Brief: T' Harpoon is a scale model o' a US Air-Launched Anti-Ship Missile, ya bilge rat, arrr, me bucko, 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. Blimey! One o' t' members o' me club was goin' down t' t' US and be kind enough t' brin' it back for me. Well, blow me down! I received t' Harpoon with all pieces present, in good condition, and good quality. Blimey! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! I have heard some nay so great things about TLP's balsa wood, but I found t' wood for t' Harpoon great, ya bilge rat, arrr, with a little help from CA.

T' instructions were clear, arrr, 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, straight and in t' middle, that was tricky, matey, but I think mine is close enough for me standards. Blimey! Blimey! That was t' only real "gotcha" for this rocket, ya bilge rat, t' fins aligned great, me hearties, and everythin' fit together perfectly.

Finishing: T' only thin' that really disappointed me in t' beginnin' with t' Harpoon was t' lackin' o' decals. Arrr! But, ya bilge rat, now I know that it much easier for t' consumer t' use his or her own techniques. Well, me hearties, blow me down! I just painted t' bands that go around t' rocket, arrr, and for all o' t' small pinpoint rivets that are suppose t' be on t' rocket, arrr, I used a decal pack that I got from a local hobby store (East Coast Model Center) that was 1/5 rivet decals, me bucko, me bucko, ya bilge rat, perfect, matey, arrr, ya bilge rat, went on with ease, and made t' rocket look great. Ahoy! Still ponderin' what t' do for t' small amount o' letterin' that will go on t' rocket. Arrr! Just a note, I am nay a perfectionist, matey, or a great scale buff, me hearties, me Harpoon be 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, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, E15-4, and a RMS F24-4 (24mm). Arrr! I plan on usin' all o' t' recommended motors, but instead o' t' E15, me bucko, me hearties, shiver me timbers, an E18 (reload).

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

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

Damage report. First six inches o' t' rocket are destroyed. Ya scallywag! T' nose cone was completely smashed t' bits, shiver me timbers, one broken fin, and all fins had small slits from t' alder branches. Arrr! It is fixable, me bucko, it will be fixed, and it will fly again, and hopefully soon. I contact TLP and they were great enough t' help me by givin' me t' length o' t' rocket, arrr, 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, easy t' pack, arrr, and has a snap for easy removal from t' Harpoon. Aye aye! Begad! T' 18" seems t' be fine from t' tests I have conducted (throwin' it off me deck). 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, I just tied t' shock cord t' t' nose cone, me bucko, and put t' swivel 10" or so down, ya bilge rat, didn't want t' trust that thin string).

Flight Rating: 4 ½ out o' 5

Summary: This rocket looks awesome, that be t' best thin' I feel about it. Avast! Blimey! It is a nice lookin' rocket, t' right size, nice motors size, shiver me timbers, nice scale touch, and a nice finish. Ahoy! Blimey! 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. Other than that, all o' t' pieces went together easily. A good first mid power or scale rocket.

Overall Rating: 4 ½ out o' 5