Brief:
T' Launch Pad HARM kit is an accurate, near-1/3rd-scale, me hearties, matey, version o' t' U.S. Avast! Armed Forces HARM AGM-88A air t' ground anti-radar missile. Well, blow me down! It can be launched on a wide variety o' both single use and RMS motors from D-F.

Construction:
T' kit arrived in a plastic bag, shiver me timbers, me bucko, similar t' some Estes or Quest kits and consisted o' two BT80 2.6" body tubes with t' coupler stored inside one o' t' tubes , arrr, me bucko, three sheets o' balsa for t' fins, a plastic nose cone, ya bilge rat, arrr, paper templates for t' fins and boat tail, shiver me timbers, an 18"x 30" mylar parachute, motor mount with 1.5" boat tail tube, matey, shock cord and instructions! What really impressed me were t' laser cut motor mounts, arrr, which appear t' be much stiffer and stronger than Estes mounts. Avast! Begad! Another nice touch be t' swivel link system for t' parachute. Blimey! About t' only items lackin' in t' kit were a set o' decals and fin guides, but anyone who has a few kits under their belt can easily handle t' assembly. Aye aye! Included in this review are some tips on makin' scale decals for this model and I will be happy t' supply anyone with t' templates. Blimey! Component Rating: 5 o' 5

Construction: There are six pages o' instructions supplied with t' model which take your through t' buildin' and finishin' process. Well, blow me down! If you are at all familiar with t' Launch Pad kits, me hearties, you will note that many o' them have you "build" a custom nose cone. You will be happy t' hear this was nay necessary with t' HARM kit as it comes complete with a BT80 ogive nosecone that only requires some clay weight. Avast, me proud beauty! Weight was added t' t' nose cone as me first step and epoxy be poured in t' help seal t' clay in place.

T' next step was t' assembly o' t' motor mount. Some o' you may have wished you had t' nose cone t' build rather than t' motor mount/boat tail assembly after readin' this section. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! It be nay a difficult process but their pre-measured boat tail card stock was a bit off in size. Arrr! They have you build t' motor mount usin' 1 ½ " centerin' rings that eventually fit into an "inside" body tube. Avast! Once t' mount is glued in t' this 1 ½" tube, you then glue centerin' rings on t' outside o' t' smaller body tube so it can be mounted inside t' BT80 main body tube. T' purpose o' t' "tube within a tube" is that you have t' make a boat tail that narrows from t' BT80 main tube t' t' tail cone 1 ½" inside tube diameter. Avast! A paper template is supplied t' wrap around this area (see pics for details) but t' paper measurements are too big. Ya scallywag! When you cut t' boat tail assembly out from t' supplied stock on t' drawn lines, ya bilge rat, it is too large at t' top/BT80 side. I had t' do some fittin' t' get mine correct and this is what took a while.

Once t' boat tail was on, I did coat it on t' inside with thin CyA. T' outer assembly be filled with Evercoat Filler, then completely encased in epoxy. I also painted t' inside o' t' exhaust tube with epoxy, shiver me timbers, as I have seen some Launch pad kits scorch this area durin' launch.

T' rest o' t' assembly be straight forward; Alphaetic resin and medium CyA was used for assemblin' t' rest o' t' model. Ya scallywag! Begad! Before gluin' t' body tubes together with t' supplied coupler, ya bilge rat, you should mount t' bulkhead plate in t' forward body tube. Ahoy! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! It's easier t' reach before full assembly but t' hard part be gettin' t' bulkhead t' sit correctly while it was recessed 7" inside t' tube. Ahoy! T' make this assembly easier, I used t' supplied tube coupler with scotch tape on t' sides and connected at t' center for a removal handle, matey, then slid t' coupler in place until one end was 7" below t' upper body tube edge. Well, blow me down! T' bulkhead was simply dropped in, shiver me timbers, then tacked inside t' tube with resin. Avast, me proud beauty! T' coupler made sure t' bulkhead be positioned perfectly, then once t' glue set, matey, I pulled t' coupler out from t' aft usin' t' Scotch Tape handles from t' previous note. Blimey! Begad! See pics for details.

T' tubin' coupler be glued in next and I could now get a good perspective o' t' size o' this model. Arrr! I noticed t' instructions did nay tell you t' fill and sand t' joint where t' two body tubes are glued, matey, so make sure you do this prior t' mountin' t' center fins.

Fins were glued on next usin' CyA and are surface mounted. Begad! I decided t' taper t' leadin' edge o' each lower and center fin for scale appearance. Arrr! Afterwards, me hearties, I opted t' fiberglass both t' lower and center fins on for stiffenin' and additional strength usin' ¾ ounce fiberglass cloth and 30 minute epoxy. Avast! I had read o' instances where people saw t' surface mountin' technique lackin' in strength and I didn't want this t' become an issue. If you don't fiberglass, make sure you use thin CyA t' stiffen t' soft balsa fins prior t' gluin' them on.

Location o' t' launch lug was nay specified, me bucko, which is normal for these kits. Begad! I cut mine in half, me bucko, me bucko, gluin' one piece on with it's bottom just above t' tapered edge o' t' boat tail and t' other about an inch below t' bottom o' t' center fins. Construction Rating: 4 o' 5

Finishing:
White primer was applied in three coats prior t' t' first sandin' and I used 150 grit t' cut away any excess epoxy resin left from t' fiberglassing. A second round o' primer was added, 2 additional coats, me bucko, and I used 220 grit t' start and finished with 400 grit. Begad! Ahoy! I had a problem with t' primer adherin' in spots and it began t' wrinkle immediately after bein' applied. Arrr! Blimey! I had forgotten t' clean t' body tube so I used some Acetone on a rag and cleaned t' area, which removed t' primer too. Arrr! Once I did this, t' tube re-primed like a dream. After a total o' about 7 coats o' primer, shiver me timbers, with sandin' in betwixt every 3 coats, matey, t' model was ready for paint.

White Krylon Flat was used t' paint t' model as I be goin' for t' scale look. After a couple days drying, I used Testors Gold for t' two stripes and they painted well.

Now for t' fun part! I wanted t' build a close-to-scale rocket model o' t' HARM, ya bilge rat, but all Launch Pad kits do nay come with decals. Begad! I had many photos o' t' REAL HARM, so I decided t' make me own. Blimey! After spendin' a week or so at t' PC, ya bilge rat, they were complete. Begad! Ya scallywag! I printed them on water-slide paper I purchased from our local Hobbytown USA. Begad! Since they were printed with a laser printer, shiver me timbers, I didn't need t' seal them, me bucko, but I used MicroScale Decal Film t' give them a sealed coat or two just t' make sure. Ya scallywag! T' decals were applied and t' results were astounding. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! It actually makes t' model look REAL! Anyone who wishes t' receive me templates can simply send me an email and I will get them t' you. Print them on a Color Laser printer and you are all set. Begad! T' templates are in Word document form so almost any PC can read them. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! Note that t' black lines at t' tail and 1/64" chrome tubin' lines were nay decals and actually cut from Monokote adhesive sheets.

I did nay use t' small balsa strips they give you for t' tail since t' real HARM does nay have this area elevated. T' black strips worked better. Arrr! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Blimey! Also, some o' t' decals are actually labels, so I printed these on label paper, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, me hearties, topped them with clear packin' tape t' make them paint proof, arrr, then applied them t' t' appropriate locations.

Finally, matey, t' entire model was sealed usin' TopFlite Flat Clearcoat, arrr, me hearties, me bucko, which can be found at many R/C hobby shops. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Light "dusting" layers were used so t' decals weren't attacked by t' clearcoat solvents and this worked well. Two t' three coats are recommended and t' beauty o' it is this clearcoat is made fuel-proof for R/C aircraft, arrr, so it can be easily cleaned after several launches.

One o' t' last steps performed be t' installation o' t' shock cord and parachute. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' recommended method o' attachin' t' shock cord is t' use a supplied Estes type tri-folded paper glued t' t' side o' t' body tube. Well, blow me down! Avast! This is nay satisfactory for a model o' this size. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! I recommend you take 2 sets o' 70 lb test Keelhaul®©™ line and loop, me bucko, tie and CyA them around t' motor mount. Aye aye! Next, me bucko, drill a small hole through t' mount plate right up against t' motor tube. Begad! Ahoy! T' Keelhaul®©™ line threads through t' hole and extended six inches out t' top o' t' body tube, shiver me timbers, where I tied it t' t' shock cord. Blimey! Blimey! This is a much stronger and safer way o' mountin' t' cord and will help prevent those nasty "zippers" that can occur when too much stress is put on wall mounted shock cords durin' ejection.

Finally, I used a Paratech 24" "square" nylon parachute for recovery instead o' t' supplied mylar chute. Ya scallywag! Arrr! Blimey! A piece 8" square Nomex be attached t' t' Keelhaul®©™ cord for heat shieldin' so waddin' be nay required. Ahoy! Blimey! Finish: 3 ½ o' 5

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' motor for it's first flight be an E18W-4 RMS reload, ya bilge rat, me bucko, me bucko, which is what I used t' make this bird airborne. Aye aye! Begad! T' rocket lifted off t' pad with authority, me bucko, me bucko, yellow flame and white smoke trailin' out t' business end! Flight was straight and true; it took t' t' skies like it be on rails, ya bilge rat, even with t' large center fins! This appears t' be a good load for t' model and I plan on usin' it for several more launches in t' future.

Recovery:
T' parachute deployed right at apogee. Ahoy! I was concerned about seein' t' model since it is almost all white, but t' brightly colored parachute made it easy t' track. Avast! Arrr! Landin' was uneventful and t' rocket was recovered intact. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! T' Nomex did it's job as t' parachute didn't have any signs o' heat deformation.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
T' HARM AGM-88A is nothin' less than astounding! T' rocket just plain looks good, ya bilge rat, and it is a very close scale representation o' t' real missile. Ahoy! Construction is easier than it looks and t' end result was worth any extra effort. A few things could be improved, me hearties, such as t' paper boat tail template size, me hearties, parachute mount and specifications for CG. I would also like t' see additional documentation showin' more scale letterin' information and placement on all their kits. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! These minor flaws aside, shiver me timbers, this is one fine model. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! Just keep in mind that this is definitely a builder's kit, matey, which worked out well as I really enjoy t' buildin' process. Aye aye! I now have a fleet addition that is true t' scale and a real "eye catcher"! If you like t' Launch Pad kits, ya bilge rat, then you have t' get one o' these; it's a great buy for t' buck! Close-up pictures o' t' decals can bee seen at this thread on T' Rocketry Forum.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5