This is a skill level 3 flying model rocket kit. It builds as such. The trickiest part is drilling holes in the conduits. I couldn't get that quite right and skipped it, more on that later. Creating a boattail and nose cone extension (not shown in picture) is harder than it sounds too. This model is based on an anti-air missile used by Great Britain and France. It is 4.12m (13 1/2 ft) long. The diameter is 40 cm with a weight of 550kg. The 1:6 scale model is obviously quite a bit smaller. Still, it looks quite impressive on the launch pad. It has some nice details, such as boattail, conduits and triangles on the fins. It also has a nose cone extension which wasn't used for the model rocket built for review purposes. The Martel was one of the first practical anti-radar missiles, powered by solid motor fuel. Once launched, it homes in on a radar signal and seeks out the target without further human intervention.

Parts List

This The Launch Pad kit is sold in a clear plastic bag, which contains all parts required to build your own Martel mid-power flying model rocket.

- plastic nose cone
- body tube (BT-80)
- 2 balsa fin stock sheets
- balsa strips
- fin, tail and cone template sheets
- motor tube and engine hook
- 3 centering rings (one notched)
- smaller tube coupler with two centering rings
- shock cord and shock cord mount
- launch lug (3/16")
- Mylar parachute canopy, shroud lines and snap swivel
- clay nose weight
- assembly instructions

Hobby supplies you should have before building the Martel AS.37 include yellow or white glue, CA glue, pencil, ruler, and hobby knife with a sharp blade.

Construction

The fins were cut from basswood rather than the balsa sheets provided by The Launch Pad. Each forward fin has a triangle attached to each side. Instructions don't mention what these triangles represent.

A cardstock shroud is cut and used to form a tailcone. It is glued around the aft end of a tube and a centering ring. This is then inserted in the aft end of the mid power rocket. Instructions say to use CA to reinforce the tail, I painted on some West System epoxy instead. As you can see in the picture, an aluminum motor retainer was added, the engine hook supplied with the model rocket kit was not used.

There's also a nose cone extension to create. I couldn't quite get it as nice as I wanted and decided to go a different route. While looking for color scheme ideas, I came across some images which show two versions of the Martel. There's the anti-radiation and TV-guided version. I opted to go for the one which won't need the nose cone extension. That web page also served as inspiration for the finishing on this TLP model.

That leaves the conduits. These take up a fair amount of time to shape and can get tricky. My first attempt to drill the holes failed miserably. The holes weren't lined up 100% correctly and it showed.

The second attempt was based on the idea of using something with pre-drilled holes as a guide. The first idea was a piano hinge. The holes seemed too small, so I kept looking until I found a flat corner brace that looked like it had the right size holes. They turned out to be slightly too large. A line was drawn across the middle of the conduit and the brace. The conduit was then marked in 1" increments. Masking tape was used to secure the brace onto the conduit, lining up the lines on the brace and conduit. The second attempt was far better than the first. Still not good enough, as the holes in the conduit were slightly too large the was room for some movement and error.

The idea of using a guide would work if you find something with exactly 3/16 holes. Of course, good motor skills and hand-eye coordination could do the trick too.

Afer filling the holes (with balsa filler) from the second attempt, I didn't want to have to drill into the conduits again. I'd almost certainly be drilling into or very close to areas that were previously filled. And, in all honesty, I was very ready just glue on the conduits to the model rocket by now. The conduits were glued onto the Martel without holes.

Measurements

The Launch Pad lists the length of this mid power rocket as 27" (68.58 cm). The airframe is a BT-80 tube, which gives it a 2.6" (66 mm) diameter.

Finishing

For the paint job, I didn't want to follow the face card as it looked a little boring. After searching around, I found a look I liked much better (and doesn't have the pointy nose cone).

First the TLP Martel was primed and sanded smooth. Next, the whole model rocket was painted Rust-Oleum army green. For the details, the bottom of the nose cone was masked off and the top painted black. Finally, the royal blue and semi-gloss white rings were painted on the airframe. Good, quality, masking tape is important while adding the details.

Flight Data

The face card recommends Estes D12-5 and Aerotech E15-4 model rocket engines for use with the Martel flying mid power rocket.