Brief:
Aerospace Specialty Products (ASP) scale rocket kit "The Corporal". It is a interesting and fun build. It is the 24mm version and is a 1:22.5 scale version of the U.S. Army's Ballistic Missile.

Construction:
The parts included with the kit are:

• 1 Balsa nose cone (surprisingly clean no fuzz)
• 1 Balsa nose block
• 2 body tubes (main and nose)
• 4 Balsa square rod
• 1 sheet of Basswood for Fins
• 24mm motor mount assembly
• Kevlar® shock cord mount
• 4 Steel washers
• 2 screw eyes
• 2 launch lugs
• Parachute assembly
• Well written instructions
• Heavy cardstock fin template
• Custom decals

ASP has always been rather straightforward in their construction. After reading the instructions I began construction in my own way.

I began construction by cutting out the fin template and marking and cutting out the basswood fins. With the fins cut out I then marked the main body tube for the four fins and the conduits.

With the four fins stacked, I spread a layer of glue on the root edge and allowed them to dry. With a scrap of wood I applied glue just to the right of each fin line. This was allowed to dry.

With the glue drying I assembled the nose by screwing the screw eye into the bottom of the nose cone, removing it, wetting the hole with water, then dripping thin CA into the hole and replacing the screw eye and four washers. This was then glued into the top of the small body tube. The balsa nose block was then glued halfway into the small tube and the screw eye was attached as above without washers.

The balsa rods are next cut and shaped as per the instructions. Glue is then placed in a thin layer on the bottom and allowed to dry.

With the fins and the body tube dry, I now glued the fins in place. Adjusting each one slightly for straightness then set aside and allowed to dry.

The largest of the conduits are next glued in place touching two fins parallel to each other.

The smaller two rods are next glued in place half way between the larger two in line with the other two fins.

The entire model is set aside to dry.

The motor mount is assembled this is a friction fit assembly. The shock cord is attached to the motor mount. The assembly is set aside to dry. Once dry the shock cord is feed into the motor mount so it comes out the back and then is glued in place.

The launch lugs are glued in place and allowed to dry.

Fillets are applied to all joints rapidity until satisfied.

The golden mylar chute is great and eye catching. I decided not to use the included disks and used my own reinforcement disks one on each side for added strength. The shroud lines where tied to the chute and then attached to a locking snap swivel.

Finishing:
The hardest part with this kit is the sealing the balsa rods and nosecone.

Gloss white epoxy paint will be used for the paint job as it only needs to be white since the decals add the roll pattern.

Construction Rating: 4 out of 5

Flight:
For the first flight I used an Estes D12-7. This was a perfect flight fast and high. So I used the same for the next two flights. This rocket gets up to speed very quickly and flies very straight.

Recovery:
The golden mylar chute is great for finding this rocket in the sky, As it allowed me to keep track of her right to the ground. No damage or tangling so far.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:
I enjoyed building this kit. It is a great rainy day kit as it is not a huge time consumer. This is a kit to build while building others due to the glue drying times. She flies great and looks great.

Overall PROs: Realistic design! Detailed. The small body tube could be used for a small altimeter. Vinyl decal sheets. Roll pattern decal.

Overall CONs: A little bit of extra work is required to add the scale detail. Kevlar shock cord is longer than it needs to be. Could cut into the body tube with the weight added to the nose unless trimmed below the tube. The balsa rods are too soft basswood would be better.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5