Construction

T' build starts with t' motor mount which is employs typical tube, rings, me hearties, block and hook construction. 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.. 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. Ahoy! This be pretty simple. 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. Ya scallywag! 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. I usually use a ball point pen for this, bit used what I had within reach. Avast! Ahoy! Tightbond Moldin' and Trim Glue worked very well for t' fins. Avast! Well, shiver me timbers, blow me down! It is thick and tacky and all t' parts stayed in place well. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! There were small gaps where t' balsa braces meet, arrr, which were easily plugged with Fill’n’Finish. Aye aye! T' resultin' wedge shaped fins look great.

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

Some parts o' t' capsule are straightforward, i.e. Begad! Ahoy! t' launch escape tower is made up o' a small cone, tube, ya bilge rat, and flared balsa transition. Avast! Ahoy! 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, which include several modifications t' t' capsule. Avast! I forgot t' build t' capsule with t' decorated surface on t' inside. Blimey! T' Little Joe II flights mostly flew boiler plate capsules and even t' one actual capsule was nay trimmed like t' operational ones. Blimey! Begad! Luckily, matey, matey, this goof was self-correctin' - you paint t' capsule anyway!

T' difficult part is, o' course, me bucko, buildin' t' escape tower. You are provides four 1/12” (.083”) dowels that have t' be sanded t' 0.058 and 0.041. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! While I met this step with trepidation, it turned out t' be easier than expected. 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. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! I sanded about 60% at a time with sweepin' motions towards their ends. Avast! Begad!

I first cut all t' dowels required for t' main struts. Begad! Begad! I carefully laid them out in order off t' t' side. Avast! T' kit includes template guides. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! T' instructions have you pin them down durin' assembly. Begad! Avast! 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, I added t' diagonal pieces. These were then inserted into t' laser cut alignment jig where t' remainin' side struts were added. Aye aye! Arrr! So far so good.

T' tower has a set o' internal struts that are assembled usin' t' ‘v’ shaped guides on t' template. Avast, me proud beauty! There isn’t enough o' t' thinner dowel t' complete all these pieces so some more sandin' is required. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! You assemble two subaasemblies from t' assembled ‘v’s and a cardstock ring. Avast! Begad! T' template also includes guides t' help, 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. Arrr! Begad! T' positionin' o' t' capsule jig is critical so, matey, after I had it positioned, I added some light pencil marks. I removed t' jig and measured t' distance o' each t' t' rim o' t' capsule shroud. Aye aye! Once I was convinced t' jig was positioned properly, me hearties, me bucko, I used a small drill bit t' form t' notches.

Stackin' t' escape motor, matey, tower and capsule was simple. Blimey! Begad! T' final steps were addin' t' balsa stabilizin' plates that are included in t' main kit and formin' t' escape motors nozzles. Aye aye! Begad! T' inside o' t' nozzle shrouds are oddly "S" shaped. Well, matey, blow me down! This odd shape provides t' proper angle t' t' base but also indicates that t' shrouds must be wrapped twice. Begad! This wasn’t obvious t' me but luckily I had help. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Arrr! What started as smallish lookin' bumps looked awful when primed. I used a fine tipped grinder on me Dremel t' clean them up. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Also, don’t drop t' model on t' tower. I dropped mine twice. Begad! This does NOT help with tower alignment!

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