Brief:
Scale, me hearties, parachute, me bucko, 18mm single-staged

Construction:

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

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

There are lots o' card-stock shrouds t' be cut out and formed (strap-on boosters, ya bilge rat, engine nozzles, adapter between t' spacecraft shroud and t' second stage, t' conical top o' said shroud, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, etc.). Well, blow me down! T' only trouble I had was with t' strap-ons. Despite doin' me best t' pre-curl them, me hearties, and usin' t' wooden dowel in t' kit for that purpose, me bucko, matey, I still ended up with wrinkles in t' boosters, me bucko, though I've seen worse. 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. Ahoy! Z. Avast! instructs one t' cut 1/8" strips o' balsa, and gluein' same longitudinally in pairs on t' core stage, t' use as gluein' guides for t' strap-ons. Aye aye! He also provides a template on cardstock t' help align t' boosters by sight. Aye aye! Arrr! For some reason, me hearties, this didn't work for me; me first gluein' attempt resulted in boosters which were not equidistant around t' core stage. Fortunately, t' glue hadn't dried yet, shiver me timbers, and I started over, just eye-ballin' the alignment this time. I was much happier with t' outcome.

Despite t' clear instructions, ya bilge rat, it be at this point that I made one bone-headed mistake, shiver me timbers, gluein' a strap-on right over t' motor retention hook. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! This prevented t' hook from bendin' enough t' admit motors. Aye aye! Fortunately, I had a spare motor hook from another model, and I be able t' retrofit it betwixt 2 o' t' strap-ons. Avast!

Dr. Arrr! Z. Avast, me proud beauty! also provides a template for a sleeve t' help build t' interstage strutwork. Aye aye! Begad! I ended up nay usin' it; instead, I used a printed wrap from a Soyuz paper model (details below) t' simulate t' strutwork. Begad! Ya scallywag! I decided t' do this after countin' t' number o' "V" struts on t' wrap: 10, as opposed t' 5, which were t' be assembled per the instructions. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Unfortunately, I'm nay satisfied with t' outcome. Begad! 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?!). Avast! Dr. Z. Aye aye! 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...). Begad! Blimey! Yet, ya bilge rat, t' detailed and thorough instructions and illustrations made it easy. Begad! Blimey! Just follow the step-by-step approach, me hearties, measure twice and cut once, etc., ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, and it'll all get done. Avast! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey!

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

I wanted t' Soyuz t' look like it be fuelled on t' pad, and covered with frost due t' LOX. Begad! Usin' green maskin' tape, 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, me hearties, which be an almost perfect match for t' paper wraps. 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, ya bilge rat, and areas on t' strap-ons; in real life, these would be t' areas over t' kerosene tanks). By usin' blue tape, I ensured that there would be some bleed-through o' t' flat white onto t' green areas, matey, t' simulate t' uneven demarcation between frost and bare painted metal. T' effect came out better than I expected.

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

T' manufacturer gives t' weight o' t' completed kit as 2.28 oz. Avast! Mine weighed in at 2.6 oz., me bucko, which I thought wasn't too bilge-suckin' considerin' me extensive use o' t' paper skins. Begad!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

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

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! Also, t' torque imparted to the strap-ons when packin' t' chute could pull t' boosters loose if one gets too enthusiastic. I could feel the strap-ons flex, ya bilge rat, so I was gentle. Aye aye! Despite this, shiver me timbers, a fin and a card-stock nozzle popped off; these were fixed in t' field with CA. Arrr! Accordingly, I didn't attempt t' use t' Dr. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! Z.-supplied trashbag chute, which would be suitable for a model with a larger diameter. Ahoy! I used a Hartle Engineerin' Thermal Rider chute which I had already assembled and stored in my range box. Aye aye! Dr. Aye aye! Aye aye! Z. Well, blow me down! 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. Dr. Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! Z. supplies a length o' Keelhaul®©™® thread, ya bilge rat, which is attached t' t' motor mount, ya bilge rat, and t' elastic at t' other end. Avast! Begad! Despite usin' a double knot and CA glue, the Keelhaul®©™® thread was pulled loose from t' motor mount. Blimey! T' "second stage"/"spacecraft" descended nicely on the chute, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, while t' "first stage" descended at a moderate clip and in a flat roll, landin' on its side in the grass. Blimey! Two fins broke off on landing, matey, and one was lost (no big deal; t' kit had plenty o' balsa left, me hearties, me hearties, and I had saved t' fin template). Ahoy! Avast! It will fly again, me bucko, matey, but this time I think I'll use t' good 'ol Estes trifold paper mount, matey, high in t' body tube. Begad! Ya scallywag!

Flight Rating: 3 out o' 5

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

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5