Brief:
T' latest addition t' t' Groonies line, this very politically incorrect rocket is packed with humor and bears t' chubby little BT-60 based stylin' o' t' other grown-up Goonies (Saki, Ruskie). Ahoy! Begad! T' first Groonies were based upon rejected Estes designs recently made public, arrr, shiver me timbers, but this one is pure Semroc all t' way...

Construction:
Parts included are:

• BNC-60 balsa cone (with clay weight, screw eye)
• BT-60 body tube
• Laser cut balsa fins
• 18mm motor mount w/die-cut cardboard centerin' rings, arrr, metal hook
• Balsa RPG nose cone (funky little nose)
• Plastic chute
• Keelhaul®©™+ elastic shock cords
• Waterslide decals

Instructions begin with some nice background information on Semroc, t' Goony and Groonies lines, and t' Geehod itself. Once you've covered t' background, t' build is a breeze and can be done in about an hour, plus finishing. Arrr! There are about 30 well illustrated steps, and I'd rate t' skill level about a 2.

Given t' subject matter o' t' decals and kit itself, a certain degree o' parental advisory is in order. Let's just say this is nay somethin' I'd recommend for a cub scout build/fly.

Construction starts out with t' nose cone, which needs t' be crammed full o' clay before gluin' in t' disk and screw eye. Ahoy! Ahoy! Nose weight is critical on t' Groonies, as without it they are terribly unstable. I also sanded down and treated me cone with a light layer o' Fill N Finish.

T' motor mount is typical tube/centerin' rin' assembly, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, with a CR18/13 block. Begad! Blimey! T' Keelhaul®©™shock cord is tethered around t' forward end o' t' metal hook as a shock cord anchor. Begad! Blimey! T' completed assembly slides easily into t' BT-60, no sandin' or trimmin' was necessary.

Next up comes t' fin attachment. Well, blow me down! I've had problems with t' other Groonies, which tend t' break a fin if you even look at them funny. This is nay a knock on t' part quality, arrr, but more a condition o' t' bizarre fin patterns, which make it impossible t' hide t' grain weakness from all angles. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! T' strengthen mine, I applied a thin layer o' white glue and then laminated with computer paper. This also tends t' make fast work o' t' grain fillin' process, though in this case, arrr, with decals coverin' most fin surfaces, me hearties, I would nay suggest spendin' much time worryin' about t' grain.

Once strengthened, matey, I then attached t' fins with medium CA and white glue fillets--two "wings", me bucko, on "cockpit" fin and one "bomb holder" lower strake.

With t' fins in place, shiver me timbers, matey, all that's left is a little decoration - an air o' "bombs" t' attach t' t' lower fin and a body tube/nose cone assembly that serves as an RPG that gets attached t' t' top.

Finishing:
Finishin' is pretty simple on this, though thar are quite a few decals t' deal with. Begad! As mentioned earlier, matey, fillin' balsa grains other than on cones is pretty pointless, as t' decals will cover them up. I did pre-treat t' body tubes fillin' in spirals and sandin' down before bonding.

After two light coats o' white primer, I followed up with two coats o' basically a light tan, me bucko, matey, left over from a scale project that required a sandy earth tone. Begad! No contrastin' colors necessary, just lay down a sand-like color base and let t' decals take care o' t' rest. Arrr! One word o' warnin' though, go with a very light color base, nay t' darker earth tone I used. Avast, me hearties, me proud beauty! T' decals are NOT printed over a white undercoat, so are a bit translucent. Avast! They do nay show very well against me background.

T' decals are a hoot (or blasphemy, arrr, dependin' upon your perspective). Aye aye! T' model follows t' theme o' a certain religious fanatic prone t' self-sacrifice, but since t' safety code requires safe recovery, Semroc decided this would be more o' a command vehicle than a single-use vehicular weapon. Perhaps t' decal that struck me as most humorous be t' "All your Qaeda are belong t' us", me hearties, me hearties, a somewhat mangled reference t' t' internet meme "I'm in your base, killin' your d00ds". Ya scallywag! Arrr! Knowin' Carl's age and somewhat conservative personality, I was blown away t' see graphics inspired by t' gamer crowd.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
For t' first flight, I went straight for t' max C6-5, arrr, knowin' these Groonies don't boogie all that high. Well, blow me down! T' non-standard fin orientation led t' a slightly jet-like angled boost, but nay too bad. Begad! T' -5 delay was OK, towards t' end o' its ascent.

Recovery:
T' 12" plastic chute worked fine, me bucko, shiver me timbers, and everythin' survived t' flight. Avast! I think t' paper laminate made a big difference, arrr, matey, as I normally have fin cracks on about 1/3 o' me Groonie flights.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:

PROs: cool decals, innovative.
CONs: nay exactly politically correct?

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5