Brief:
Sheri's Hot Rockets Little Joe II is a mid power (29mm engine mount), ya bilge rat, 1/30 scale model o' t' popular NASA test vehicle that was used durin' t' mid 1960s t' test t' Apollo Launch Escape System. Well, blow me down! Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! Sheri keeps a consistent "Buy It Now" presence on eBay or you can order it direct off her website. As o' this writing, me hearties, t' list price is $89, 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. On t' plus side, arrr, 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, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, me bucko, 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, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, 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, arrr, plus t' nice full size drawin' o' t' complete rocket. Aye aye! Begad! Blimey! Although t' instructions are pretty good, me bucko, it is very helpful t' be able t' refer t' t' full size drawin' t' make sure. Sheri's rocket kits could be considered old school, shiver me timbers, matey, matey, where you actually have t' build t' rocket, nay just assemble some parts.

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

T' fins are built up construction, ya bilge rat, usin' t' 0.030" thick styrene sheet. Aye aye! Avast! This worked better than I expected. Ahoy! Gettin' t' fins straight and symmetric wasn't difficult, me bucko, ya bilge rat, 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! T' net effect has a much better scale appearance then is possible with embossed or vacu-formed wraps. Blimey! 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. Ahoy! Aye aye! For t' capsule, a cone is made from t' 0.030" styrene sheet with a hardwood piece for t' very tip. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! 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. Ahoy! O' course, me hearties, me hearties, t' real fun is buildin' t' escape tower out o' t' 1/8" styrene tubin' and some 0.010" styrene sheet. Blimey! Ya scallywag! T' launch escape motor is made from t' 7/8" hardwood dowel, me bucko, which you need t' carve/sand t' a point on one end. T' shroud at t' bottom o' t' escape motor is made up o' more 0.030" styrene sheet. Ya scallywag! 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. Well, blow me down! T' Little Joe II QTV is a mono color chrome finish, arrr, me bucko, except for t' launch escape system. Arrr! So rather than try and mask around t' escape tower legs, me bucko, I painted t' launch escape system separately and then attached it t' t' capsule after everythin' be painted.

Applyin' a finish t' t' rocket was tricky, 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, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! (Don't even think o' wet-sandin' t' primer. 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, shiver me timbers, I've built Sheri's Saturn 1B. Arrr! After lookin' at t' large body tube areas, I tried somethin' different that worked well. Ahoy! Before assembly, 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. T' resultant body tube surface was much easier t' finish, 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! Blimey! For t' booster, me bucko, 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). Begad! Blimey! I used Krylon gloss white paint on t' launch escape system. Begad! Blimey! Once everythin' was dry, ya bilge rat, I added t' waterslide decals and vinyl roll patterns. Begad! Blimey! T' waterslide decals were OK, but I have a gripe with t' vinyl roll patterns. Blimey! Blimey! T' vinyl gives a matte finish, ya bilge rat, which looks out o' place on t' otherwise glossy chrome finish. Avast! Blimey! Oh, arrr, matey, ya bilge rat, and a potential gotcha: t' roll patterns are nay a wrap. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! You need t' cut them out and apply them individually. Ahoy! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! 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, shiver me timbers, me bucko, I added a 60" nylon parachute and a 10' shock cord o' nylon strap.

Its first flight be durin' t' sport launch portion o' NARAM 50, shiver me timbers, where it attracted a great deal o' interest. Avast! Begad! Blimey! It seemed like everyone either wanted confirmation it was Sheri's kit or wanted t' know what it be and if it be available as a kit. Avast! Blimey! T' finished rocket is heavy, 2.5 pounds without an engine, me bucko, so I chose a G64-4W RMS for t' maiden flight. Arrr! Boost was beautiful and straight as an arrow. Ahoy! Ahoy! Blimey! Ejection occurred right after apogee, and then trouble--the parachute became tangled and didn't open. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Fortunately t' tangled chute slowed t' descent somewhat with t' rocket managed t' land on its side. Avast! Blimey! Damage was moderate. Avast! One fin was destroyed, matey, another be damaged, ya bilge rat, and t' escape tower snapped off at t' base. Aye aye! All were fixable, but it's planned second NARAM flight was nay t' be. Begad! Well, blow me down! Blimey! 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, so I decided t' simply make a new fin. Avast! Begad! (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! In hindsight, I spent at least as much time on t' repaired fin as I did t' replaced fin, yet t' repaired fin still doesn't look quite right. Arrr! Blimey! I should have simply replaced both damaged fins. Avast! It would have been tricky t' spot repair t' chrome paint, 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, 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, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, and I give it an overall ratin' o' a 4.5. Begad! As noted, I've already built t' Saturn 1B, arrr, shiver me timbers, and t' Saturn V will be next. Arrr! Be prepared: these kits are tough builds. Well, blow me down! I'd rate t' Little Joe II as a Skill Level 4 or 5 (and t' Saturn 1B a 5 or maybe even higher). Begad! In some ways, these kits are throw backs t' t' early days o' rocketry, shiver me timbers, t' days before pre-cut fins and pre-assembled parachutes.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5