Model Rocket Building Blog 
Model Rocket Building Posts
Rocketry Product: Estes - Little Joe I {Kit} (7255) [2018-]
New Estes Scale Offering - (2018-06-21)
I had a feeling this one was coming up! Hey, that capsule should be black . . . From the Estes Facebook page: "Product Development Director, Mike Fritz, loads a production model of the NEW Little ... [Read More]
Estes Little Joe I Coming Soon! (2018-09-18)On YORF, "The Mole" was the first to find and post the latest "Coming Soon" announcement from Estes - It's always interesting to see the parts laid out! To see the catalog listing, CLICK HERE ... [Read More]
Estes Mercury Little I Unboxing (2018-10-06)James Duffy opens up the new Estes Little Joe I kit on YouTube: You'll see all the parts right out of the bag plus videos of the real test launches. To view the video: CLICK HERE James also ... [Read More]
Estes Little Joe 1, #7255, Build Part 1, Parts (2019-10-25)I always thought it was a matter of time before Estes produced a Mercury Little Joe kit. Here's the face card and parts in the bag from the back. Here's the parts for the booster. All seem to be of ... [Read More]
Estes Little Joe 1, #7255, Build Part 2, Fin Assembly (2019-10-26)It might be tempting, but never punch the fins off the balsa sheet. Use a sharp knife and cut through the tics to free the parts. It seems balsa is wasted in some kits. Hang onto the big leftover ... [Read More]
Estes Little Joe 1, #7255, Build Part 3, Fin Assembly (2019-10-27)Here's the fin assembly from the bottom. I wish the tabs were a little longer so they would stick above and could be sanded to surface. On these built up fins there is always something to fill with ... [Read More]
Estes Little Joe 1, #7255, Build Part 4, Creasing The Leading Edge Skin (2019-10-28)You shouldn't fold the fin cover skin without pre-embossing the center line. I wouldn't recommend creasing the line on corrugated cardboard, the interior wavy layer runs one direction. Unless the ... [Read More]
Estes Little Joe 1, #7255, Build Part 5, Skinning The Fins (2019-10-29)The leading edge fold was sharpened with a burnisher. It doesn't have to be razor sharp, it still has to roll over the front of the fin assembly. The instructions say to put glue on the folded card ... [Read More]
Estes Little Joe 1, #7255, Build Part 6, Skinning The Fins (2019-10-30)I using my favorite re-purposed tool, a Sharpie barrel to burnish and set the skin onto the glued sides. The picture to the right shows the slight overhang at the root edge. this will better fit the ... [Read More]
Estes Little Joe 1, #7255, Build Part 7, Engine Mount (2019-10-31)The engine mount is pretty standard except for the big rings. On the right is the lower ring. The four nozzles holes are cut. The laser cut lines are the glue positions for the plastic pieces. ... [Read More]
Estes Little Joe 1, #7255, Build Part 8, Cutting The TTW Fin Slots (2019-11-01)I extended the printed cut lines to give me more to align the straightedge on. The fit of the cutting guide was good around the tube. TIP: The engine mount is not glued in place yet. It was slipped ... [Read More]
Estes Little Joe 1, #7255, Build Part 9, Engine Mount Gluing (2019-11-02)The cut tube bottom edges were smoothed by wiping some medium CA and sanding with 400 grit. Note I wrote "edges" of the tube. TIP: Don't apply CA glue to any area that will get wood glue later. CA ... [Read More]
Estes Little Joe 1, #7255, Build Part 10, Shroud Prep & Forming (2019-11-04)The adapter is laser cut on card stock. Be sure to knock off the hold down tics. I cut them off with a knife, then smoothed the nub with sandpaper. The sides can be cleaned up by very lightly ... [Read More]
Estes Little Joe 1, #7255, Build Part 11, Shroud Assembly Gluing (2019-11-05)The ring was slid over (no glue) a tube for support. I sanded a very slight angle into the ring edge so there wouldn't be a bump where the edge contacted the shroud. The sanding only knocks off the ... [Read More]
Estes Little Joe 1, #7255, Build Part 12, Filler / Primer (2019-11-06)Here's the main body after a shot of the Duplicolor Filler/Primer, before sanding. The primary tube seam has been filled, but this tube has a second recess seam under the clear glassiene wrap. Most ... [Read More]
Estes Little Joe 1, #7255, Build Part 13, Nozzles & Fin Fitting (2019-11-07)I didn't use tube cement. The two halves were held together and liquid cement was brushed on the inside seam. The nozzles then snap into the motor housings. It takes a good push to seat them. Be ... [Read More]
Estes Little Joe 1, #7255, Build Part 14, Hit & A Miss! (2019-11-08)One fin is painted orange. On the left is the mask. I set a triangular piece of Scotch tape over the very outside edge of the fin to leave it silver. That's a Sharpie blackened triangular piece ... [Read More]
Estes Little Joe 1, #7255, Build Part 15, Nozzle Gluing & Shroud Fix (2019-11-09)Notice one of the motor housings has a notch on the small side to fit around and allow movement of the engine hook. This is a dry fit before gluing. I used the Beacon Fabri-Tac glue to seat the ... [Read More]
Estes Little Joe 1, #7255, Build Part 16, A Tricky Mask (2019-11-10)The outside edges of the three silver fins get a orange stripe. After the sprayed decal didn't work I had to go back and mask it. I used the decal backing for a width template. Scotch tape was hit ... [Read More]
Estes Little Joe 1, #7255, Build Part 17, Trim and Decals (2019-11-11)I won't be going into much detail about the capsule and tower assembly, it has been covered before. You should refer to the old Centuri instructions - build it upside down from the narrower end down ... [Read More]
Estes Little Joe 1, #7255, Build Finished (2019-11-12)This is a big impressive model. I've been a fan of the Mercury Little Joe since I first saw a picture of it in High School. At one time I was trying to collect scale data. The orange and black ... [Read More]
TOP TEN BUILDS for 2019 (2020-01-01)An end of the year tradition - This annual list puts some of the blog builds in order from least favorite (10) to the best (1). These are the models and events that were rocketry high points ... [Read More]
Estes Mercury Redstone Capsule Tip (2021-02-23)When I assembled my Mercury Redstone capsules - I scraped and turned a small file to remove paint from the gluing "dimples" in the upper ring. (Shown at the right) With the paint removed ... [Read More]
Decal PDFs For Patreon Support Members (2020-08-13)Here's a list of the Print at Home PDF decals available to Patreon Supporters: PATREON DECAL PDFs ESTES Estes Green Eggs Scrambler K-37, #1237 Decal .pdf Makes the Estes Green Eggs kit ... [Read More]
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