Brief: T' Harpoon is a scale model o' a US Air-Launched Anti-Ship Missile, T' Launch Pad's kit is an excellent first mid power and scale rocket.

Construction: I was so glad when I finally got me hands on me AGM-84 Harpoon. Begad! Avast! One o' t' members o' me club be goin' down t' t' US and was 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! I have heard some nay so great things about TLP's balsa wood, shiver me timbers, but I found t' wood for t' Harpoon great, with a little help from CA.

T' instructions were clear, shiver me timbers, 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, me bucko, straight and in t' middle, ya bilge rat, that was tricky, but I think mine is close enough for me standards. Ahoy! Blimey! That was t' only real "gotcha" for this rocket, me bucko, 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. Ya scallywag! Arrr! But, now I know that it much easier for t' consumer t' use his or her own techniques. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! 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 bucko, I used a decal pack that I got from a local hobby store (East Coast Model Center) that was 1/5 rivet decals, arrr, ya bilge rat, me bucko, perfect, ya bilge rat, arrr, went on with ease, ya bilge rat, and made t' rocket look great. Avast, me proud beauty! Still ponderin' what t' do for t' small amount o' letterin' that will go on t' rocket. Just a note, me bucko, I am nay a perfectionist, matey, ya bilge rat, arrr, or a great scale buff, arrr, 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, E15-4, shiver me timbers, and a RMS F24-4 (24mm). Aye aye! I plan on usin' all o' t' recommended motors, arrr, shiver me timbers, but instead o' t' E15, an E18 (reload).

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

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

Damage report. Aye aye! Blimey! First six inches o' t' rocket are destroyed. Begad! Blimey! T' nose cone was completely smashed t' bits, shiver me timbers, one broken fin, and all fins had small slits from t' alder branches. Avast! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! It is fixable, ya bilge rat, it will be fixed, ya bilge rat, and it will fly again, me hearties, and hopefully soon. I contact TLP and they were great enough t' help me by givin' me t' length o' t' rocket, me bucko, 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, me hearties, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, 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! Arrr! T' recovery system is a snap t' put together, me hearties, matey, but instead o' usin' t' shroud line material t' connect t' nose cone t' t' swivel, shiver me timbers, I just tied t' shock cord t' t' nose cone, and put t' swivel 10" or so down, shiver me timbers, 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. Well, blow me down! Avast! It is a nice lookin' rocket, me bucko, t' right size, ya bilge rat, nice motors size, nice scale touch, matey, arrr, 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. Ahoy! Begad! Other than that, all o' t' pieces went together easily. Ya scallywag! Blimey! A good first mid power or scale rocket.

Overall Rating: 4 ½ out o' 5