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aaronoraa

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Can someone tell me about the quality of THE LAUNCH PAD ROCKETS.

They look great and the designs look really fun to build.

Thanks.

:D
 
They are "builder's kits", which mean they require care and time in building. The quality could be closely compared to Estes. A few differences, though. You have to cut out the fins yourself (not a big deal if you have an Xacto knife and strait edge). Many of the kits have a cone that you form out of cardstock and glue to the top of the nose cone, to make it have a more pointy tip- for scale. Many also have a lot of small balsa strips that you have to cut/sand to shape, again for scale. I say go for it. I looked at your website, and this would be a good next step for you.
 
Launch pad kits are great but can be challenging to build. I would recommend the anubis kit as an introduction to their kits. It is a great design and flys well but it needs some added nose weight to increase stability. The persing kit and the nike ajax kit are also neat ones. Reviews of the these and other kits can be found at:

https://www.rocketreviews.com/cgi-bin/arcbuild/arcbuild.cgi?ven032&&MfgList
 
Thanks a lot. I will definitely take all those points into consideration.

Also thanks for visiting our site. We are proud of it!!
 
I've built several Launch Pad kits and they're a lot of fun but make sure you CA the soft balsa fins to strengthen them or they're break on landing.

Love the Scimitar and Anubis. Very cool kits to build and fly.

Andrew
 
I also have the Scimitar fun fun rocket to build. I have never launched it though. I also tried to build the sidewinder. I didnt know enough to do a good job. Honestly I really screwed it up bad. I also built the Krypton I did a much better job on that one. Anyway if you are thinking about the launch pad rockets make sure you have a few builds under your belt first, which it looks like you do. Another good thing that will help you with these is build a few paper rockets first such as art applewhites or fliskits.
 
launch pad kits are all fun and cool, real attention getters at the pad. take your time follow the instructions. especially about CAing the balsa. id even suggust maybe a thin layer of paper on the fins, makes them tough and smooth! just remember if you do you may need to offset the extra weight (add nose weight) to keep it stable.
 
One other thing about these kit is that they come with mylar chutes which I hate (tear and tangle easily). So I just use nylon chutes that I share amongst my fleet.
 
that looks like the fins were cut the wrong direction on the grain of the balsa...

that would make any fin snap off..
 
I have several tlp kits. I like them because they are challenging to build.

I strongly agree,most of the kits are better off with either cya'ing, paper-laminating or switching to basswood.

they are simply lightweight model rockets> nothing more.(the tlp Phoenix is not much different from an estes Phoenix) that can fly on midpower motors. But I do not consider them midpower rockets.
they require "beefing up" to be on the level of a typical "midpower" kit .

several people on here have voiced their displeasure with TLP kits because they are expecting a "midpower" kit. Because they are always advertised as such, I can understand why some don't like them

If you put a composite E in an estes sidewinder it would be lucky to remain intact. (The TLP sidewinder is nearly the same rocket)

If you like scale detailing and lots of cutting and sanding resulting in a eyecatching rocket you will enjoy them..I'f you like to quick build a rocket and fly high thrust composite motors in it you may not be happy with them at all.

hope this give a better indication of what to expect from TLP kits.
 
Originally posted by metalwizard
that looks like the fins were cut the wrong direction on the grain of the balsa...

that would make any fin snap off..

Yeah the fins were cut in the wrong direction on the grain of the balsa. I built it about 5 years ago before really I knew about the grain of the balsa and before I was into high power rocketry.
 
I have two TLP kits that fly pretty often: a Gecko SA-8 that I fly on everything from C11s to F12s and a HARM AGM 88 that I like to fly best on E18s. Until recently, they were both built more or less exactly out of the bag (I added a baffle and upgraded the recovery systems). Fly fine! And save for the "C11" those motors are fully in the mid-power range.

The Gecko had a bonus delay D9 a couple years ago, sat around looking pretty sad until earlier this Spring when it went into fleet maintenance and refit and came out looking its old self but a bit heavier due to paint. The C11 has been dropped from the motor list now but its flown a few times this Summer and continues to please. I'm tempted to get out some wet/dry paper and sand the paint off to the original primer coat and go it again to get the C back on the list.

TLP kits really are builder's kits. They come out light and very flyable if the builder knows what he's doing. They are very like the "kits of old" from another much more well known manufacturer. I think the folks who are disappointed with them were expecting a LOC-like kit with ply fins and heavy tubing and 29mm mounts - a completely different class of model.

The HARM looks tremendous with the addition of decals from Tango Papa.
 
I've built several Launch Pad rockets including my favorites, the ALARM and SAAB 372. After having fits with the balsa Launch Pad provides, I have substituted their balsa for a local hobby shop's bass wood. One poster mentioned the small balsa strips that are common with Lauch Pad rockets; I've also substituted their balsa strips for bass wood strips. Each substitute has added about an extra $5 to a already pricey kit. However, when completed and flown, they perform great.
 
Originally posted by agrippo
I've built several Launch Pad kits and they're a lot of fun but make sure you CA the soft balsa fins to strengthen them or they're break on landing.

Love the Scimitar and Anubis. Very cool kits to build and fly.

Andrew
Tha sounds like a good idea. Do you brush on a little or a lot or how does it work?
Thanks
fred
 
I don't like the idea of having to replace basic construction parts right of the bat in a rocket kit. Upsizing a motor mount or upgrading a 'chute is one thing, but soft balsa, and making paper wraps for nose cones on a mid power rocket doesn't sound all that great. I have never purchased a TLP kit and have no first hand knowledge of the quality. I must say though, they have some cool looking scale stuff.
 
On every Launch Pad kit I got, the balsa was warped and as soft as dry toast! It would just break into small peices if you looked at it too hard! I got much better balsa at a local hobby shop. Other than that, the kits are nice.
It can't cost that much for better balsa, just charge a buck extra for the better brands!
techman
 
Sorry if I'm changing the subject a bit here but does anyone happen to have a rocksim file of the SAAB RB-05A? I really like how it looks and I want to beef it up a bit with a better motor/stuffer tube, plywood (or basswood) TTW fins, maybe a 29mm mount, etc, etc. I just want to make sure it's stable and stuff.
 
Okay let me have it! I really like the three launch pad kits that I have. Here is the deal...if you do not like to "build" then these probably aren't the kits for you. If you are a modeler then you will love em. These are great kits. Maybe I got lucky but all three of my kits did not have soft balsa. You have to face it these kits are made to build not to build on Friday and launch on Saturday.
 
Originally posted by techman
On every Launch Pad kit I got, the balsa was warped and as soft as dry toast! It would just break into small peices if you looked at it too hard! I got much better balsa at a local hobby shop. Other than that, the kits are nice.
It can't cost that much for better balsa, just charge a buck extra for the better brands!
techman

I have a TLP Hellfire collecting dust on my bench because I got so disgusted with the cheesy balsa they included for the fins. This stuff is not as durable as toast, unfortunately! It's on the back burner till I completely re-do the fins with some quality balsa or basswood. :(
 
Here is my Krypton. It is a skill level 5 master kit and was definately the hardest kit I have ever built. The nose cone is plastic with a paper cone glued on. This kit used alot of paper shrouds. It is still not done but getting really close. It is definately a great kit...however, there is not much balsa.
https://home.comcast.net/~edscientist/krypton.jpg
 
That looks awesome!!! How long did it take you to build it?
 
I haven't had any problem with TLP kits. My balsa was fine and I did nothing to it that wouldn't do to an Estes or other manufacturer. The centering rings were nice and the body tubes were what I have been accustomed to. I don't like the mylar parachute, but it's better than what I have seen in other common kits. I knew it did not come with decals and all the other stuff because I researched them on rocketreviews.com. I am looking forward to their new kit releases, if it ever happens! The Vought and SeaSkua look particularly intriguing.
 
That looks awesome!!! How long did it take you to build it?
Thanks JJ:) It is really hard to say how long it took to build. I built it off and on over a few years. It took a considerable amount of time though.
 
I can tell that it took a long time. It's so complex looking, I love it!:D I doubt I'll get that soon though, looks too hard for me...:rolleyes:
 
Hey, Barx2, I also have a Hellfire that built from LP, I hit the local hobbyshop and got some higher grade balsa. I also got the Rocketpad version and that one uses basswood fins! Was a better kit and with plywood centering rings. there is a review on the Essence site also of both kit. They both fly well.
techman
 
Some bad news regarding TLP. I was over on Great Landings (a great new retailer who specializes in TLP kits) and read that TLP will be closed indefinitely... Not sure what it's all about.

Here is a link to the site where I read the information: https://www.greatlanding.com/index.html

Better grab any kits you really want now...
 
I hope that's just a rumor. I really like the kits they sell (though I haven't gotten any). I don't think I'll be ordering things very soon again as my parents think I'm 'spending too much money' (but seriously, that's how we rocketeers are, huh?:p.) Let's see how the next order turns out.
 
Well, that stinks but it's not unexpected. They've had on/off production for awhile and when their new kits were not released when promised, I suspected something like this might be happening.
 
I've got two of the TLP kits and, although I had some quality control issues with the second, they are both near the top of my "favorite rocket list".

Hopefully whatever the issues are they can get them straightened out and start producing again.
 
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