Little Bucky Jones Space Cadet -
The Coolness Never Quits.

Back again for the first time!

Flash back with me, if you will, to a time when handsome, brave, wide shouldered, square jawed, homogenized white guys made the universe safe for all mankind. Heroes such as Captain Video, Flash Gordon, Tom Corbett and Buzz Corry came to the rescue every week, thrashing bad guys and thrilling youngsters across the land. From out of that Wonder Bread World we bring you Little Bucky Jones – Space Cadet! From his bulbous nose to his flashy fins and multiple exhaust tubes, Little Bucky Jones is Super Retro Sci-Fi through and through. Like all spaceships from that era, he is gaudy, stylish, sleek and silly enough to give aerospace engineers apoplectic fits.

About half the size of the high-power Bucky, this scaled-down version uses 24mm instead of 29mm, and allows you to launch in much smaller fields. Because you can use up to F sized engines, the Little Bucky Jones Space Cadet includes beefy 1/4" launch lugs.

This kit looks phenomenal but isn't very hard to build. There are a lot of pieces and you need to be able to take breaks for assemblies to dry, but it's not hard. I built and painted the exhaust tube assembly separately from the rest of the kit so I didn't have to do any masking; the exhaust tubes are evenly painted all the way to the bulkhead. Whether you build it like I did or you glue it all together, then paint it, your Little Bucky Jones Space Cadet will be cool and sleek enough so that just about every flyer on the field will want to stop by your prep area and drool. Some of the guys just shake their heads, grin, and walk away, "Unbelievable, what you will do for attention."

This futuristic retro-styled sport rocket is in the dictionary. Really. Look up the word "fabulous", and there's a picture of Bucky. We're talking miles of smiles. That doesn't mean it's hard to assemble. It is actually an easy to build kit. The fins are surface mount and they're all laser cut. A couple of things take a little extra time; shaping the cockpit, and building the exhaust tube section. You'll find yourself flying this model after just a couple days of pleasurable build time.

This rocket lives on that knife edge between low power and "more power". You can build it and fly it on bigger low-cost Estes black powder motors, but then you can graduate into composite propellant and/or reloadable casings. The range of motors available for this kit is astounding, and because it's a rear-bulkhead retention design, you're not limited to short motors.

Even though this is the "small" Bucky, it's one of my favorite rockets. The kit is just the right size and is extremely enjoyable to build; it's a "pure emotion" design so it's very rewarding to finish, and all the proportions are perfect. You'd think it would fly squirrelly, with the asymmetrical fins, cockpit and all, but it gives nice, straight-up flights every time.

Bucky needs some extra love in the sanding and filling department. The cockpit is basically fabricated from a block of balsa. The exhaust tubes are a little fiddley, because you have to cut them to length. Here's our secret: put the thin-wall 3/16" launch lugs on a small paintbrush handle or dowel to support them while you cut. Otherwise, they get smashed and the cut will be uneven. You need to test the Little Bucky Jones Space Cadet with the heaviest motor you plan to use, and may need to add nose weight until it's stable. You probably won't need to add any nose weight, but check stability to make sure. It does take a little extra care and patience to use the rear bulkhead method of motor retention, too. Otherwise, construction is straightforward.

Some construction requires epoxy adhesive and/or fillers. This can be messy and cause an allergic reaction in some people. Adult supervision and wearing rubber gloves is recommended when working with epoxy.

Rear bulkhead motor retention. You just wrap a few layers of 1/2" masking tape around the back of the motor, then high-tack tape around the motor tube and rear bulkhead (we use strong, clear tape).

From out of that Wonder Bread world of the 50's, Pem-Tech brings you the coolest science fiction spaceships of all time: Sleek, silver, beauties like the King Krãken and the glorious golden hotrods like Bucky Jones Space Cadet.

Layne Pemberton is famous for his "destructions". The humor infects everything from motor selection to your household pets. Trust us, they're fun. The photos could use some upgrades to good quality line diagrams to improve legibility, but the destructions are otherwise good.

Tools needed to assemble this rocket kit:

• Pencil
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Masking Tape
• Hobby Knife
• Wood Glue or 5-Minute Epoxy

To Launch This Rocket Kit, You'll Also Need:

• Rocket Motors (Not included with this kit - See the motor selection above)
• Launch Pad (see below for suggestions) & Launch Controller (Not included with this kit)
• Recovery Wadding - Disposable | Reusable

Q. What launch pad should I use to launch this rocket kit?

A. Since this is a big rocket, you'll need very stable launch pad. We offer the Aerotech Mantis Launch Pad and the Estes Porta Pad-E.

Q. What launch controller can I use to ignite the motors?

A. We offer two different controllers that can be used for mid and high-power size rockets. The Aerotech Interlock and the Pratt Hobbies GO-BOX Controller.

Q. I need help selecting motors. What should I do? Can you teach me how to select them myself?

A. Watch this YouTube video - How to Select Model Rocket Engines

We encourage you to learn the proper motor selection technique. Please watch our YouTube video that will walk you step-by-step through the process