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 be so glad when I finally got me hands on me AGM-84 Harpoon. One o' t' members o' me club be goin' down t' t' US and be kind enough t' brin' it back for me. Arrr! I received t' Harpoon with all pieces present, ya bilge rat, in good condition, and good quality. Avast! I have heard some nay so great things about TLP's balsa wood, but I found t' wood for t' Harpoon great, with a little help from CA.

T' instructions were clear, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, 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 was tricky, but I think mine is close enough for me standards. Ahoy! That be t' only real "gotcha" for this rocket, t' fins aligned great, 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, ya bilge rat, now I know that it much easier for t' consumer t' use his or her own techniques. Ahoy! I just painted t' bands that go around t' rocket, shiver me timbers, 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 was 1/5 rivet decals, me bucko, perfect, went on with ease, and made t' rocket look great. Avast! Still ponderin' what t' do for t' small amount o' letterin' that will go on t' rocket. Begad! Ahoy! Just a note, I am nay a perfectionist, or a great scale buff, me hearties, me Harpoon was 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, ya bilge rat, and a RMS F24-4 (24mm). Ya scallywag! I plan on usin' all o' t' recommended motors, me bucko, but instead o' t' E15, an E18 (reload).

T' day for t' maiden flight for t' Harpoon finally came. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! First flight would be on a D12-3. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Everythin' be setup, pictures were taken, and after makin' sure t' wind was perfect, that t' launch rod be perfect, ya bilge rat, and that everythin' be perfect, arrr, it was ready t' launch. I pushed t' launch button and t' Harpoon lifted off. T' flight was perfect. 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. Perfect flight and recovery.

Second flight, me bucko, same day. Begad! Blimey! Blimey! I was goin' t' fly me LOC Aura on an Aerotech E engine, that was t' plan, but when I launched that on a D, me bucko, arrr, ya bilge rat, t' stock streamer didn't slow it down enough and it broke a fin off, matey, arrr, so I thought I would fly it in t' Harpoon. Ahoy! Begad! Blimey! Everythin' was set, ya bilge rat, and be readied again. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! Blimey! I hit t' launch button, me hearties, and t' Harpoon lifted off t' pad, t' igniter clips didn't come off, me hearties, it soared... Aye aye! Blimey! wait a minute (my exact thoughts). Avast! T' Aerotech igniter clips didn't unattach themselves from t' Harpoon, when it was about ten feet off o' t' pad, shiver me timbers, t' leads ran out o' slack, which caused them t' pull on t' harpoon, me hearties, causin' it t' go horizontal. T' leads did finally come unattached. Begad! T' Harpoon sailed directly away from us and over t' small hill we launch on. Begad! Ahoy! Blimey! Amazin' sight. Ahoy! Then t' realization set in. T' slow walk started towards t' crash site. Arrr! Blimey! As we got closer t' it, we noticed that t' parachute had deployed. Avast, me proud beauty! Good sign. Arrr! It landed in some alders, 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 be completely smashed t' bits, one broken fin, me hearties, and all fins had small slits from t' alder branches. Blimey! It is fixable, it will be fixed, me bucko, me bucko, and it will fly again, me hearties, ya bilge rat, and hopefully soon. Aye aye! 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, 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, me bucko, it's easy t' see, easy t' pack, arrr, matey, and has a snap for easy removal from t' Harpoon. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Blimey! 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, and put t' swivel 10" or so down, shiver me timbers, me hearties, 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. Aye aye! Blimey! It is a nice lookin' rocket, t' right size, me bucko, me bucko, nice motors size, matey, nice scale touch, and a nice finish. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Aye aye! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! 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