Quest Harpoon

Quest - Harpoon {Kit} (3008)

Contributed by Clive Davis

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Diameter: 1.58 inches
Length: 20.50 inches
Manufacturer: Quest
Skill Level: 3
Style: Scale

Brief:
Pseudo-Scale model o' an Air-to-Ground Harpoon missile. This kit features 12 fins, me hearties, large BT-60 body tube, new-and-improved plastic parachute, me bucko, me bucko, and adhesive decals. Kit is flown as a single stage.

Construction:
T' kit includes:-

  • Die-cut balsa fins
  • Keelhaul®©™ cord and shock cord materials
  • 18" BT-60 body tube
  • PNC-60 (Big Bertha style)
  • Quest type engine hook
  • 2 cardboard centerin' rings
  • Engine block and engine tube for 18 mm motors
  • Adhesive decals

Plastic parachute with shroud lines. Begad! Begad! Plastic is now quality o' t' Estes parachutes, nay t' crinkly old Quest type.

As with other Quest products, matey, me hearties, t' instructions are more than adequate and easy t' follow. Avast, me proud beauty! T' illustrations were clear and very easy t' follow. Blimey! Quest uses Keelhaul®©™ tied around t' engine mount with t' shock cord attached at t' other end. Blimey! I followed instructions exactly: create engine mount, glue into body tube, remove and sand fins, glue fins onto tube. There are12 fins, so thar was a considerable amount o' sanding, gluing, sanding, arrr, matey, primin' and sanding. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! I just had t' be very careful when gluein' t' fins that they were all aligned properly.

Finishing:

After construction, ya bilge rat, I primed t' rocket with Krylon primer and sanded again. Begad! I used Elmer's Fill and Finish on t' fins and sanded again. Begad! Begad! I primed t' rocket again. Blimey! Aye aye! I painted t' body grey (as opposed t' t' suggested white) and painted t' nose cone white (as opposed t' t' suggested grey).

After t' paint dried, I carefully cut out t' decals and applied them t' t' body tube and fins. Arrr! Blimey! They are adhesive decals, me hearties, which are much easier t' apply than water-transfer decals, but don't look as good. Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! In t' end, t' rocket looks nice, me bucko, but I would have prefered water-transfer decals.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
I flew t' rocket twice, both on Estes B6-4. Well, blow me down! T' rocket is very easy t' prep with engine hook and large body diameter. It is easy t' place waddin' in (4 or 5 crumpled sheets), and then t' place t' parachute in without havin' t' jam it all in there. Begad! Avast! T' rocket on first flight really zoomed t' an admirable height considerin' t' size o' t' rocket. Begad! Arrr! Ejection occured just after apogee. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! Parachute deployed perfectly and it landed softly in t' grass.

On t' second flight, I angled t' rocket slightly into t' wind. This flight be nay impressive at all compared witth t' first. T' rocket ended up expendin' a lot o' its energy travelin' into t' wind, so much so that t' overall altitude was much lower than t' original flight. Ejection occured after apogee. Arrr! Aye aye! Parachute deployed perfectly and t' rocket returned t' t' earth unscathed.

Recovery:

Pros:

  • Quest shock cord construction with Keelhaul®©™
  • New parachute made o' better plastic, me bucko, matey, nay like previous Quest crinkly material
  • Large body diameter for easy packin' o' parachute, shock cord and recovery wadding.
  • Great flyer - straight and true.

Cons:

  • Adhesive decals make t' rocket look slightly cheesy with a "sticker-type" look.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
This is a nice flyer for someone who is lookin' for somethin' a little more challengin' than a skill level 1 rocket. Begad! T' 12 fins demand a lot more finishin' time. It is easy t' prep and fly, and t' new-and-improved parachute makes this a very nice kit. Decals are a bit disappointing. As a pseudo-scale kit, it looks smart like a missile, me hearties, ya bilge rat, but you couldn't use it in a NAR-sanctioned scale competition.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Other Reviews
  • Quest Harpoon By Chan Stevens

    This is a semi-scale kit (inspired by the Navy anti-ship missile) that looks pretty cool with very nice waterslide decals and all the fins you could possibly want. I picked up this kit at a half-off special at a chain store and found the contents survived the multiple shipments through distribution centers and stock handlers just fine. Parts were of average quality and included: Plastic ...

Flights

Comments:

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R.D. (June 16, 2003)
I think the problem with the second flight is that you angled it into the wind, nout away from it which I believe is what you're supposed to do, otherwise you just gave the weather-cocking a helping hand.
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J.R. (October 23, 2006)
This rocket has a tendency to tangle the chute with the fins.
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R.W.L. (February 15, 2007)
I'm kit-bashing rather than building this one stock, but I must say that I was decidedly less than impressed with the quality of some of the materials. The laser-cut balsa fins were very nice, and I like the quest shock-cords better than Estes, but I was disappointed with the body tube, motor-mount tube, and centering rings. Both the body tube and motor mount tube seemed rather flimsy, the centering rings were warped, and the body tube had seams that were way deeper than I would consider acceptable. While I'm glad there are more kit manufacturers out there, Quest failed to impress me with this kit.
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C.C.N. (January 22, 2009)
After I built this rocket, I set her aside for a few months. Then one day while I was arranging my rockets I noticed that the fins where not as square as I had thought they were so I removed them all, sanded the tube, and remarked them. It was during reattaching the fins that I noticed that the motor mount centering rings are not round--they are shaped strangely, thus making the fins line up wrong. I am going to test fly it and then decide whether or not to spend the time to detail the rocket.

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