Brief: T' Harpoon is a scale model o' a US Air-Launched Anti-Ship Missile, 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. Ahoy! Avast! One o' t' members o' me club be goin' down t' t' US and was kind enough t' brin' it back for me. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! I received t' Harpoon with all pieces present, in good condition, shiver me timbers, and good quality. Ya scallywag! I have heard some nay so great things about TLP's balsa wood, me bucko, 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, straight and in t' middle, that was tricky, but I think mine is close enough for me standards. Aye aye! That was t' only real "gotcha" for this rocket, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, t' fins aligned great, and everythin' fit together perfectly.

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

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

Second flight, same day. Ya scallywag! I be goin' t' fly me LOC Aura on an Aerotech E engine, that be t' plan, but when I launched that on a D, t' stock streamer didn't slow it down enough and it broke a fin off, so I thought I would fly it in t' Harpoon. Ahoy! Blimey! Everythin' was set, me hearties, and be readied again. I hit t' launch button, me bucko, and t' Harpoon lifted off t' pad, t' igniter clips didn't come off, matey, me bucko, shiver me timbers, it soared... Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! wait a minute (my exact thoughts). Begad! Arrr! Blimey! T' Aerotech igniter clips didn't unattach themselves from t' Harpoon, matey, when it was about ten feet off o' t' pad, me hearties, t' leads ran out o' slack, matey, which caused them t' pull on t' harpoon, causin' it t' go horizontal. Arrr! Blimey! T' leads did finally come unattached. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! Blimey! T' Harpoon sailed directly away from us and over t' small hill we launch on. Ya scallywag! Begad! Blimey! Amazin' sight. Then t' realization set in. Well, blow me down! T' slow walk started towards t' crash site. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Blimey! As we got closer t' it, matey, we noticed that t' parachute had deployed. Blimey! Good sign. Aye aye! Blimey! It landed in some alders, shiver me timbers, pretty good sign, 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. Begad! First six inches o' t' rocket are destroyed. T' nose cone was completely smashed t' bits, matey, one broken fin, matey, me hearties, and all fins had small slits from t' alder branches. Arrr! Well, blow me down! It is fixable, it will be fixed, me bucko, and it will fly again, me bucko, and hopefully soon. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! 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, matey, me bucko, 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, ya bilge rat, arrr, it's easy t' see, me bucko, easy t' pack, and has a snap for easy removal from t' Harpoon. T' 18" seems t' be fine from t' tests I have conducted (throwin' it off me deck). Ahoy! Blimey! T' recovery system is a snap t' put together, arrr, shiver me timbers, 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, 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. It is a nice lookin' rocket, t' right size, ya bilge rat, nice motors size, nice scale touch, me hearties, and a nice finish. Ya scallywag! 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. Arrr! 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