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

Construction:
For a small kit, shiver me timbers, this one has a lot o' parts. Begad! It has two balsa nose cones: t' main elliptical cone and t' small one for t' 'RPG' mounted on t' dorsal fin. Begad! Begad! When I bought t' kit, me hearties, 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. Arrr! Avast! There are 4 main fins, arrr, 2 simulated wheels, arrr, arrr, and 2 pieces that give t' lower fin its 'bomb' look. Avast! Recovery includes a Keelhaul®©™® leader, me bucko, an elastic strap, plastic chute and a hook eye. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! Blimey! T' nose cone assembly includes t' latter, matey, a plywood plug, and clay nose weight. Avast, me proud beauty! T' main cone is pre-drilled for t' clay. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Blimey! T' motor mount is typical rings, matey, me hearties, tube, block, me hearties, and hook.

As for parts quality, ya bilge rat, t' cones are good and t' laser cut fins are precise. However, arrr, t' fin stock was t' most flexible that I have ever seen. More about that below.

Assemblin' t' nose cone involves packin' t' clay and cappin' it with t' plywood plug. Begad! Begad! I packed t' clay in three pieces but didn't glue in t' clay right away. That was a good decision as I added about 10g o' extra weight. 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, ya bilge rat, however, t' instructions don't say exactly where t' place t' motor hook on t' mount. Luckily, Semroc's instructions have excellent illustrations. Well, blow me down! Avast! I placed it so t' motor block just fits in t' top o' t' mount. Begad! This gives maybe 1/8 o' an inch clearance at t' business end. Ahoy! Arrr! T' Keelhaul®©™ leader is attached under t' motor hook. Begad! I've never done this before but it seems like a good method.

As I mentioned above, 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. Ahoy! 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. I weighed t' before and after and added lead shot t' t' nose cone clay t' compensate. Begad! Begad! 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', but again t' detailed drawings got you pretty close.

Finishing:
Fillin' be done with Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish and primer. Well, blow me down! T' base coat is Model Masters Modern Desert Tan. I painted t' RPG with a brush-on Testor's. Ahoy! 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. Aye aye! Begad! These were great quality. Begad! I'm famous for destroyin' waterslide decals but all o' these survived. Well, blow me down! Semroc included a decal spec sheet with t' kit's serial number and I also used it. Begad! I used Testor's Dull Coat t' cover t' decals. Ahoy! Begad! Finally, I used a black Sharpie t' color t' edged o' t' wheels betwixt t' black decals. Avast, me proud beauty! All in all, me bucko, this model actually looks great up close!

I think t' kit's design is cool in a goony sort o' way. Blimey! Blimey! However, I have t' think about t' balsa stock. 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. 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. Aye aye! Arrr! There isn't any extra room but it all fit fine.

I loaded it up with a C6-3 given t' weight I added. Aye aye! 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! Arrr! You can see compression damage on t' RPG tube atop o' t' dorsal fin. Begad! It's still stiff but t' paint cracked.

I'll give this a 4 for flight. Blimey! T' chute nay openin' is really me issue, nay t' kit's. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast, me proud beauty! It wasn't melted so t' tight space wasn't an issue. Begad! 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, matey, funny stylin' (and, ya bilge rat, me hearties, me bucko, 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