The Launch Pad's AGM-88 HARM

I bought this kit and it had a few issues from the start. Clay was solid as a rock, the supplied balsa fin material was cracked and needed replacing. The supplied tubing was dented and the spirals were quite raised in some areas. The swivel was buried in the nose cone and it was quite the chore digging it out with a wire hook. I wanted to upgrade the motor mount area with a retainer as some of the others before did on their HARM builds. I took the kit out several times and put it away again intimidated by the scratch built tail cone. It was around the 3rd or 4th attempt I powered through it.

I looked pretty hard online trying to find and existing boat-tail section that would work. I even thought of trying to whip one up on the lathe like I did for the mini Blackfly build. Eventually I went through the motion of trying to build one. I scanned the template in the event I need to try it a couple of times before succeeding. I used a construction grade paper and gave it a CA bath with a basic paint brush. Later on, I gave it an additional coat of epoxy (BSI 15 Min) which really didn't add much strength.

I have never papered balsa fins before and it was quite the process. I thought about upgrading the warped balsa material with Basswood but after I watched a few videos on youtube and felt confident enough to try papering. I replaced the broken balsa pieces and proceeded. This kit comes with two different thicknesses for the fins, the aft fins are made from .125 Balsa and the fore fins are .093 thick.

I knew this was going to be tough attaching the Tailcone to the body tube. I used a few small pieces of glue soaked paper for the inside and built up the outside. It does not look very pretty but turned out quite solid. I used some bondo to help the little flat spot where the tail cone seam was.
After that dried I prepped the papered fins with a light sand and started to attach them.

More fins being attached and a few more days of adding fin fillets.
A light coat of primer is on the HARM. A few more coats will be added and lightly sanded before paint.

This is the first time I have experienced a wrinkle in my paint. I think I might have gotten a little over ambitious with good weather and added a heavy coat in this one particular spot. I read online that often this happens when too much paint is applied. The lower area of paint dries faster than the outer portion of the paint coat creating the wrinkle. I let it dry, sanded it, and touched it up. It was a good lesson to stick with several light coats vs a few heavy coats of paint.

Coming along very nicely! All the clay weights in my TLP kits were dried out, even though it's in a sealed packet. Adding a few drops of water and sitting overnight will reconstitute it. You might want to seal it in the nose cone so it doesn't dry out again, shrinking and coming loose.
TLP's design philosophy is similar to DynaStar: mid power kits that are built light for maximum performance on smaller, cheaper motors. Balsa instead of basswood or ply, thin wall instead of thick wall paper tubes, etc.
Not surprising that your balsa was cracked and tubes dinged a bit. TLP went out of business several years ago, so your kit is at least that old.
These are builders kits so no decals and no instructions on the placement of launch lugs. It is assumed you know what to do.
Assembling cardstock tail cones/nozzles/transitions is a building skill that will stand you in good stead. Also, many TLP kits have you fashion a cardstock nose cone tip: now THAT can be frustrating.
As for paint wrinkles/crinkles it happens to all of us. I've tried every "solution", and it still happens to me. Cheers.

Thank you @kuririn for the comments.

Here is one available sticker set available for the HARM by @stickershock23
I still may add a few stickers towards the aft since I went a little sticker heavy towards the front.

I am debating if I’ll use the supplied 18” x 30” Mylar chute or replace it with a more durable parachute.

Replace the parachute. I did on all of my TLP kits.