This is a skill level 4 flying model rocket kit. It certainly is challenging and fun to build. It is also intended for the more experienced builder, as it the case for most TLP kits. The paint job is also a bit of a challenge. It is not as much difficult as it is time consuming. There are a lot of areas and lines to be masked off. With the right masking tape, paint runs and other mistakes are easily avoided. The Seawolf surface-to-air missile has been used by the British Royal Navy since 1979. This canister launched missile is used to target and destroy inbound anti-ship missiles. It is part of a fully automated system which detects inbound targets, determines if they are friend or foe and takes action accordingly. The real missile is powered by solid-fuel propellant and can obtain a maximum velocity of Mach 2. It can reach targets up to 21,325 ft (6,500m) away, up to an altitude of 9,842 ft (3,000m).

Parts List

The kit comes complete with all the parts required to build this flying model rocket, with the exception of some pinheads to use as rivets.

- plastic nose cone
- body tube (BT-80)
- balsa fin stock sheets
- 8 balsa strips (fin strips)
- balsa dowel
- fin and pod template sheets
- motor tube and engine hook
- 3 centering rings (one notched)
- tube coupler
- shock cord and shock cord mount
- 18" Mylar parachute assembly
- clay weight
- instructions

Make sure you have plenty of sand paper, glue and a new hobby knife blade on hand. You'll also need a pencil and ruler to build this model rocket.

Construction

Usually, I'd start by putting the clay weight in the nose cone. As this Seawolf rocket model would not be built stock, I waited to calculate the exact nose weight required as the last step. To start, the body tube was marked for the fin locations. Using a sheet of paper (wrapped around the body tube), circles were drawn around the body tube, for the fin offsets.

There's quite a bit of balsa to cut. The items shown in the picture on the right are for a single fin set. There's the front and back fin, fin strips (below the main fin), fin brackets (top right) and diamond shaped fin pads. The balsa dowel section are not shown in the picture, as they aren't part of the fins.

Each fin also has a fin pod, which is created from card stock and a balsa square (to close the end). As you can see in the picture, I glued in some small triangles for structural support.

The picture on the right shows the Seawolf as a work in progress. The fin pods, brackets and dowel pieces have not yet been installed. The aft fin set sits on the fin pads. Once the fin pads are installed, there's a gap between them and the body tube. This was filled using Hobbylite balsa filler. Once the filler dried, a fillet of white glue was applied over the fin pad sides. This great looking The Launch Pad flying model rocket kit was not built according to the instructions. For starters, the fins and fin pads were replaced with basswood. The supplied balsa wood was used for the other wooden parts. The third centering ring is used to create a parachute compartment disc. This was replaced with a Sunward BT-80 baffle kit. A Kevlar shock cord was attached to the baffle kit instead of using the tri-fold mount with elastic shock cord. The engine hook was also not used, instead an aluminum motor retainer was used. I prefer this method as the motor mount is recessed 2" into the body tube. This type of retainer makes it easy to insert or remove the model rocket engine. Making such changes can be fun but also quite dangerous. They not only add weight to the model rocket, it also changes the location of the center of gravity. This in turn severely affects stability. Once the model was built and painted, it was weighed and the correct amount of nose weight was calculated and installed in the nose cone.

The Mylar parachute was replaced with a nylon parachute. This was also taken into consideration when the model Seawolf was weighed.

Measurements

The face card lists the length as 29" with a 2.6" (BT80) diameter. There is no weight provided by The Launch Pad in instructions or face card.

Finishing

Adding the rivets to the fin pads and fin brackets would likely add to the overall look of the Seawolf. More detail is generally a good thing. However, due to the changes already made to this model rocket, rivets would only add unwanted weight. No rivets were used.

Rust-Oleum protective enamel spray paint was used to add color to the Seawolf. First, the entire rocket was painted gloss white. Next, section of the nose cone were masked off and the middle part was painted Sunrise Red. The section between the fins was painted the same color. Black lines were added, as shown on the face card. The face card also shows some black dots, which weren't added.

A yellow line was added where the airframe and nose cone meet. This hides that transition well and the idea came from a Seawolf picture found online.

The trick to getting these lines nice and sharp is using the right masking tape. For the model built for review, Tamiya (6mm) tape was used.

Flight Data

Recommended model rocket engines for this kit are Aerotech E30-7, RMS F24-4 and E18-4. The TLP instructions specifically state not to by this rocket on Estes D12 or E9 engines.

In all honesty, I wasn't expecting much of a flight, as the kit was overbuilt and came out heaver than I wanted. The Sea Wolf put on quite a show on a F24-4. It jumped off the pad with a nice straight boost, veered off course a little after motor burnout and came down close to the pad on a 24" Top Flight Recovery X-Type parachute. A very fun flight to watch, this one will fly again for sure.