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

Finishing: T' only thin' that really disappointed me in t' beginnin' with t' Harpoon be t' lackin' o' decals. Begad! But, matey, now I know that it much easier for t' consumer t' use his or her own techniques. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! I just painted t' bands that go around t' rocket, matey, 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 be 1/5 rivet decals, perfect, me hearties, arrr, went on with ease, me hearties, shiver me timbers, and made t' rocket look great. Arrr! Begad! Still ponderin' what t' do for t' small amount o' letterin' that will go on t' rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Just a note, me hearties, me hearties, I am nay a perfectionist, or a great scale buff, matey, me bucko, me hearties, me Harpoon was just sports scale, matey, 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, arrr, and a RMS F24-4 (24mm). Ahoy! Arrr! I plan on usin' all o' t' recommended motors, me hearties, but instead o' t' E15, an E18 (reload).

T' day for t' maiden flight for t' Harpoon finally came. Well, me bucko, blow me down! First flight would be on a D12-3. Avast! Ya scallywag! Everythin' was setup, pictures were taken, me hearties, and after makin' sure t' wind was perfect, shiver me timbers, that t' launch rod be perfect, and that everythin' be perfect, matey, shiver me timbers, it was ready t' launch. I pushed t' launch button and t' Harpoon lifted off. Begad! T' flight be perfect. Aye aye! T' Harpoon flied straight as a rail, nice altitude on a D, me bucko, 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, ya bilge rat, same day. I was goin' t' fly me LOC Aura on an Aerotech E engine, me bucko, arrr, me hearties, that was t' plan, arrr, but when I launched that on a D, t' stock streamer didn't slow it down enough and it broke a fin off, me hearties, so I thought I would fly it in t' Harpoon. Begad! Ya scallywag! Everythin' was set, arrr, and was readied again. Begad! Ahoy! I hit t' launch button, and t' Harpoon lifted off t' pad, arrr, t' igniter clips didn't come off, me bucko, me bucko, me bucko, it soared... Begad! wait a minute (my exact thoughts). Well, blow me down! T' Aerotech igniter clips didn't unattach themselves from t' Harpoon, shiver me timbers, when it was about ten feet off o' t' pad, t' leads ran out o' slack, which caused them t' pull on t' harpoon, causin' it t' go horizontal. Ahoy! T' leads did finally come unattached. Begad! T' Harpoon sailed directly away from us and over t' small hill we launch on. Well, blow me down! Begad! Amazin' sight. Then t' realization set in. T' slow walk started towards t' crash site. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! As we got closer t' it, we noticed that t' parachute had deployed. Blimey! Good sign. It landed in some alders, pretty good sign, me bucko, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! First six inches o' t' rocket are destroyed. T' nose cone was completely smashed t' bits, arrr, ya bilge rat, one broken fin, arrr, and all fins had small slits from t' alder branches. Aye aye! It is fixable, shiver me timbers, it will be fixed, and it will fly again, and hopefully soon. Avast! 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, 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, shiver me timbers, me bucko, it's easy t' see, matey, easy t' pack, matey, and has a snap for easy removal from t' Harpoon. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! T' 18" seems t' be fine from t' tests I have conducted (throwin' it off me deck). Avast, me proud beauty! T' recovery system is a snap t' put together, matey, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, but instead o' usin' t' shroud line material t' connect t' nose cone t' t' swivel, me bucko, I just tied t' shock cord t' t' nose cone, me hearties, 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, that be t' best thin' I feel about it. Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! It is a nice lookin' rocket, t' right size, matey, nice motors size, shiver me timbers, 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. Ahoy! Aye aye! Blimey! 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