Brief:
This is a very stand-off scale model o' t' Little Joe I. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! It is 2.6" in diameter, has a 29mm mount, me bucko, and is based on a custom-turned Mercury capsule that be donated by an anonymous guest for the Nekkid Rocket Photo Contest. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! On t' real Little Joe I, t' body is larger in diameter than t' capsule. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! In mine, arrr, t' capsule fits t' body tube.

Construction:
T' followin' are t' major components used:

• 2.6" phenolic tube, 8.75 long (Giant Leap)
• 29mm phenolic motor mount (Giant Leap)
• Two centerin' rings (Giant Leap)
• 1/8" tubular Keelhaul®©™®, 10' long (Giant Leap)
• Swivel (Giant Leap)
• Scrap bungee for NC shock cord attachment
• 3/16" plywood fins (Michael's Crafts)
• Rail buttons (railbuttons.com)
• Two T-nuts (Home Depot)
• Lead shot

This was a straightforward build: 4FNC with through-the-wall fins. Begad! Begad! I got the measurements for t' body tube and fins from Rockets o' t' World (RotW). Aye aye!

T' fins are thick. Ya scallywag! Nay that they had t' be, me bucko, but I had the 3/16" ply and delusions o' bevelin' them heavily. I slotted t' fin slots usin' a Dremel. Ahoy! T' make sure I didn't chip t' end o' t' phenolic tube at the slots, me bucko, I inserted t' aft centerin' ring. Ya scallywag! Next, shiver me timbers, matey, I attached t' front rin' to the motor tube, me hearties, ya bilge rat, with t' end o' t' Keelhaul®©™® shock cord goin' through t' ring. Avast, me proud beauty! I used 5-minute epoxy throughout. Well, blow me down! T' motor tube was then installed with t' aft rin' bein' dry-fit. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! T' latter be then removed and t' fins were glued in. Begad! Avast! Here I ran into a problem that I seem to keep making: I didn't check t' alignment o' t' shock cord which was epoxied to t' motor tube. O' course, it ended up perfectly aligned with a fin slot! T' fix was easy, ya bilge rat, me bucko, as I notched t' tab on one o' t' fins so that it cleared the shock cord.

I made small external fillets and thick internal ones with Superfil. Begad! I also filled t' spirals at this point. Finally, I attached t' aft rin' and the rail buttons. In order for t' rail t' clear t' lip on t' cone, shiver me timbers, matey, I used oversized screws and an extra center spacer betwixt t' button and t' tube.

For t' nose cone recovery connection, arrr, ya bilge rat, me hearties, I epoxied a small section o' scrap bungee into t' deep core that t' builder drilled for me. Blimey! I also added enough lead shot t' make RockSim happy. With t' heavy wooden cone, me hearties, I wouldn't have thought any would be needed, but t' thick fins and motor mount worked against its stability.

For t' first flight, matey, I did nay build an escape tower. Arrr! Arrr! However, me hearties, arrr, I since built one out o' bamboo skewers, matey, ya bilge rat, thin dowel, arrr, matey, and a spent 13mm motor. Well, blow me down! Avast! A true scale purist may see t' next mistake I made--I scaled t' tower based on a 3" body vs. t' actual 2.6" tube! I also have painted it per RotW, but haven't added decals. Begad! Well, blow me down!

Flight and Recovery:
I flew t' Little Joe on a 24mm F39-6 in me virgin Rouse Tech casing. Arrr! I used a little dog barf, a chute protector, matey, and a nylon chute. Blimey! T' flight be fairly fast, and ejection be just a little late. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! Recovery was fine. I am contemplatin' a G64 next.

Summary:
This is a sturdy but heavy rocket. Blimey! As long as t' phenolic stays away from thin' like irrigation pipes, me hearties, it should survive even hard landings. Ahoy! It is barely scale-like, shiver me timbers, which is good enough for me. Well, blow me down!