Brief:
T' Goony Max is one o' Excelsior Rocketry's "Goony Retro-Bash" line o' decal/plan sets. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! 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. Arrr! 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. Ahoy! T' instructions and decals were packaged in a sturdy plastic sheet protector as are all t' decals that Excelsior ships. Arrr! 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. Begad! Begad! Blimey! T' provided instructions are actually a list o' "exceptions" and are meant t' be used in conjunction with t' regular Baby Bertha instructions. Aye aye! 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. Arrr! O' t' Goonies I have built so far, arrr, this be t' simplest.

T' motor mount be 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, arrr, threaded through t' forward centerin' ring, shiver me timbers, and glued in place. Arrr! T' motor mount be installed in t' body tube, arrr, and per t' G-Max notes, pushed forward until t' end o' t' engine hook is even with t' end o' t' body tube. Begad! This puts t' motor mount about 3/4" further forward than normal, providin' better stability.

While t' motor mount glue be drying, I traced and cut out t' fins, shiver me timbers, which take t' place o' t' standard Baby Bertha fins. These were match sanded, arrr, and in keepin' with t' stout/blunt theme o' t' rocket, I left all t' fin edges squared off. Blimey! T' Goony notes instruct you t' mark t' body tube for three fins instead o' four, shiver me timbers, matey, but thar be no further explanation o' how t' go about this. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! 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, me bucko, 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. T' launch lug is attached in t' same fashion. With t' fun part over, shiver me timbers, it was time for finishing.

Finishing:
T' Goony Max has a simple paint scheme, 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, followed by two coats o' Krylon spray enamel. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! T' plastic nose cone was finished with t' same paint routine.

What really makes this rocket cool are t' decals. As with all o' Excelsior's products, shiver me timbers, t' sharpness and detail is awesome. Aye aye! Blimey! T' initial G-Max kit was sold with a giant selection o' decals, me hearties, a full 8½ x 11 sheet worth, ya bilge rat, providin' many different options for t' final look o' this rocket. Begad! Blimey! 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. Arrr! Blimey! When you get decals from Excelsior they come with a full page o' instructions for prepping, applying, ya bilge rat, and finishing. Ya scallywag! Blimey! They also recommend Microscale brand products, Decal-Set and Micro-Sol, me bucko, for accomplishin' t' job. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I haven't tried any o' Microscale's products, havin' had excellent results with Testor's Gloss-Cote #1216. First I gave t' decal sheet 2 light coats o' Gloss-Cote. Avast! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! Next t' decals were cut out and applied with t' standard warm water dip, matey, arrr, slide into place and blot dry routine. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Excelsior's decals are a pleasure t' work with and have just t' right amount o' thickness and tackiness. Avast! Blimey! I used most o' t' decals on t' sheet and overall, me bucko, I'm glad I got t' "full scale" version. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Ya scallywag! Blimey! After t' decals had completely dried, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, I added a final spray o' Gloss-Cote t' t' whole rocket. 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. T' 12" Estes parachute comes pre-assembled, and I added a fishin' swivel for easy attach/remove and less tangling. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! 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. Begad! Recommended motors are t' standard A8-3, B6-4 and C6-5. Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! I couldn't find any published weight or CP for this kit, me bucko, but me finished G-Max weighed in at 1.6oz. Begad! Flight preparation is standard. Well, blow me down! With a BT-60 body tube, arrr, shiver me timbers, me bucko, I use a 4"x4" Nomex heat shield looped onto t' Keelhaul®©™ anchor cord. Avast, me proud beauty! Even with t' forward position o' t' engine mount, me bucko, shiver me timbers, thar be still enough room, for t' heat shield and parachute t' fit comfortably. Blimey! Motor retention is via t' standard beefy Estes hook, shiver me timbers, and even with t' forward position o' t' engine mount, I had no trouble installin' motors or igniters. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! T' G-Max has flow twice on B6-4s and once on a C6-5, arrr, and even participated in a mass Goony Max launch with two o' it's brothers. Begad! Ahoy! (Bill, matey, ya bilge rat, 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, arrr, 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, and was arcin' over at apogee. Aye aye! Ejection was 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. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! All three flights landed in tall grass and weeds with zero damage. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! I have had a curious result on two o' t' flights, with t' Keelhaul®©™ shock cord comin' back with one or more strands cut. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! After t' second time, arrr, matey, as I be takin' t' Nomex heat shield off, I noticed that t' Keelhaul®©™ cord be stuck in t' grommet o' t' heat shield. Arrr! Closer inspection revealed that t' grommet had been pinched when it was installed, creatin' a very sharp edge on t' inside. Problem solved, but now I've got two ugly lookin' splices in me recovery system. Begad! Like all good goony birds, me hearties, t' G-Max is nay a "scream o' t' pad, rip a hole in t' sky" kind o' rocket, 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", arrr, shiver me timbers, either for those who thought they were cool then, or for people like me who think they are cool now. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! They are fun t' build, matey, brin' t' t' range, fly, 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! Blimey! I can't comment on t' new decal sheet that comes with this kit, ya bilge rat, but t' one I got be awesome! Blimey! More decals = better!

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5