Construction

T' build starts with t' motor mount which is employs typical tube, rings, block and hook construction. Avast! T' twist Semroc adds is that t' Keelhaul®©™ leader is tied in a loop and placed under t' motor hook. This seems t' be a great mountin' method, arrr, especially when t' hook is held firmly down by a centerin' ring.. Ya scallywag! Begad! I also glued a small piece o' scrap card stock just below where t' hook is mounted t' keep it from pullin' backward. With t' upper centerin' rin' holdin' t' hook in place, arrr, I doubt if this would be an issue but I added it anyway.

T' wraps are put on next. This was pretty simple. Begad! Begad! Mine fit perfectly and I got them on with only a spot or two o' glue on t' outside.

Each fin is built up from a card stock wrap and 5 precision-cut balsa components. You can’t praise Semroc’s laser cut components enough! I scored t' center line o' t' wraps with a screw driver blade on me Leatherman multi-tool. Avast! Well, blow me down! I usually use a ball point pen for this, bit used what I had within reach. Avast! Ya scallywag! Tightbond Moldin' and Trim Glue worked very well for t' fins. Well, blow me down! It is thick and tacky and all t' parts stayed in place well. Aye aye! There were small gaps where t' balsa braces meet, which were easily plugged with Fill’n’Finish. Arrr! T' resultin' wedge shaped fins look great.

Stick t' mount in, t' fins on, me hearties, and attach t' lug...voila t' base rocket is done. Begad! Then things get fun...you have t' build t' capsule!

Some parts o' t' capsule are straightforward, i.e. Avast, me proud beauty! t' launch escape tower is made up o' a small cone, tube, and flared balsa transition. T' core o' t' capsule is a made from a balsa cone and a card stock shroud. Begad! This SHOULD have been easy but I had build fever and forgot t' re-read t' main instructions, me hearties, shiver me timbers, me bucko, which include several modifications t' t' capsule. Aye aye! I forgot t' build t' capsule with t' decorated surface on t' inside. Avast! T' Little Joe II flights mostly flew boiler plate capsules and even t' one actual capsule was nay trimmed like t' operational ones. Ahoy! Luckily, me bucko, this goof was self-correctin' - you paint t' capsule anyway!

T' difficult part is, o' course, buildin' t' escape tower. Well, blow me down! You are provides four 1/12” (.083”) dowels that have t' be sanded t' 0.058 and 0.041. Avast! Avast! While I met this step with trepidation, me bucko, me hearties, it turned out t' be easier than expected. I didn’t follow t' technique presented in t' instructions. Well, blow me down! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Instead, I set t' dowels on me cabinet door/sawhorse bench and sanded as I slowly rolled t' dowel. Arrr! I sanded about 60% at a time with sweepin' motions towards their ends. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag!

I first cut all t' dowels required for t' main struts. Arrr! I carefully laid them out in order off t' t' side. Begad! T' kit includes template guides. Aye aye! Aye aye! T' instructions have you pin them down durin' assembly. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! I pinned them t' scrap foam board and added extra pins at t' ends o' each vertical member. Once t' Tightbond Trim and Moldin' glue was dry on t' perpendicular cross-pieces, me bucko, matey, I added t' diagonal pieces. Ahoy! These were then inserted into t' laser cut alignment jig where t' remainin' side struts were added. So far so good.

T' tower has a set o' internal struts that are assembled usin' t' ‘v’ shaped guides on t' template. Blimey! There isn’t enough o' t' thinner dowel t' complete all these pieces so some more sandin' is required. Aye aye! Begad! You assemble two subaasemblies from t' assembled ‘v’s and a cardstock ring. Begad! T' template also includes guides t' help, shiver me timbers, but I had a hard time with this step. Begad! T' cuts have t' be uber precise.

T' assembly jig mentioned above also used t' notch t' base o' t' escape motor and t' top o' t' capsule t' accept t' tower legs. T' positionin' o' t' capsule jig is critical so, after I had it positioned, arrr, I added some light pencil marks. I removed t' jig and measured t' distance o' each t' t' rim o' t' capsule shroud. Well, blow me down! Once I was convinced t' jig be positioned properly, arrr, matey, I used a small drill bit t' form t' notches.

Stackin' t' escape motor, arrr, tower and capsule was simple. Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' final steps were addin' t' balsa stabilizin' plates that are included in t' main kit and formin' t' escape motors nozzles. Blimey! T' inside o' t' nozzle shrouds are oddly "S" shaped. Ahoy! Blimey! This odd shape provides t' proper angle t' t' base but also indicates that t' shrouds must be wrapped twice. Blimey! Blimey! This wasn’t obvious t' me but luckily I had help. Blimey! I formed mine around t' tip o' a pen before gluin' them together.

I didn’t heed t' advice o' other builders and used Trim and Moldin' glue t' build t' tower instead o' thick CA. Aye aye! What started as smallish lookin' bumps looked awful when primed. Aye aye! Aye aye! I used a fine tipped grinder on me Dremel t' clean them up. Blimey! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Also, don’t drop t' model on t' tower. Blimey! I dropped mine twice. This does NOT help with tower alignment!

In t' end, ya bilge rat, some parts o' t' build were easier than expected and others, that I thought would be simple, matey, weren’t. I personally didn’t enjoy t' tower details, me bucko, but your mileage may vary.