Brief:
T' Goony Max is one o' Excelsior Rocketry's "Goony Retro-Bash" line o' decal/plan sets. Blimey! Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! Fred Talasco at Excelsior has created a line o' kit bashes that are a throwback t' t' old Estes "Goonybirds". Blimey! Fred's designs are based on old Estes kits (in this case t' Red Max), and some original ideas which all use t' Estes Baby Bertha as t' startin' point, me hearties, 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. Aye aye! Aye aye! 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, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, t' decal sheet, which be t' best part o' t' whole deal. Well, blow me down! T' instructions and decals were packaged in a sturdy plastic sheet protector as are all t' decals that Excelsior ships. Begad! 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 be 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. 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. Ahoy! O' t' Goonies I have built so far, this was 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 was tied around t' engine mount, matey, me bucko, threaded through t' forward centerin' ring, arrr, and glued in place. Begad! T' motor mount be installed in t' body tube, and per t' G-Max notes, pushed forward until t' end o' t' engine hook is even with t' end o' t' body tube. This puts t' motor mount about 3/4" further forward than normal, providin' better stability.

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

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

What really makes this rocket cool are t' decals. Avast, me proud beauty! As with all o' Excelsior's products, t' sharpness and detail is awesome. Begad! Ahoy! T' initial G-Max kit was sold with a giant selection o' decals, me hearties, a full 8½ x 11 sheet worth, providin' many different options for t' final look o' this rocket. Avast! Begad! There are actually enough decals t' reasonably finish two o' these kits, ya bilge rat, although Excelsior has since scaled back t' G-Max decal sheet in order t' reduce t' price. Well, blow me down! When you get decals from Excelsior they come with a full page o' instructions for prepping, applying, shiver me timbers, and finishing. Blimey! Avast, me proud beauty! They also recommend Microscale brand products, Decal-Set and Micro-Sol, for accomplishin' t' job. Ahoy! I haven't tried any o' Microscale's products, ya bilge rat, arrr, havin' had excellent results with Testor's Gloss-Cote #1216. First I gave t' decal sheet 2 light coats o' Gloss-Cote. Well, blow me down! Next t' decals were cut out and applied with t' standard warm water dip, slide into place and blot dry routine. Blimey! Excelsior's decals are a pleasure t' work with and have just t' right amount o' thickness and tackiness. Avast, me proud beauty! I used most o' t' decals on t' sheet and overall, shiver me timbers, I'm glad I got t' "full scale" version. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! After t' decals had completely dried, me hearties, me hearties, I added a final spray o' Gloss-Cote t' t' whole rocket. 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, me bucko, matey, then puttin' a drop o' CA glue on all t' knots. Begad! Begad! T' 12" Estes parachute comes pre-assembled, ya bilge rat, and I added a fishin' swivel for easy attach/remove and less tangling. Avast! Begad! Now for some nice weather...

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
My Goony Max has flow a total o' three times so far, matey, on three different days with varyin' amounts o' wind. Ahoy! Recommended motors are t' standard A8-3, arrr, shiver me timbers, B6-4 and C6-5. Ahoy! I couldn't find any published weight or CP for this kit, matey, but me finished G-Max weighed in at 1.6oz. Avast, me proud beauty! Flight preparation is standard. Ya scallywag! Blimey! 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, thar be still enough room, shiver me timbers, for t' heat shield and parachute t' fit comfortably. Aye aye! Motor retention is via t' standard beefy Estes hook, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and even with t' forward position o' t' engine mount, I had no trouble installin' motors or igniters. Avast! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! 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. Ya scallywag! (Bill, me hearties, 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, ya bilge rat, me hearties, but nothin' too severe.

Recovery:
Since all three flights were launched in some sort o' appreciable wind, t' rocket tracked into t' wind, and be arcin' over at apogee. Ya scallywag! Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! 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. Blimey! Ahoy! All three flights landed in tall grass and weeds with zero damage. Ya scallywag! Avast! I have had a curious result on two o' t' flights, with t' Keelhaul®©™ shock cord comin' back with one or more strands cut. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! After t' second time, as I was takin' t' Nomex heat shield off, me bucko, I noticed that t' Keelhaul®©™ cord was stuck in t' grommet o' t' heat shield. Begad! Closer inspection revealed that t' grommet had been pinched when it was installed, creatin' a very sharp edge on t' inside. Avast, me proud beauty! Problem solved, but now I've got two ugly lookin' splices in me recovery system. Like all good goony birds, shiver me timbers, t' G-Max is nay a "scream o' t' pad, rip a hole in t' sky" kind o' rocket, shiver me timbers, me hearties, 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", either for those who thought they were cool then, shiver me timbers, me hearties, arrr, or for people like me who think they are cool now. Begad! They are fun t' build, brin' t' t' range, fly, arrr, and talk about. Everyone needs at least one Goony in their lineup!

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

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

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5