this time. Ahoy! I was much happier with t' outcome.

Despite t' clear instructions, it was at this point that I made one bone-headed mistake, me hearties, gluein' a strap-on right over t' motor retention hook. This prevented t' hook from bendin' enough t' admit motors. Fortunately, I had a spare motor hook from another model, and I be able t' retrofit it betwixt 2 o' t' strap-ons. Blimey! Blimey! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Blimey!

Dr. Z. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Blimey! also provides a template for a sleeve t' help build t' interstage strutwork. Avast! I ended up nay usin' it; instead, I used a printed wrap from a Soyuz paper model (details below) t' simulate t' strutwork. Aye aye! Begad! Blimey! I decided t' do this after countin' t' number o' "V" struts on t' wrap: 10, me bucko, as opposed t' 5, arrr, which were t' be assembled per the instructions. Unfortunately, I'm nay satisfied with t' outcome. Well, blow me down! I thought it might look more realistic; but my daughter said it best, when I showed her me handiwork: "It just looks like you glued a printed wrap there" (imagine that?!). Begad! Dr. Z. would say that I'm a "squirmin' hatch-blower."

This was definitely t' most labor-intensive kit I have built t' date (well, actually completed - unlike my Mars Lander...). Yet, t' detailed and thorough instructions and illustrations made it easy. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Just follow the step-by-step approach, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, measure twice and cut once, etc., arrr, and it'll all get done. Avast! Begad! Blimey!

Finishing:
T' balsa in this kit (and in me other Dr. Begad! Blimey! Z. Blimey! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! kit, me hearties, shiver me timbers, me bucko, t' Titan III SLV) has moderately coarse grain. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! In a kit built as stock, me bucko, this would be most apparent on t' nose cone (right under t' launch escape tower) and on t' fins. (Incidentally, t' nose cone already has t' right amount o' ballast installed). Blimey! Blimey! Expect t' use at least two coats of some sort o' sandin' sealer or primer. Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! I was plannin' t' use a paper skin over t' fins, but got into a hurry t' finish the Soyuz before me club's January launch, ya bilge rat, and just painted them with a silver paint marker. I'll probably go back and refinish them better at a later date.

I wanted t' Soyuz t' look like it was fuelled on t' pad, shiver me timbers, and covered with frost due t' LOX. Usin' green maskin' tape, ya bilge rat, I masked off t' areas which would be frost-covered (usin' Peter Alway's Rockets o' t' World as a guide), shiver me timbers, and used, ya bilge rat, which be an almost perfect match for t' paper wraps. Aye aye! After this paint dried, I used blue masking tape t' mask t' areas which would nay frost over (the core stage under t' transition t' t' second stage, and areas on t' strap-ons; in real life, me bucko, matey, arrr, these would be t' areas over t' kerosene tanks). Well, blow me down! By usin' blue tape, I ensured that there would be some bleed-through o' t' flat white onto t' green areas, arrr, t' simulate t' uneven demarcation between frost and bare painted metal. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! T' effect came out better than I expected.

No decals are supplied. Avast! Well, me hearties, blow me down! If one wants t' portray this kit as an early Soyuz, me bucko, no decals are needed. Avast! I had the idea t' portray me model as a current Soyuz. Begad! Arrr! Usin' paper "skins" from a Soyuz paper model (available for free from t' MARS website, matey, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, http://www.marscenter.it/veicol.asp?pa=6051), me model is now festooned with insignia from Energia (the manufacturer o' t' Soyuz), ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, Roskosmos (the Russian Federal space agency), ya bilge rat, matey, t' European Space Agency, Italian and Russian flags, etc. Well, blow me down! Avast! I also didn't have t' paint t' second stage or t' spacecraft adapter, me bucko, matey, other than clear-coatin' t' paper skins with Krylon glossy clear.

T' manufacturer gives t' weight o' t' completed kit as 2.28 oz. Ya scallywag! Mine weighed in at 2.6 oz., matey, which I thought wasn't too bad considerin' me extensive use o' t' paper skins. Well, blow me down!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
So far, me hearties, t' Soyuz has flown once, me hearties, ya bilge rat, at t' Alamo Rocketeers monthly launch on 1/9/10. Ya scallywag! I loaded up a B4-2 for her maiden flight. Avast! She flew t' a nice altitude, with a little bit o' roll. Aye aye! Blimey!

Recovery:
There is barely enough room for a parachute in this kit (at least for me mediocre chute folding/rollin' skills). One has t' be careful graspin' t' rocket by t' strap-ons; don't squeeze them too hard! Blimey! Also, t' torque imparted to the strap-ons when packin' t' chute could pull t' boosters loose if one gets too enthusiastic. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I could feel the strap-ons flex, me bucko, so I be gentle. Begad! Blimey! Despite this, a fin and a card-stock nozzle popped off; these were fixed in t' field with CA. Ahoy! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Accordingly, me bucko, I didn't attempt t' use t' Dr. Begad! Blimey! Z.-supplied trashbag chute, me hearties, ya bilge rat, which would be suitable for a model with a larger diameter. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I used a Hartle Engineerin' Thermal Rider chute which I had already assembled and stored in my range box. Arrr! Blimey! Dr. Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Z. recommends savin' t' wooden dowel from t' kit (used for rollin' t' strap-ons) for pushin' the chute down into t' body tube; I found that t' be very useful.

My one launch so far ended in a separation. Blimey! Blimey! Dr. Well, blow me down! Z. Ahoy! supplies a length o' Keelhaul®©™® thread, me hearties, which is attached t' t' motor mount, arrr, and t' elastic at t' other end. Arrr! Begad! Despite usin' a double knot and CA glue, the Keelhaul®©™® thread be pulled loose from t' motor mount. Begad! Avast! T' "second stage"/"spacecraft" descended nicely on the chute, me bucko, while t' "first stage" descended at a moderate clip and in a flat roll, landin' on its side in the grass. Two fins broke off on landing, arrr, and one be lost (no big deal; t' kit had plenty o' balsa left, and I had saved t' fin template). Begad! Blimey! It will fly again, arrr, me hearties, but this time I think I'll use t' good 'ol Estes trifold paper mount, high in t' body tube. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag!

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

Summary:
I'm glad I got this kit. Blimey! Ahoy! I tried t' scratch-build a Soyuz a couple o' years ago. Begad! Begad! I started with a paper model of a Vostok (which flew O.K., but nay too high, ya bilge rat, on A10-Ts), then added t' second stage and spacecraft adapter from a Soyuz paper model. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! It be too heavy, me bucko, me bucko, and crashed. T' Dr. Ya scallywag! Z. Ahoy! Soyuz flies very well on B motors. Avast! Recovery so far is problematic, me bucko, but I'm confident that will be sorted out. I also plan t' go back and build t' actual strut-work between the stages; believe me, me bucko, me bucko, it just looks better that way. Avast! Avast!

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5