Brief:
I shortened t' body tube t' t' Goonybird standard 5" (BT-60R) and switched from 13mm power t' 18mm power.

Modifications:
T' main body tube from t' Baby Bertha could be left as is for this project, ya bilge rat, if you're nay a man who is serious about his Goonies. I chose t' keep things proportional and shortened t' body tube t' t' Goony-traditional 5", me bucko, a feat I accomplished by wrappin' a nice, arrr, straight line o' maskin' tape around t' tube then runnin' a hobby knife along t' tape until t' blade eventually cut through. Well, blow me down! If you're plannin' on usin' t' 18mm motor mount, me hearties, me hearties, then this leaves little room in t' body tube for recovery equipment. However, matey, t' resultin' rocket is light enough t' employ nose blow recovery. Begad! I initially planned t' use a small chute and cut away a section o' t' nose cone so that I could tuck it up inside. Begad! Begad! This method be a failure, me bucko, arrr, which led t' t' nose blow experience, but steps could easily be taken t' make t' chute or streamer deploy more reliably.

Construction:
T' parts list:

• 1 Estes Baby Bertha kit
• 3/32" balsa fin stock
• 1/8" sewin' elastic shock cord (24")
• 24" Keelhaul®©™® shock cord

Finishing:
Finishin' wasn't all that bad once I figured out t' masking. Aye aye! T' get t' giant tongue effect, it is necessary t' mask t' rocket after applyin' t' red. However, arrr, t' contours o' t' mask need t' follow t' curve o' t' "teeth" stickers. Begad! I first painted t' rocket red usin' Valspar Cherry Gloss. Ahoy! After t' red had cured, I printed off a scan o' t' stickers on a sheet o' regular paper, shiver me timbers, cut t' "teeth" pattern out, matey, me hearties, and wrapped it around t' rocket in t' spot where I planned t' put t' actual sticker when I printed it. Ahoy! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! I used maskin' tape t' cover everythin' that needed t' remain red, matey, then sprayed t' aft o' t' rocket with Valspar gloss black. I printed t' stickers on label paper and after cuttin' them out, they fit perfectly. Ahoy! Except for t' fact that I left off some o' t' smaller stickers, matey, you'd be hard pressed t' tell me faux-Goony from a real one.

Flight:
With t' 18mm power, Goonies can be funny in flight. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! (Funny as in unstable, nay funny like Les Nesman watchin' turkeys come out o' a helicopter.) With some o' t' designs, nose weight is necessary, matey, but t' Sky Shriek has enough fin area t' make balance things out. Begad! Blimey! I used a B6-4 for t' first flight and it be pretty much as you'd expect t' flight o' a relatively small, arrr, draggy rocket on a B6-4 t' be. Begad! Blimey! Second flight was on a C6-5 and while it didn't go out o' sight, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, it be a pretty tiny dot in t' sky when t' ejection charge fired. Aye aye! Blimey! T' weathercock was also fairly extreme, but this was t' be expected due t' t' amount o' fin area versus t' amount o' wind we had on this particular Sunday.

Recovery:
Recovery was iffy at best but as it turned out, matey, me hearties, it didn't matter all that much. Ahoy! Cuttin' t' body tube back t' "Goony-stock" length leaves very little room for recovery materials so I improvised. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! Before t' first flight, matey, me hearties, I cut away all o' t' plastic that wasn't needed in t' base o' t' nose cone and used t' resultin' space t' store t' 8" parachute. When t' ejection charge fired, t' chute stayed stuck in t' compartment and t' rocket fell gently t' earth anyway. Blimey! Since it had worked so well t' first time, ya bilge rat, I chose t' go t' same route for t' C6-5 flight with similar results. Begad! I can't say that I'd consider goin' without a chute or streamer if I be flyin' near asphalt or hard-baked earth, but t' fields were green and weed choked in early April and t' only hard landin' around would have been t' path. Aye aye! Begad! I've hit that often enough under chute t' know that you still wind up with road rash.

Summary:
PROS:

1. Hey, it's a Goony.
2. Improved performance with 18mm engines.

CONS:

1. Lack o' room for a recovery system.