Estes Little Joe II (Small) Build, Part 3, Capsule and Tower Comparison

Kit history is sometimes confusing.
The current Estes Mercury Redstone is really the old Centuri kit. The vacu-form wraps and fin fairings on the Estes Saturn V came from the Centuri Saturn V kit.

I didn't know where the current 1/100th capsule and tower came from. This 1/100th Estes Little Joe II kit is the same size as the smaller Centuri Little Joe II. The older Centuri version used 18mm engines, the Estes "reissue" uses 13mm "T" engines.



Here's the parts from the Estes kit, also the same used in the Saturn V model. Notice the raised details on the Estes capsule.
The escape rocket is a solid piece of plastic. The four escape nozzles (center of the picture) are very small, loads of fun to position and glue under the tower skirt.

In my old rocketry binders I found the 1/100th scale Centuri Little Joe instructions. Look at the APOLLO CAPSULE & TOWER at the bottom. These two plastic kits are definitely from two different molds.

The Centuri capsule is smooth with no umbilical connection. The escape nozzles (V shapes) and tower skirt are molded and assembled like the much larger Estes 1/45th scale Little Joe II kit.
The escape tower is like a launch lug, rolled clay weight goes inside.
The lowest diagonal tower struts (below the "Z") don't meet in the center.