Brief:
Single stage scale model of HARM AGM88-A missile with 24 mm ("D" type) engine mount. Comes with 18"x30" mylar chute.

Construction:
Like most of the military scale models sold by TLP, this kit has 8 fins. The mid rocket fins are rather unusual in their size and shape. The fins are regular balsa wood and the body tubes are regular cardboard tubes like Estes. The engine mount is also similar to Estes being made out of paper centering rings and engine tube. The nose cone is plastic and uses clay weights for proper center of gravity. Unlike a lot of other TLP kits, this one does NOT use a nose cone cap to achieve the final nose cone profile.

The rear tail cone is made of a paper shroud rolled and glued together.

Like all the other TLP kits I have assembled, the instructions are pretty straight forward and clear. Almost anyone should be able to follow them. They also include detail decal marking guides although no decals are included. The instructions are lacking however in a few ways. One, they don't tell you where to mount the launch lug, they don't include the final height/weight/diameter of the rocket and unlike other companies like AT, they don't include a parts list.

I cut the launch in two and mounted each section mid distance along the upper and lower fin's root edge. The biggest problem with this and most other TLP rockets I have built lately with tail cones is that you cut out exactly the tail cone pattern from the supplied sheet, roll it into a nice cone shape, glue it as directed and then find out that it is too big, it fits over the end of the body tube too loosely. So I had to cut a slice out of the cone and re-glue to make it fit properly. Then you have to paint it with super glue to strengthen it.

Unlike the ALARM fin's pattern which are confusing, the fin templates for the HARM are clearly marked as to the way the wood grain show go.

The rest of the assembly went without a problem. The two body tubes joined nicely, the nosecone weight was added, etc without no problems.

Finishing:
The biggest drawback with all the TLP kits in my opinion is lack of decals. I am sorry but I don't have the best of eyes. Trying to line up rub on letters results in wavey text. Using pin stripe tape helps a little but this and the other TLP kits would look much, much better if decals were supplied.

I gave the rocket a coat of flat white and despite the lack of nice decals, doesn't look too bad.

Construction Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5

Flight:
Used a D12-5 for the first flight. Rocket went nice and straight in light wind. Rocket was well past apogee before the chute came out but I planned it that way to avoid drift.

Unfortunately one of the chute's lines got caught on the shock mount anchor and the chute didn't fully open. And because of Murphy's law, it also landed on black top. One of the bottom fins was broken off (right along the root edge) and another bottom fin was almost off. The mid fins which stick out a lot and which I thought would be prone to breaking were fine. If the chute had fully open, I believe it would have been a great flight.

Recovery:
Shock cord and mylar chute seem adequate for the job. I did replace the string that attaches the nose cone to the shock cord, however. I don't trust the cheap string for that so I use a very small gauge Kevlar® string for that.

Despite the fact that the engine is recessed a bit into the rocket, no burning was seen.

Flight Rating: 4 out of 5

Summary:
Nice scale rocket of the HARM and nice flight. If only the kit came with good decals and launch lug tube instructions and a more accurate tail cone template, this would be a piece of cake rocket to assembly and have fun with.

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5