Brief: T' Harpoon is a scale model o' a US Air-Launched Anti-Ship Missile, T' Launch Pad's kit is an excellent first mid power and scale rocket.

Construction: I be so glad when I finally got me hands on me AGM-84 Harpoon. One o' t' members o' me club be goin' down t' t' US and was kind enough t' brin' it back for me. Ahoy! Ahoy! I received t' Harpoon with all pieces present, in good condition, and good quality. I have heard some nay so great things about TLP's balsa wood, matey, but I found t' wood for t' Harpoon great, with a little help from CA.

T' instructions were clear, but I wish they would have included more help and info on how t' get t' little hat that sits on top o' a FatBoy style nose cone, arrr, matey, shiver me timbers, straight and in t' middle, matey, shiver me timbers, that be tricky, arrr, but I think mine is close enough for me standards. Begad! That be t' only real "gotcha" for this rocket, t' fins aligned great, and everythin' fit together perfectly.

Finishing: T' only thin' that really disappointed me in t' beginnin' with t' Harpoon be t' lackin' o' decals. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! But, now I know that it much easier for t' consumer t' use his or her own techniques. I just painted t' bands that go around t' rocket, and for all o' t' small pinpoint rivets that are suppose t' be on t' rocket, I used a decal pack that I got from a local hobby store (East Coast Model Center) that was 1/5 rivet decals, matey, perfect, shiver me timbers, went on with ease, and made t' rocket look great. Blimey! Begad! Still ponderin' what t' do for t' small amount o' letterin' that will go on t' rocket. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Just a note, I am nay a perfectionist, me hearties, arrr, or a great scale buff, me bucko, arrr, me Harpoon was just sports scale, but I like how it turned out.

Construction Rating: 4 ½ out o' 5

Flight: T' recommended motors for t' harpoon are a D12-3, arrr, E15-4, and a RMS F24-4 (24mm). Well, blow me down! Begad! I plan on usin' all o' t' recommended motors, but instead o' t' E15, arrr, an E18 (reload).

T' day for t' maiden flight for t' Harpoon finally came. Aye aye! Aye aye! First flight would be on a D12-3. Aye aye! Everythin' was setup, pictures were taken, arrr, ya bilge rat, and after makin' sure t' wind was perfect, that t' launch rod was perfect, me hearties, and that everythin' was perfect, arrr, it was ready t' launch. I pushed t' launch button and t' Harpoon lifted off. Well, blow me down! T' flight be perfect. Begad! T' Harpoon flied straight as a rail, nice altitude on a D, me bucko, and then right at apogee t' ejection charge fired, me bucko, shiver me timbers, and t' nice mylar parachute deployed, arrr, and t' Harpoon drifted down. Begad! Perfect flight and recovery.

Second flight, same day. Begad! I be goin' t' fly me LOC Aura on an Aerotech E engine, that be t' plan, ya bilge rat, but when I launched that on a D, t' stock streamer didn't slow it down enough and it broke a fin off, me bucko, me bucko, so I thought I would fly it in t' Harpoon. Ahoy! Arrr! Everythin' be set, shiver me timbers, arrr, and be readied again. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! I hit t' launch button, and t' Harpoon lifted off t' pad, me bucko, t' igniter clips didn't come off, it soared... Arrr! Begad! wait a minute (my exact thoughts). Avast, me proud beauty! T' Aerotech igniter clips didn't unattach themselves from t' Harpoon, when it be about ten feet off o' t' pad, me hearties, t' leads ran out o' slack, ya bilge rat, me hearties, which caused them t' pull on t' harpoon, causin' it t' go horizontal. Aye aye! T' leads did finally come unattached. T' Harpoon sailed directly away from us and over t' small hill we launch on. Aye aye! Ahoy! Amazin' sight. Then t' realization set in. Begad! Arrr! T' slow walk started towards t' crash site. As we got closer t' it, shiver me timbers, arrr, we noticed that t' parachute had deployed. Ahoy! Good sign. Avast, me proud beauty! It landed in some alders, pretty good sign, shiver me timbers, me hearties, but then we notice what we thought was t' nose cone, was actually t' top six inches o' t' rocket's body tube smashed.

Damage report. Well, blow me down! Blimey! First six inches o' t' rocket are destroyed. Begad! Blimey! T' nose cone was completely smashed t' bits, one broken fin, matey, and all fins had small slits from t' alder branches. Blimey! Blimey! It is fixable, it will be fixed, arrr, shiver me timbers, and it will fly again, ya bilge rat, and hopefully soon. I contact TLP and they were great enough t' help me by givin' me t' length o' t' rocket, help me with a parts list, and are sendin' me a replacement 'little hat' that goes on t' t' top o' t' nose cone t' give it t' scale.

Recovery: One thin' I really enjoy about t' Harpoon is its green mylar parachute, it's easy t' see, shiver me timbers, me bucko, easy t' pack, me hearties, and has a snap for easy removal from t' Harpoon. Ahoy! Begad! Blimey! T' 18" seems t' be fine from t' tests I have conducted (throwin' it off me deck). Arrr! Aye aye! Blimey! T' recovery system is a snap t' put together, but instead o' usin' t' shroud line material t' connect t' nose cone t' t' swivel, matey, I just tied t' shock cord t' t' nose cone, me bucko, and put t' swivel 10" or so down, didn't want t' trust that thin string).

Flight Rating: 4 ½ out o' 5

Summary: This rocket looks awesome, arrr, that be t' best thin' I feel about it. It is a nice lookin' rocket, matey, t' right size, nice motors size, nice scale touch, and a nice finish. T' only thin' I would say that I disliked about t' rocket would be that little hat that goes on top o' t' nose cone. Blimey! Begad! Other than that, all o' t' pieces went together easily. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! A good first mid power or scale rocket.

Overall Rating: 4 ½ out o' 5