Little Joe II capsule finishing question
 

On the Estes Apollo LJII kit (the one that just went OOP) page 7 of the instructions show the "UNITED STATES" capsule decals located to the left of the "triad" and to the right of the short single rectangle. Is this correct? If it is, then they're not 180 degrees apart. ROTW shows none at all.

Any opinions?

Thanks!

Jeff-

Here's the Centuri 1/45 Little Joe II capsule wrap decal. This is the kit that the Estes version is based on. It seems to be the same.

I do not know which is correct, really. There were variations in most of the Little Joe II vehicles, and even for some of these 'scale' commercial offerings, I think some (probably minor) creative license has crept in possibly.

Earl

Jeff-

Go here to George Gassaway's excellent Little Joe II page:

http://georgesrockets.com/GRP/Scale/DATA/LJoeData.htm#5


Looks like the US decal was on some and not on others. And possibly it was on most all, but on the capsule itself, under the boost protective cover and therefore not visible until the BPC was jettisoned during flight.

George would be probably the best person to ask...he's a member here, as you probably know.

Earl

Thanks! That makes a lot more sense with the UNITED STATES to the left of the short single rectangle instead of to the right of it. That puts them 180 degrees from each other and matches both the Centuri wrap and George's data. I think the Estes instructions are incorrect.

BTW, GO BEARS! BEARS ARE 2-0!

I know this is late. There never was a UNITED STATES marking and flag on a Boost Protective Cover (BPC) as used for the last three Little Joe-II flights (A-002, A-003, and A-004). The capsules had them, under the BPC's.

A-001 was unique in that it had no BPC, so it did have the UNITED STATES and flag visible on the capsule for launch.

The Estes drawing unfortunately is a legacy from errors of the late 1960's to early 70's, including the wonderful original Centuri 1/45 Little Joe-II kit and its drawings/decals.

Check out these drawings at these links:

http://georgesrockets.com/GRP/Scale..._GIFs/BPC-1.gif

http://georgesrockets.com/GRP/Scale..._GIFs/BPC-2.gif

And all the other drawings on this page:
http://georgesrockets.com/GRP/Scale/DATA/LJoeData.htm

Thanks George for the info...that explains a great deal. I kinda thought if anyone knew, you would.

Earl

I second what Earl said above.
Thanks to George for that info; I'm sure if anyone knows what is correct for the LJII, it would be George !