Quest Tomahawk SLCM

Quest - Tomahawk {Kit} (3007) [1994-]

Contributed by Kris Henderson

Construction Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Flight Rating: starstarstarstarstar
Overall Rating: starstarstarstarstar_border
Diameter: 1.58 inches
Length: 22.00 inches
Manufacturer: Quest
Skill Level: 3
Style: Scale

Quest SLCM Tomahawk

Brief:
Single stage, ya bilge rat, me bucko, 18mm mount, parachute recovery, scale model o' NAVY SLCM Tomahawk cruise missile. Arrr! Arrr! Water transfer decals included.

Construction:
Kit includes 1 body tube, ya bilge rat, me bucko, 6 die-cut balsa fins, shiver me timbers, paper shrouds around tail and for t' belly scoop, arrr, typical Quest recovery system that connects t' motor mount with Keelhaul®©™ and elastic lines, plastic nose cone, and water transfer decals.

T' instructions in this kit are pretty basic and straightforward. Begad! T' big CON in this kit in me opinion be t' paper shroud that wraps around t' tail o' t' body tube. Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! You have t' cut out this paper shroud and try t' glue it perfectly along t' dotted lines. Ya scallywag! Then you have t' glue t' edge o' paper t' t' edge o' t' body tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Nay exactly an easy task t' perform. My shroud be just a little bit off t' dotted line but it really showed when I glued it t' t' body. Well, blow me down! You could tell I wasn't gettin' paid t' build it. Avast, me proud beauty! Other than that t' kit was pretty basic. Aye aye! On t' belly scoop I folded t' paper tabs into t' scoop vice flattenin' them outward from t' scoop. Avast! This helped t' scoop look more flush with t' body.

Finishing:
Since me tail shroud wasn't placed exactly edge t' edge t' water transfer decals didn't end up linin' up with me paint job. Begad! Even with that slip up though, this is still a cool lookin' rocket. Ya scallywag! Cool color scheme with t' paint and decals and t' two forward wings really stand out in flight. I'm givin' t' construction a 4 because o' t' good challenge t' paper pieces present, ya bilge rat, but it could have been a 5 if thar was a better way t' configure t' tail shroud piece.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Quest SLCM Tomahawk

Flight:
Very cool first flight. Begad! I flew it on an Estes C6-7. Begad! T' ascent be beautiful. Avast, me proud beauty! Straight up with almost zero corkscrew and t' chute popped clean, however t' 7 second delay was about half a year too long. It wanted t' lawn dart for about 100 feet but it finally popped and landed with zero damage. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! I don't think I'd even want a 5 second delay for this rocket on a C motor. Ya scallywag! Begad! I would probably recommend a B6-4 and a C6-3 for good flights. B4 motors would be good for small fields but you're really missin' out on this kit's potential.

Quest SLCM Tomahawk

Recovery:
Zero cons for recovery. Avast, me proud beauty! Perfect size chute for this kit. Begad! Arrr! Don't even think o' usin' a streamer if you plan t' fly it again.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
Big PROs are that it's a really cool rocket that you can change t' paint scheme a lot and keep it lookin' scale, ya bilge rat, me hearties, me bucko, and t' two forward wings make it look really neat flying. Ahoy! CONs, again, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, matey, are t' paper shrouds. Maybe thicker paper could be used.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5

Other Reviews
  • Quest Tomahawk SLCM By Rich DeAngelis (December 5, 2011)

    This is a standard, 18mm powered scale-like model of the US's cruise missle, in service since 1983 or '84 and used by the US Navy as well as the British Royal Navy.  SLCM stands for Surface Launched Cruise Missle.  The actual missle launches from a ship or even a torpedo tube of a submarine with a solid-propellant rocket motor, then the air scoop opens up, the wings depl ...

  • Quest Tomahawk SLCM By Joe Talento

    The following excerpt is from "Sport Rocketry". The intention is to allow guests to get a basic feeling about a kit. We strongly suggest that you get a copy of the referenced Sport Rocketry and read the entire article. Inside you will find many helpful hints in construction as well as other useful information. For more information, use the two links above. (Sport Rocketry - Jan/Feb 1999 ...

Flights

Comments:

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J.B. (April 1, 2000)
I really liked this rocket. I modified to take "D" motors I cut the stock shroud to fit the 24mm motor mount.I cut a slit in the shroud for the engine hook. The belly scoop was also modified by using a hole punch at the end right before were it joins the tube. I did this to reduce drag I added weight to the nose cone.The fins and shrouds we coated with CA glue. All construction is epoxied. I do recommend filling in around were the shroud meets the body tube with finishing epoxy. Great performer on the "D" motor.
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K.H. (April 1, 2000)
Just a note to scale modelers: This kit is NOT scale. It's semi-scale at best, bit it's a good enough start that you can successfully kit-bash this thing to decent results. The rear fins and shroud are pretty close, from what I can tell, which is good. Some other help is needed, though. Here's what I did: Using the dimensions from www.fas.org, I realized that the rocket needed to be shorter, by about 2.5". The wings also had to be MUCH larger. However, if you do this, add a LOT of nose weight. String test the stability before flying. Also, the intake shroud is also a little small, but for drag and stability reasons, I used it stock.
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C.R. (April 1, 2001)
I, also, really enjoy this kit. It is the kind of kit where you can either build it factory stock, research and build to absolute scale, or somewhere in the middle. We basically built it stock, painted it bright yellow, and enjoy it. Were I to get a bit more serious with it, I'd go to D power, scratch build the belly scoop for more realism and scratch build the fins as the ones supplied were not cut very well. The rocket flies well and has done more than 20 flights to date. It [the review] was very accurate. A lot can be done with a $10 rocket here, depending upon how fanatical one wants to get with it.
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K.G.D. (October 4, 2004)
This is by far the coolest rocket I own. Quest sure does have you build it right, they give you a Kevlar® shock cord and have you anchor it to the engine mount - definitely the right way to do it. It looks great sitting on a shelf or standing on the launch pad - and it flies real good. I have only put B engines in it so far because of the size of the field I was in but I cannot wait to send it higher. I'm even thinking about buying another one and painting it camo - never hurts to have 2 Tomahawks in your fleet !!
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J.H. (July 3, 2008)
Accurate reviews for this rocket. This is one of my all time favorites. Tougher than most to build and fly. This rocket inspired me to upscale the Quest design. It is stable flying G80 motors and has even gone up on an I once.

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