Introduction and materials
A 1/50-scale version o' t' vehicle used t' test t' LES system for t' Apollo spacecraft. T' particular vehicle modeled is A-001, BP-12, flown on May 13, 1964. Each o' t' Little Joe rockets be slightly different in order t' test various aspects o' t' LES system under different flight parameters. Ahoy! T' model rocket is constructed usin' commercially available components. Aye aye! T' service module section (SM) is a LOC 3î diameter body tube. Begad! T' booster portion is LOC 3" coupler tubin' sections. Well, blow me down! Bulkheads are 1/8" lite ply. Avast! T' capsule and LES tower are constructed in the same fashion as on me Saturn 1b. Begad! T' fins are made from 1 3/8" aileron balsa strip stock. Arrr! T' corrugated body wrap is vacu-formed and made by a good friend, Paul Graf. Ya scallywag! Paul used Evergreen scribed sheet styrene sized t' fit the circumference o' t' coupler tubes for t' master mold then vacu-formed them from .015" sheet styrene. Avast, me proud beauty! He made the basic sections and I cut them t' size (Paul also has some excellent body wraps for clonin' t' 1/70 scale Estes Saturn 1b if anyone is interested). Avast, matey, me proud beauty! T' various conduit and tunnels are made from strip sheet styrene. Ya scallywag! T' motor tubes are stock Estes BT-50 body tubes.

Construction
Construction was fairly easy and straightforward. Arrr! T' centerin' rings were hand cut from lite ply since thar were none available in t' motor configuration or diameter required. Ahoy! I built t' capsule and LES tower first because I had experience from t' S1b. Begad! I added a little more epoxy t' t' cone tip for nose weight t' keep t' CG where it needed to be based on t' RockSim calculations. Ahoy! T' vacu-form wraps were applied usin' 3M77 spray adhesive and t' conduits were applied usin' CA. Avast, me proud beauty! I used t' pattern sheet from t' Estes 1/100 LJII (after correctly sizin' on t' copier) for making the tunnels/conduits and t' mark t' fin locations. Begad! T' fins were epoxied in place and given a light coat o' finishing resin t' add strength and help seal t' grain. Ya scallywag! Launch lugs were made from 3/16" I.D. Arrr! aluminum tubing. Ahoy! The ëUNITED STATES' markin' were made by myself on a Xerox machine. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! T' ink on t' Microscale decal paper is easily scratched off so I sprayed t' printed decals with a clear fixative. Aye aye! This sealed t' ink and caused no problem during application. Blimey! Aye aye!

Finishin' and recovery system
T' only parts requirin' sealin' prior t' paint were t' fins and fiberglassed capsule. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! T' booster be painted usin' Krylon's silver. Aye aye! T' SM body tube was finished usin' white monokote trim sheet wrapped around t' body tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Ya scallywag! The capsule and LES tower were painted with Krylon gloss white. Avast! Avast! T' black roll pattern markings were made from trim monokote and applied usin' t' patterns found in t' Estes kit. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! Since thar be nay much room in t' body tube for the shock cord, me bucko, me hearties, parachute and waddin' I opted t' use Pratt Hobbies Nomex® protector and do away with t' need for recovery wadding. Begad! Aye aye! T' 4" square Nomex® cloth slips over t' Pratt Hobbies Keelhaul®©™® cord loop tied t' a screw eye in t' bulkhead and takes up almost no room. T' parachute is 24" ripstop nylon and the shock cord is a 3 yard length o' 1/2" ribbed elastic. Begad!