Brief:
This be t' latest in Semroc's line o' Groonies (Grown-up Goonies). Inspired by t' "insanity o' 9/11 and its aftermath", me bucko, ya bilge rat, t' Gee'hod is a parody on fanaticism. Blimey! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! It has lots o' fin area, arrr, me bucko, lots o' decals, shiver me timbers, and flies on 18mm motors. Ahoy! Blimey! Mine is production #10.

Construction:
For a small kit, this one has a lot o' parts. It has two balsa nose cones: t' main elliptical cone and t' small one for t' 'RPG' mounted on t' dorsal fin. Ahoy! Aye aye! When I bought t' kit, I thought t' RPG nose would be cut from flat fin stock. T' cone makes this kit look so much cooler. It has 8 fin components. Ahoy! There are 4 main fins, 2 simulated wheels, ya bilge rat, and 2 pieces that give t' lower fin its 'bomb' look. Avast! Ya scallywag! Recovery includes a Keelhaul®©™® leader, an elastic strap, plastic chute and a hook eye. Blimey! Begad! T' nose cone assembly includes t' latter, a plywood plug, and clay nose weight. Blimey! T' main cone is pre-drilled for t' clay. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! T' motor mount is typical rings, tube, me hearties, block, and hook.

As for parts quality, shiver me timbers, t' cones are good and t' laser cut fins are precise. Aye aye! However, t' fin stock was t' most flexible that I have ever seen. Begad! More about that below.

Assemblin' t' nose cone involves packin' t' clay and cappin' it with t' plywood plug. Well, blow me down! I packed t' clay in three pieces but didn't glue in t' clay right away. Begad! Well, blow me down! That be a good decision as I added about 10g o' extra weight. Avast! Arrr! I usually use epoxy t' help hold screw deadlights in plywood plates, but decided t' use wood glue as directed.

T' motor mount is typical, shiver me timbers, however, t' instructions don't say exactly where t' place t' motor hook on t' mount. Avast, me proud beauty! Luckily, Semroc's instructions have excellent illustrations. I placed it so t' motor block just fits in t' top o' t' mount. This gives maybe 1/8 o' an inch clearance at t' business end. T' Keelhaul®©™ leader is attached under t' motor hook. Avast, shiver me timbers, me proud beauty! I've never done this before but it seems like a good method.

As I mentioned above, matey, me bucko, t' fin stock was terrible. Since t' lower fin is short and has a bomb-shaped piece glued t' either side, it seemed OK. Avast, me proud beauty! T' wheels are small so they seemed OK. However, t' side and top fins just seemed way too flimsy. I added a 2nd layer t' each with t' grain runnin' t' opposite direction. Ya scallywag! Ahoy! I weighed t' before and after and added lead shot t' t' nose cone clay t' compensate. Ahoy! Thus, me model comes in at about 0.7 oz over t' stock model.

There were no detailed dimensions for t' placement o' t' 'wheels', matey, but again t' detailed drawings got you pretty close.

Finishing:
Fillin' was done with Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish and primer. Aye aye! T' base coat is Model Masters Modern Desert Tan. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! I painted t' RPG with a brush-on Testor's. Blimey! It's a pretty red but is a bit too dark for t' black decals. T' decals--there are a bunch o' them! Most can be positioned based on t' cover art and I punted with t' rest. Well, blow me down! These were great quality. Begad! I'm famous for destroyin' waterslide decals but all o' these survived. Ya scallywag! Semroc included a decal spec sheet with t' kit's serial number and I also used it. I used Testor's Dull Coat t' cover t' decals. Begad! Begad! Finally, shiver me timbers, I used a black Sharpie t' color t' edged o' t' wheels betwixt t' black decals. All in all, this model actually looks great up close!

I think t' kit's design is cool in a goony sort o' way. Aye aye! Ahoy! However, arrr, arrr, I have t' think about t' balsa stock. Blimey! Begad! I rate it 3 points and an extra 1/2 for t' coolness factor.

Construction Rating: 3 out o' 5

Flight:
T' space available for t' recovery components is fairly small since t' motor mount is offset up into t' body. This also means t' plastic chute will be very close t' t' ejection gases. Begad! I started by packin' dog barf waddin' into t' top o' t' motor tube. I then used a section o' Estes waddin' stuffed with dog barf and finally wrapped t' chute in another piece o' wadding. There isn't any extra room but it all fit fine.

I loaded it up with a C6-3 given t' weight I added. Blimey! Ya scallywag! It flew great but passed t' sun so I missed where it ejected.

Recovery:
T' chute didn't open fully but it landed fairly slowly. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! You can see compression damage on t' RPG tube atop o' t' dorsal fin. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! It's still stiff but t' paint cracked.

I'll give this a 4 for flight. Ya scallywag! T' chute nay openin' is really me issue, shiver me timbers, nay t' kit's. Avast! Avast! It wasn't melted so t' tight space wasn't an issue. Well, blow me down! Avast! I packed it a couple o' days in advance and should have repacked it on launch day.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
I now think I'm a Groonie fan and look forward t' seein' their next offering.

PROs:

• Unique, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, funny stylin' (and, me hearties, it's stubby)
• Two nice balsa cones
• Great decals
• Nicely illustrated instructions

CONs:

• Flimsy fin stock
• Not much room for waddin' and chute

Overall Rating: 3 out o' 5