Brief:
Sheri's Hot Rockets Little Joe II is a mid power (29mm engine mount), shiver me timbers, 1/30 scale model o' t' popular NASA test vehicle that was used durin' t' mid 1960s t' test t' Apollo Launch Escape System. Sheri keeps a consistent "Buy It Now" presence on eBay or you can order it direct off her website. Ahoy! As o' this writing, t' list price is $89, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, although she does have occasional sales where she'll knock t' price down a bit and/or offer free shipping.

It should be noted that Sheri's Hot Rockets is a small operation and often her kits are literally made t' order, so thar may be a significant lag betwixt placin' your order and shipment. Begad! Aye aye! On t' plus side, I've exchanged a number o' emails with Sheri, and she will give reasonably accurate estimates o' shippin' dates and her replies were generally timely--often within a couple hours.

Construction:

T' kit includes t' following:

• 1 main body tube, matey, 5.25" x 24"
• 1 29mm engine mount tube
• 1 Styrene sheet 0.010" thick
• 1 Styrene sheet 0.030" thick
• 2 sheets corrugated styrene wraps
• 3 centerin' rings, 1/8" thick
• 5 pieces 1mm x 1mm square styrene detail strips
• 5 pieces 1/8" round styrene tubing
• 1 hardwood dowel 7/8" round x 9 3/4"
• 1 hardwood dowel 1/2" round x 1"
• 2 square fiberboard blocks 1/8" x 1" x 1"
• Shock Cord eyelet with blind nut
• Shock Cord eyelet with screw end
• 2 launch lugs 1/4"
• 1 sheet waterside decals
• 1 sheet vinyl decals
• Full size construction drawing
• Instruction Manual
• Template Manual

Sheri's kits do nay include parachutes or shock cords. Ya scallywag! She recommends a 55"-60" chute.

T' instructions are 24 pages with plenty o' photos and tips, plus t' nice full size drawin' o' t' complete rocket. Blimey! Although t' instructions are pretty good, it is very helpful t' be able t' refer t' t' full size drawin' t' make sure. Begad! Sheri's rocket kits could be considered old school, arrr, where you actually have t' build t' rocket, nay just assemble some parts.

T' kit is somewhat defined by t' body tube. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! It is big, arrr, me bucko, me bucko, heavy (0.125" wall thickness), me hearties, arrr, unfinished (no coating, me hearties, which makes finishin' a challenge), shiver me timbers, and nay cut t' length. Avast! In fact, nay only do you need t' cut t' main body tube t' length, you also need t' make t' coupler for t' base o' t' Apollo capsule. Begad! Begad! Also, t' thickness o' t' body tube makes cuttin' it potentially tricky. Blimey! Well, blow me down! I used a razor saw, arrr, which cut t' thick tubin' easy enough, arrr, arrr, but makin' t' cut perfectly straight was nay trivial.

T' fins are built up construction, usin' t' 0.030" thick styrene sheet. Aye aye! This worked better than I expected. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Gettin' t' fins straight and symmetric wasn't difficult, and t' resultant fins were reasonably strong (although I did go ahead and fill t' fins with spray in foam for a little extra strength).

T' use o' t' corrugated styrene sheets as wraps t' simulate t' main body stringers works out well, and t' use o' t' 1mm square strips for detail are a nice touch. Begad! Begad! T' net effect has a much better scale appearance then is possible with embossed or vacu-formed wraps. T' only tricky part o' t' corrugated wraps is gettin' good vertical seams (there are two vertical seams, since t' sheets are nay long enough for one wrap t' reach completely around t' large body tube).

T' capsule and escape tower are almost literally made from scratch. Aye aye! Blimey! For t' capsule, ya bilge rat, me hearties, a cone is made from t' 0.030" styrene sheet with a hardwood piece for t' very tip. T' base is one o' t' (provided) centerin' rings, ya bilge rat, and t' coupler is made out o' a piece cut from t' main body tube. Ya scallywag! Blimey! O' course, t' real fun is buildin' t' escape tower out o' t' 1/8" styrene tubin' and some 0.010" styrene sheet. Begad! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' launch escape motor is made from t' 7/8" hardwood dowel, which you need t' carve/sand t' a point on one end. Avast! Blimey! T' shroud at t' bottom o' t' escape motor is made up o' more 0.030" styrene sheet. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' instructions and templates provided are good and t' end result came out nice but be prepared for a time consumin' build.

Finishing:
I deviated slightly from t' assembly instructions t' make paintin' easier. Ya scallywag! T' Little Joe II QTV is a mono color chrome finish, except for t' launch escape system. Begad! So rather than try and mask around t' escape tower legs, I painted t' launch escape system separately and then attached it t' t' capsule after everythin' be painted.

Applyin' a finish t' t' rocket be tricky, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, mainly due t' t' raw surface o' t' body tube. Although only about 1/3 o' t' body tube surface is exposed (with t' remainder bein' covered by t' corrugated wraps), it took numerous coats o' primer and lots o' sandin' t' get a decent surface for t' color coat. Avast! (Don't even think o' wet-sandin' t' primer. Avast! Any moisture gettin' under t' primer t' t' body tube will cause it t' swell which will give you even more problems.)

Note: Since finishin' t' LJ II, I've built Sheri's Saturn 1B. Begad! Aye aye! After lookin' at t' large body tube areas, I tried somethin' different that worked well. Before assembly, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, I took Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish (very slightly thinned) and used me fingers t' rub it into all t' exposed body tube surfaces, then sanded it down with 180 grit sandpaper after it had dried. Arrr! T' resultant body tube surface be much easier t' finish, ya bilge rat, nay much different than conventional coated body tubes.

When I was finally satisfied with t' surface finish, I applied t' color coat. Well, blow me down! Avast! For t' booster, Sheri recommends Testor's Chrome spray paint, but I chose t' us Krylon Chrome spray (cheaper and more readily available and I think it looks just as good). Aye aye! I used Krylon gloss white paint on t' launch escape system. Begad! Once everythin' was dry, ya bilge rat, I added t' waterslide decals and vinyl roll patterns. Avast! Well, me hearties, blow me down! T' waterslide decals were OK, but I have a gripe with t' vinyl roll patterns. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! T' vinyl gives a matte finish, which looks out o' place on t' otherwise glossy chrome finish. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! Oh, and a potential gotcha: t' roll patterns are nay a wrap. Ahoy! You need t' cut them out and apply them individually. Begad! Overall, I give it a 4, downgradin' a bit due t' t' difficulty in finishin' t' rough body tube.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight and Recovery:
T' prepare for flight, I added a 60" nylon parachute and a 10' shock cord o' nylon strap.

Its first flight was durin' t' sport launch portion o' NARAM 50, me bucko, where it attracted a great deal o' interest. Arrr! Well, blow me down! It seemed like everyone either wanted confirmation it was Sheri's kit or wanted t' know what it be and if it was available as a kit. Arrr! T' finished rocket is heavy, arrr, 2.5 pounds without an engine, so I chose a G64-4W RMS for t' maiden flight. Well, blow me down! Avast! Boost was beautiful and straight as an arrow. Ejection occurred right after apogee, and then trouble--the parachute became tangled and didn't open. Fortunately t' tangled chute slowed t' descent somewhat with t' rocket managed t' land on its side. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! Damage was moderate. Aye aye! One fin was destroyed, another was damaged, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, and t' escape tower snapped off at t' base. All were fixable, matey, arrr, me hearties, but it's planned second NARAM flight be nay t' be. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! Flight ratin' is a 5 despite t' landing--the fouled parachute wasn't Sheri's fault.

A couple notes on t' repairs: One fin was pretty well destroyed, me hearties, so I decided t' simply make a new fin. Ya scallywag! (There was plenty o' 0.030" styrene leftover from t' original build.) However, on t' second fin, I attempted t' do a repair instead o' replacin' it with a new fin. Arrr! Ahoy! In hindsight, me bucko, me bucko, I spent at least as much time on t' repaired fin as I did t' replaced fin, me hearties, yet t' repaired fin still doesn't look quite right. I should have simply replaced both damaged fins. Arrr! It would have been tricky t' spot repair t' chrome paint, shiver me timbers, so I elected t' repaint t' entire booster portion - which meant I'd need new decals. I emailed Sheri and she provided replacement decals no problem, arrr, so t' repaired model is nearly good as new.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
I'm very happy with Sheri's Little Joe II kit, enough that I've purchased several o' her other kits, and I give it an overall ratin' o' a 4.5. Ahoy! Blimey! As noted, me bucko, I've already built t' Saturn 1B, and t' Saturn V will be next. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Blimey! Be prepared: these kits are tough builds. Ahoy! Blimey! I'd rate t' Little Joe II as a Skill Level 4 or 5 (and t' Saturn 1B a 5 or maybe even higher). Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! In some ways, these kits are throw backs t' t' early days o' rocketry, t' days before pre-cut fins and pre-assembled parachutes.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5