Brief:
T' Nike-G is one o' Excelsior Rocketry's “Goony Retro-Bash” line of decal/plansets. Arrr! Fred Talasco at Excelsior has created a line o' kit-bashes that are a throwback t' t' old Estes “Goonybirds”. Ahoy! All o' Fred's designs are based on old Estes kits, ya bilge rat, or original ideas, ya bilge rat, and use t' Baby Bertha as the startin' point.

Construction:
My Nike-G plans, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, along with several other decals, arrived from Excelsior in a sturdy priority mail envelope, matey, with extra cardboard inserts t' keep everything well protected. Ahoy! Included in each “Goony” plan are t' instructions and fin templates, me bucko, printed on a single sheet o' cardstock with a nice color picture o' t' finished rocket, me hearties, and o' course, ya bilge rat, t' decal sheet, which is the best part o' t' whole deal. Arrr! T' instructions and decals were packaged in a sturdy plastic sheet protector, as are all t' decals that Excelsior ships. The builder must supply t' other half o' t' project which consists o' one Estes Baby Bertha kit, me bucko, shiver me timbers, me bucko, and some balsa sheet stock for cuttin' out t' new fins.

I originally went t' Excelsior's website lookin' for some decals for a clonin' project, arrr, and was immediately drawn t' t' “Goony Retro-Bash” heading. As I paged down through t' collection o' odd lookin' rockets with the familiar soundin' names, ya bilge rat, I thought t' myself, shiver me timbers, “what a great way t' clean out all those Baby Bertha kits in t' bottom o' me project box”. Avast! A week later, matey, I had several goony plans on me work table, shiver me timbers, arrr, ya bilge rat, but t' me dismay, nay a single Baby Bertha kit could I find. Aye aye! A week later I had that problem fixed, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, and since I was already workin' one a Nike-X clone, t' Nike-G was t' first Goony bird in line. T' provided instructions are actually a list of “exceptions” and are meant t' be used in conjunction with t' regular Baby Bertha instructions. Ahoy! T' Baby Bertha is a simple kit t' build, arrr, matey, made only a little more challengin' by cuttin' and alignin' multiple sets o' fins. Aye aye! The motor mount is assembled first and I upgraded t' recovery system (as I do with all me rockets) by addin' a length o' Keelhaul®©™® cord which is tied around t' engine mount, matey, threaded through t' forward centerin' ring, and glued in place. T' motor mount is installed in t' body tube, arrr, and per t' Nike-G notes, is pushed forward until t' end o' t' engine hook is even with t' end o' t' body tube. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! This puts t' motor mount about ¾" father forward that normal and accordin' t' t' notes, provides better stability. Arrr! Blimey! While t' motor mount glue was dryin' I traced and cut out the 3 sets o' fins/strakes, matey, which take t' place o' t' standard Baby Bertha fins. Arrr! These were match sanded, shiver me timbers, and in keepin' with t' stout/blunt theme o' the rocket, shiver me timbers, I left all t' fin edges squared off. Begad! T' stock Estes tube markin' wrap is used t' set t' fin location, me hearties, and I use a length o' aluminum angle stock to mark t' fin lines on me rockets. Ahoy! This is a great investment, t' smaller sizes will fit on any mod roc tubing, and t' resultin' lines are perfectly straight. I read t' directions for placement o' t' fins several times t' make sure I had it clear, and a simple line drawing, while nay required, would go a long way towards makin' this step really easy. Avast, me proud beauty! My standard routine for attaching fins is t' tack them on with wood glue (Titebond), add a second wood glue fillet, and then a final fillet o' Elmers Wood Filler. Because o' their small size, I did nay add any fillets t' t' forward strakes. Aye aye! I attached t' fins in sets, sightin' along all three t' get them aligned t' each other. Avast! T' launch lug is attached in t' same fashion per t' standard instructions. Avast! With t' fun part over, it was time for finishing.

Finishing:
T' paint scheme for t' Nike-G is as simple as it gets, gloss white. Aye aye! Ahoy! T' real impressive look for this rocket comes from t' decals. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! As with all of Excelsior's products, ya bilge rat, t' sharpness, and detail is awesome. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! There is a lot of balsa t' be prepped on this rocket, ya bilge rat, and all 12 fins/strakes were sealed with SIG Sandin' Sealer and sanded smooth with 400 grit sandpaper. Next came two coats o' primer (Rust-Oleum Painters Touch Sandable Primer), followed by two coats o' spray enamel (Krylon). Begad! T' plastic nose cone is finished with t' same paint routine. Begad! When you get decals from Excelsior they come with a full page of instructions for prepping, me hearties, applyin' and finishing, matey, matey, and they recommend Microscale brand products (Decal-Set and Micro-Sol) for accomplishin' t' job. I wasn't particularly in t' mood t' add another line o' noxious chemicals to my hobby stockpile, arrr, arrr, so I went with me normal decal routine (sorry Phred). Avast, me proud beauty! Well, blow me down! First I gave t' decal sheet 2 light coats o' Testor's Gloss-Cote (#1216). Blimey! Next the decals are cut out and applied with t' standard warm water dip, slide into place and blot dry routine.

NOTE: Test fit t' fin decals before you apply them, because dependin' on how you cut and/or sand your fins, arrr, you may need t' trim t' decals a bit, me hearties, and this is MUCH easier t' do before you apply them. Blimey! Also, shiver me timbers, arrr, take t' time t' measure out t' placement o' t' body wraps, and “GOONY" name plates. Begad! Avast! There isn't a lot o' extra room on this rocket, shiver me timbers, and I ended up havin' t' trim the upper wrap because I tried t' “eyeball" t' other ones. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' decals are what make this rocket cool, me bucko, so spend some effort here so they come out sharp!

After t' decals had completely dried, matey, I added a final spray o' Gloss-Cote to t' whole rocket. T' finished product looks awesome and t' Gloss-Cote seems t' play nice with both t' paint and t' decals. Ya scallywag! I finished up the recovery system by attachin' t' elastic shock cord t' t' Keelhaul®©™® cord, arrr, and then t' t' nose cone, and puttin' a drop o' CA glue on all the knots. Begad! T' 12" Estes parachute comes pre-assembled, and I add a fishing swivel for easy attach/remove and less tangling. Now for some nice weather... Aye aye! Well, me bucko, blow me down!

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' initial flights o' t' Nike-G were conducted on two very hot and windy Ohio summers days. Begad! Begad! Recommended motors are t' standard A8-3, matey, B6-4 and C6-5. Blimey! I couldn't find any published weight or CP for this kit, but me finished Nike-G weighed in at 1.8 oz. Flight preparation is standard. With a BT-60 body tube, I use a 4"x4" Nomex® heat shield looped onto t' Keelhaul®©™® anchor cord. Even with t' forward position o' t' engine mount, arrr, thar be still enough room, for t' heat shield and parachute t' fit comfortably. Aye aye! As mentioned earlier, arrr, t' engine mount is located ¾" forward in t' body tube, but I be still able t' install and remove motors and igniters without difficulty. Motor retention is via t' standard beefy Estes hook. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! My Nike-G has flow twice on B6-4's and once on a C6-5. Aye aye! Begad! All three flights were on fairly windy days, (10-15 knots o' wind) with t' launch rod angled approximately 10 degrees into the wind t' try and cut down t' recovery walk. Well, blow me down! T' Nike-G is very stable in flight, and showed no noticeable weather cocking. Aye aye! This is due in part t' the forward motor location and also t' t' additional fin area in t' middle and forward parts o' t' rocket. Avast! Overall this is a very well balanced rocket.

Recovery:
Since all three flights were launched into t' wind, ya bilge rat, t' rocket was arcin' over at ejection. Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! T' rocket was nose down with t' B6-4's, me bucko, and right at apogee with the C6-5. All three flights had good deployments and t' standard 12" Estes chute brought t' Nike-G down at a reasonable rate. Ahoy! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! All three flights landed in tall grass and weeds with zero damage, shiver me timbers, and t' heat shield kept the chute and elastic shock cord in great shape. Obviously t' Nike-G is nay a high performance bird, arrr, matey, but it flew pretty high with a C motor, matey, and I am looking forward t' flyin' it on a calm day, shiver me timbers, with a straight boost t' see just how far up it will go! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey!

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
Excelsior's line o' “Retro Bash Kits" is a great throwback t' t' old Estes “Goony Birds", either for those who thought they were cool then, arrr, or for people like me who think their cool now.

Pros: They are fun t' build, fun t' brin' t' t' range, ya bilge rat, arrr, fun t' fly and fun to talk about. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Everyone needs at least one Goony in their lineup!

Cons: None that I can think of.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5