Brief:
Sheri's Hot Rockets Little Joe II is a mid power (29mm engine mount), 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. As o' this writing, ya bilge rat, t' list price is $89, 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. Ahoy! 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, ya bilge rat, 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, matey, 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. Begad! Arrr! She recommends a 55"-60" chute.

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

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

T' fins are built up construction, arrr, arrr, usin' t' 0.030" thick styrene sheet. Ya scallywag! This worked better than I expected. Aye aye! Gettin' t' fins straight and symmetric wasn't difficult, shiver me timbers, me hearties, 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. Ya scallywag! Arrr! T' only tricky part o' t' corrugated wraps is gettin' good vertical seams (there are two vertical seams, me bucko, 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! For t' capsule, a cone is made from t' 0.030" styrene sheet with a hardwood piece for t' very tip. Begad! Well, blow me down! T' base is one o' t' (provided) centerin' rings, and t' coupler is made out o' a piece cut from t' main body tube. Arrr! O' course, ya bilge rat, t' real fun is buildin' t' escape tower out o' t' 1/8" styrene tubin' and some 0.010" styrene sheet. T' launch escape motor is made from t' 7/8" hardwood dowel, matey, 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. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! 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. Arrr! T' Little Joe II QTV is a mono color chrome finish, except for t' launch escape system. Blimey! Blimey! 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 be tricky, shiver me timbers, mainly due t' t' raw surface o' t' body tube. Ahoy! Although only about 1/3 o' t' body tube surface is exposed (with t' remainder bein' covered by t' corrugated wraps), me hearties, shiver me timbers, it took numerous coats o' primer and lots o' sandin' t' get a decent surface for t' color coat. Ya scallywag! (Don't even think o' wet-sandin' t' primer. Begad! 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, me bucko, I've built Sheri's Saturn 1B. Arrr! After lookin' at t' large body tube areas, I tried somethin' different that worked well. Begad! Ya scallywag! 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 be much easier t' finish, nay much different than conventional coated body tubes.

When I be finally satisfied with t' surface finish, me bucko, I applied t' color coat. For t' booster, me hearties, 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). Well, blow me down! I used Krylon gloss white paint on t' launch escape system. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! Once everythin' be dry, I added t' waterslide decals and vinyl roll patterns. T' waterslide decals were OK, me bucko, but I have a gripe with t' vinyl roll patterns. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' vinyl gives a matte finish, ya bilge rat, which looks out o' place on t' otherwise glossy chrome finish. Aye aye! Oh, me bucko, and a potential gotcha: t' roll patterns are nay a wrap. Arrr! Arrr! You need t' cut them out and apply them individually. Arrr! Overall, shiver me timbers, 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, me hearties, 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, ya bilge rat, where it attracted a great deal o' interest. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! It seemed like everyone either wanted confirmation it was Sheri's kit or wanted t' know what it was and if it be available as a kit. Ahoy! Avast! T' finished rocket is heavy, 2.5 pounds without an engine, arrr, so I chose a G64-4W RMS for t' maiden flight. Arrr! Aye aye! Boost was beautiful and straight as an arrow. Avast! Ejection occurred right after apogee, matey, and then trouble--the parachute became tangled and didn't open. Aye aye! Fortunately t' tangled chute slowed t' descent somewhat with t' rocket managed t' land on its side. Damage was moderate. Ya scallywag! Begad! One fin was destroyed, me hearties, another was damaged, ya bilge rat, and t' escape tower snapped off at t' base. All were fixable, me hearties, but it's planned second NARAM flight be nay t' be. Aye aye! 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 bucko, so I decided t' simply make a new fin. Arrr! (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. Begad! Well, matey, blow me down! In hindsight, me hearties, I spent at least as much time on t' repaired fin as I did t' replaced fin, me hearties, me hearties, yet t' repaired fin still doesn't look quite right. Avast, me proud beauty! I should have simply replaced both damaged fins. It would have been tricky t' spot repair t' chrome paint, arrr, so I elected t' repaint t' entire booster portion - which meant I'd need new decals. Begad! Aye aye! 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, and I give it an overall ratin' o' a 4.5. Arrr! As noted, I've already built t' Saturn 1B, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, and t' Saturn V will be next. Ya scallywag! Be prepared: these kits are tough builds. I'd rate t' Little Joe II as a Skill Level 4 or 5 (and t' Saturn 1B a 5 or maybe even higher). Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! In some ways, these kits are throw backs t' t' early days o' rocketry, shiver me timbers, matey, matey, t' days before pre-cut fins and pre-assembled parachutes.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5