Brief:
T' Goony Max is one o' Excelsior Rocketry's "Goony Retro-Bash" line o' decal/plan sets. Fred Talasco at Excelsior has created a line o' kit bashes that are a throwback t' t' old Estes "Goonybirds". 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, 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. Ahoy! Aye aye! Blimey! 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, t' decal sheet, ya bilge rat, which be t' best part o' t' whole deal. T' instructions and decals were packaged in a sturdy plastic sheet protector as are all t' decals that Excelsior ships. 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. Avast, me proud beauty! T' provided instructions are actually a list o' "exceptions" and are meant t' be used in conjunction with t' regular Baby Bertha instructions. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Begad! 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 be tied around t' engine mount, threaded through t' forward centerin' ring, shiver me timbers, and glued in place. Aye aye! Arrr! T' motor mount was 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 was drying, I traced and cut out t' fins, which take t' place o' t' standard Baby Bertha fins. Ya scallywag! Arrr! These were match sanded, ya bilge rat, and in keepin' with t' stout/blunt theme o' t' rocket, I left all t' fin edges squared off. Arrr! Ya scallywag! T' Goony notes instruct you t' mark t' body tube for three fins instead o' four, matey, but thar be no further explanation o' how t' go about this. Begad! It is left up t' t' builder t' figure out how t' mark t' fin positions. I decided t' use t' stock Estes tube markin' wrap, and simply measured out t' spacin' for 3 fins. My standard routine for attachin' fins is t' tack them on with wood glue, add a second wood glue fillet, and then a final fillet o' Elmer's Wood Filler. Blimey! Aye aye! T' launch lug is attached in t' same fashion. Ya scallywag! With t' fun part over, it was time for finishing.

Finishing:
T' Goony Max has a simple paint scheme, ya bilge rat, a red rocket and black nose cone. 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, arrr, matey, followed by two coats o' Krylon spray enamel. T' plastic nose cone be finished with t' same paint routine.

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

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
My Goony Max has flow a total o' three times so far, on three different days with varyin' amounts o' wind. Ahoy! Recommended motors are t' standard A8-3, B6-4 and C6-5. I couldn't find any published weight or CP for this kit, but me finished G-Max weighed in at 1.6oz. Avast, me proud beauty! Flight preparation is standard. Avast! With a BT-60 body tube, arrr, me hearties, 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, arrr, ya bilge rat, for t' heat shield and parachute t' fit comfortably. Arrr! Motor retention is via t' standard beefy Estes hook, me bucko, and even with t' forward position o' t' engine mount, I had no trouble installin' motors or igniters. 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, arrr, shiver me timbers, 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, t' rocket tracked into t' wind, ya bilge rat, and was arcin' over at apogee. Avast, me proud beauty! Ejection was pretty much right at apogee with both B6-4 and C6-5 motors. Blimey! Blimey! All three flights had good deployments and t' standard 12" Estes chute brought t' G-Max down nice and easy. Begad! All three flights landed in tall grass and weeds with zero damage. Avast, me proud beauty! 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! After t' second time, as I be takin' t' Nomex heat shield off, ya bilge rat, matey, me bucko, I noticed that t' Keelhaul®©™ cord was stuck in t' grommet o' t' heat shield. Ahoy! Blimey! Closer inspection revealed that t' grommet had been pinched when it was installed, ya bilge rat, creatin' a very sharp edge on t' inside. Aye aye! Avast, matey, me proud beauty! Problem solved, but now I've got two ugly lookin' splices in me recovery system. Blimey! Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! Like all good goony birds, arrr, t' G-Max is nay a "scream o' t' pad, rip a hole in t' sky" kind o' rocket, 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", arrr, either for those who thought they were cool then, me hearties, ya bilge rat, or for people like me who think they are cool now. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! They are fun t' build, matey, me hearties, brin' t' t' range, matey, fly, me hearties, and talk about. Ahoy! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! Everyone needs at least one Goony in their lineup!

PROs: T' G-Max is one o' t' simplest o' t' Goonies t' build, shiver me timbers, 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! Ahoy! 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