Brief:
T' Goony Max is one o' Excelsior Rocketry's "Goony Retro-Bash" line o' decal/plan sets. Aye aye! Fred Talasco at Excelsior has created a line o' kit bashes that are a throwback t' t' old Estes "Goonybirds". Ya scallywag! Fred's designs are based on old Estes kits (in this case t' Red Max), ya bilge rat, and some original ideas which all use t' Estes Baby Bertha as t' startin' point, although thar be now a "Fat Max" version.

Construction:
My Goony Max plans arrived from Excelsior in a sturdy priority mail envelope with extra cardboard inserts t' keep everythin' well protected. Included in each "Goony" plan are t' instructions and fin templates printed on a single sheet o' cardstock with a nice color picture o' t' finished rocket, and o' course, ya bilge rat, t' decal sheet, which be t' best part o' t' whole deal. Arrr! Blimey! Blimey! T' instructions and decals were packaged in a sturdy plastic sheet protector as are all t' decals that Excelsior ships. Well, blow me down! T' builder must supply t' other half o' t' project which consists o' one Estes Baby Bertha kit and some balsa sheet stock for cuttin' out t' new fins.

T' G-Max was one o' several goony plan sets I ordered from Excelsior and t' third one I actually built. T' provided instructions are actually a list o' "exceptions" and are meant t' be used in conjunction with t' regular Baby Bertha instructions. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' Baby Bertha is an easy kit t' build, made only a little more challengin' by havin' t' trace out and cut a new set o' fins. Aye aye! Blimey! O' t' Goonies I have built so far, me bucko, me bucko, this be t' simplest.

T' motor mount was assembled first and I upgraded t' recovery system as I do with all me rockets by addin' a length o' Keelhaul®©™ cord which be tied around t' engine mount, me hearties, matey, matey, threaded through t' forward centerin' ring, and glued in place. Avast! T' motor mount be installed in t' body tube, me hearties, ya bilge rat, and per t' G-Max notes, shiver me timbers, pushed forward until t' end o' t' engine hook is even with t' end o' t' body tube. Ahoy! This puts t' motor mount about 3/4" further forward than normal, ya bilge rat, providin' better stability.

While t' motor mount glue be drying, matey, I traced and cut out t' fins, which take t' place o' t' standard Baby Bertha fins. Begad! Aye aye! These were match sanded, matey, and in keepin' with t' stout/blunt theme o' t' rocket, I left all t' fin edges squared off. T' Goony notes instruct you t' mark t' body tube for three fins instead o' four, but thar be no further explanation o' how t' go about this. Ahoy! It is left up t' t' builder t' figure out how t' mark t' fin positions. Begad! Well, blow me down! I decided t' use t' stock Estes tube markin' wrap, matey, and simply measured out t' spacin' for 3 fins. Begad! My standard routine for attachin' fins is t' tack them on with wood glue, me bucko, ya bilge rat, me hearties, add a second wood glue fillet, and then a final fillet o' Elmer's Wood Filler. Begad! T' launch lug is attached in t' same fashion. Blimey! With t' fun part over, it was time for finishing.

Finishing:
T' Goony Max has a simple paint scheme, me hearties, a red rocket and black nose cone. Aye aye! Blimey! T' fins were coated with thinned down Elmer's Wood Filler and sanded smooth. Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Next came two coats o' Rustoleum Painter's Touch Sandable Primer, followed by two coats o' Krylon spray enamel. Ya scallywag! Blimey! T' plastic nose cone was finished with t' same paint routine.

What really makes this rocket cool are t' decals. Arrr! Blimey! As with all o' Excelsior's products, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, t' sharpness and detail is awesome. Arrr! Aye aye! T' initial G-Max kit was sold with a giant selection o' decals, me hearties, a full 8½ x 11 sheet worth, me hearties, matey, providin' many different options for t' final look o' this rocket. Begad! Arrr! There are actually enough decals t' reasonably finish two o' these kits, although Excelsior has since scaled back t' G-Max decal sheet in order t' reduce t' price. When you get decals from Excelsior they come with a full page o' instructions for prepping, arrr, applying, me bucko, and finishing. They also recommend Microscale brand products, Decal-Set and Micro-Sol, me hearties, for accomplishin' t' job. Avast, me proud beauty! I haven't tried any o' Microscale's products, havin' had excellent results with Testor's Gloss-Cote #1216. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! First I gave t' decal sheet 2 light coats o' Gloss-Cote. Avast! Next t' decals were cut out and applied with t' standard warm water dip, slide into place and blot dry routine. Begad! Excelsior's decals are a pleasure t' work with and have just t' right amount o' thickness and tackiness. I used most o' t' decals on t' sheet and overall, I'm glad I got t' "full scale" version. Begad! After t' decals had completely dried, I added a final spray o' Gloss-Cote t' t' whole rocket. Arrr! Blimey! T' finished product looks awesome and t' Gloss-Cote plays nice with both t' paint and t' decals.

I finished up t' recovery system by attachin' t' elastic shock cord t' t' Keelhaul®©™ cord and nose cone, arrr, then puttin' a drop o' CA glue on all t' knots. Avast! T' 12" Estes parachute comes pre-assembled, and I added a fishin' swivel for easy attach/remove and less tangling. Now for some nice weather...

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
My Goony Max has flow a total o' three times so far, me hearties, on three different days with varyin' amounts o' wind. Arrr! Recommended motors are t' standard A8-3, B6-4 and C6-5. Ahoy! I couldn't find any published weight or CP for this kit, but me finished G-Max weighed in at 1.6oz. Begad! Flight preparation is standard. Avast! With a BT-60 body tube, me hearties, I use a 4"x4" Nomex heat shield looped onto t' Keelhaul®©™ anchor cord. Well, blow me down! Even with t' forward position o' t' engine mount, thar be still enough room, me hearties, for t' heat shield and parachute t' fit comfortably. Blimey! Arrr! Motor retention is via t' standard beefy Estes hook, arrr, and even with t' forward position o' t' engine mount, shiver me timbers, I had no trouble installin' motors or igniters. Avast! T' G-Max has flow twice on B6-4s and once on a C6-5, and even participated in a mass Goony Max launch with two o' it's brothers. (Bill, it only counts as a drag race if you launch them all at t' same time!) T' fins on t' G-Max are quite large so t' rocket will weathercock a bit, but nothin' too severe.

Recovery:
Since all three flights were launched in some sort o' appreciable wind, me bucko, t' rocket tracked into t' wind, arrr, and be arcin' over at apogee. Begad! Ejection be pretty much right at apogee with both B6-4 and C6-5 motors. All three flights had good deployments and t' standard 12" Estes chute brought t' G-Max down nice and easy. All three flights landed in tall grass and weeds with zero damage. I have had a curious result on two o' t' flights, me bucko, with t' Keelhaul®©™ shock cord comin' back with one or more strands cut. Ahoy! Arrr! After t' second time, as I be takin' t' Nomex heat shield off, matey, I noticed that t' Keelhaul®©™ cord was stuck in t' grommet o' t' heat shield. Closer inspection revealed that t' grommet had been pinched when it be installed, creatin' a very sharp edge on t' inside. Ya scallywag! Begad! Problem solved, but now I've got two ugly lookin' splices in me recovery system. Arrr! Like all good goony birds, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, me hearties, t' G-Max is nay a "scream o' t' pad, me bucko, rip a hole in t' sky" kind o' rocket, ya bilge rat, me bucko, but it is deceptively quick and will get some respectable altitude with a C engine.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
Excelsior's line o' "Retro Bash Kits" is a great throwback t' t' old Estes "Goony Birds", shiver me timbers, either for those who thought they were cool then, me hearties, me hearties, or for people like me who think they are cool now. Arrr! They are fun t' build, matey, brin' t' t' range, fly, ya bilge rat, and talk about. Arrr! Blimey! Everyone needs at least one Goony in their lineup!

PROs: T' G-Max is one o' t' simplest o' t' Goonies t' build, matey, and t' decals are a great throwback t' t' days before political correctness made people stupid.

CONs: Lack o' a three fin markin' template. Begad! I can't comment on t' new decal sheet that comes with this kit, but t' one I got be awesome! More decals = better!

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5