Construction

T' build starts with t' motor mount which is employs typical tube, rings, block and hook construction. Arrr! T' twist Semroc adds is that t' Keelhaul®©™ leader is tied in a loop and placed under t' motor hook. Ahoy! This seems t' be a great mountin' method, especially when t' hook is held firmly down by a centerin' ring.. Aye aye! I also glued a small piece o' scrap card stock just below where t' hook is mounted t' keep it from pullin' backward. Blimey! 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. Well, blow me down! Blimey! This be pretty simple. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! 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. Blimey! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! You can’t praise Semroc’s laser cut components enough! Blimey! I scored t' center line o' t' wraps with a screw driver blade on me Leatherman multi-tool. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I usually use a ball point pen for this, arrr, me hearties, arrr, bit used what I had within reach. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! Tightbond Moldin' and Trim Glue worked very well for t' fins. It is thick and tacky and all t' parts stayed in place well. Begad! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! There were small gaps where t' balsa braces meet, arrr, which were easily plugged with Fill’n’Finish. Begad! Blimey! T' resultin' wedge shaped fins look great.

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

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

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

I first cut all t' dowels required for t' main struts. Avast! Blimey! I carefully laid them out in order off t' t' side. Arrr! Blimey! T' kit includes template guides. Begad! Blimey! T' instructions have you pin them down durin' assembly. Ahoy! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! I pinned them t' scrap foam board and added extra pins at t' ends o' each vertical member. Arrr! Blimey! Avast! Blimey! Once t' Tightbond Trim and Moldin' glue be dry on t' perpendicular cross-pieces, I added t' diagonal pieces. Begad! Blimey! 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. Aye aye! There isn’t enough o' t' thinner dowel t' complete all these pieces so some more sandin' is required. Avast! You assemble two subaasemblies from t' assembled ‘v’s and a cardstock ring. T' template also includes guides t' help, but I had a hard time with this step. 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. Begad! T' positionin' o' t' capsule jig is critical so, me bucko, after I had it positioned, shiver me timbers, I added some light pencil marks. I removed t' jig and measured t' distance o' each t' t' rim o' t' capsule shroud. Ya scallywag! Begad! Once I was convinced t' jig was positioned properly, shiver me timbers, me hearties, I used a small drill bit t' form t' notches.

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

I didn’t heed t' advice o' other builders and used Trim and Moldin' glue t' build t' tower instead o' thick CA. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! What started as smallish lookin' bumps looked awful when primed. Begad! I used a fine tipped grinder on me Dremel t' clean them up. Also, don’t drop t' model on t' tower. I dropped mine twice. Begad! Well, blow me down! 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, me bucko, ya bilge rat, weren’t. Ahoy! I personally didn’t enjoy t' tower details, but your mileage may vary.