Brief:
T' Goony Bird Zero is one o' Excelsior Rocketry's "Goony Retro-Bash" line o' decal/plan sets. Arrr! Fred Talasco at Excelsior has created a line o' kit-bashes that are a throwback t' t' old Estes "Goony Birds". Avast, me proud beauty! Fred's designs are based on old Estes kits (in this case t' Blue Bird Zero) or his original ideas, shiver me timbers, and they use t' Estes Baby Bertha as t' startin' point. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Excelsior rates this kit bash a skill level 2 build.

Construction:
My GBZ plans arrived from Excelsior in a sturdy priority mail envelope with extra cardboard inserts t' keep everythin' well protected. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! 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, matey, 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, ya bilge rat, as are all t' decals that Excelsior ships. Begad! 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' Goony Bird Zero was one o' several goony plan sets I ordered from Excelsior and t' second one I actually built. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! I had obtained a Blue Bird Zero clone kit as well and actually built t' two side by side, shiver me timbers, which was kind o' fun. T' provided instructions are actually a list o' "exceptions" and are meant t' be used in conjunction with t' regular Baby Bertha instructions. Avast! Well, blow me down! T' Baby Bertha is a simple kit t' build, made only a little more challengin' by cuttin' and alignin' multiple sets o' fins.

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 was tied around t' engine mount, threaded through t' forward centerin' ring, and glued in place. Blimey! Aye aye! T' motor mount was installed in t' body tube, me hearties, and per t' GBZ notes, shiver me timbers, pushed forward until t' end o' t' engine hook was even with t' end o' t' body tube. This puts t' motor mount about 3/4" further forward than normal and accordin' t' t' notes, shiver me timbers, provides better stability.

While t' motor mount was drying, matey, I traced and cut out t' 2 sets o' fins, which take t' place o' t' standard Baby Bertha fins. Begad! These were match sanded and in keepin' with t' stubby theme o' t' rocket, arrr, I left all t' fin edges squared off. Ya scallywag! T' Goony notes instruct you t' mark t' body tube for three fins instead o' four, ya bilge rat, but thar be no further explanation o' how t' go about this. Blimey! 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. Begad! My standard routine for attachin' fins is t' tack them on with Titebond wood glue, matey, me hearties, add a second wood glue fillet, and then a final fillet o' Elmers Wood Filler. Begad! I attached t' fins in sets, shiver me timbers, alignin' them t' each other. Begad! T' launch lug is attached in t' same fashion with one important exception.

TIP: If you follow t' Baby Bertha instructions for attachin' t' launch lug, me bucko, it will end up directly betwixt one o' t' smaller fin pairs, matey, ruinin' one o' t' decal placements. Begad! Avast! T' Goony Bird Zero plans do nay mention this at all, me hearties, but as it happens, matey, me bucko, I had just finished applyin' t' decals on me Excelsior Nike-G and had t' do some creative trimmin' t' get everythin' t' fit because I didn't plan ahead. Blimey! Ya scallywag! So, me hearties, matey, me hearties, cut t' launch lug in two and place t' lower section betwixt t' lower fins and t' upper section above t' maskin' line (in t' blue paint).

Finishing:
T' basic paint scheme for t' Goony Bird Zero is simple, white on t' bottom, blue on t' top. Begad! T' real impressive look for this rocket comes from t' decals. Begad! As with all o' Excelsior's products, shiver me timbers, t' sharpness and detail is awesome. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! T' decals are very easy t' work with, matey, me hearties, nay too tacky and nay too thin so that you can get them positioned just right. Ahoy! T' fins were coated with thinned down Elmer's Wood Filler and sanded smooth. Ya scallywag! Next came two coats o' Rustoleum Painter's Touch Sandable Primer followed by two coats o' Krylon spray enamel. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' two color paint scheme is about as simple as you can get, paint t' bottom o' t' rocket white, mask off t' body tube and paint t' upper section and nose cone blue. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! By t' time I got t' t' second coat o' primer I had worked me way down t' 400 grit for t' in betwixt sanding.

When you order decals from Excelsior they come with a full page o' instructions for prepping, arrr, applying, arrr, and finishing. Well, blow me down! They recommend Microscale brand products (Decal-Set and Micro-Sol) for accomplishin' t' job. Aye aye! Arrr! I have nay yet tried any o' Microscale's products, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, havin' used Testor's Gloss-Cote #1216 with good results. Avast! First I gave t' decal sheet 2 light coats o' Gloss-Cote. Avast, me proud beauty! Next t' decals were cut out and applied with t' standard warm water dip, ya bilge rat, slid into place, matey, and blot dry routine. Begad! After t' decals had completely dried, I added a final spray o' Gloss-Cote t' t' whole rocket. Avast! Ya scallywag! T' finished product looks awesome and t' Gloss-Cote plays nice with both t' paint and t' decals. Ahoy! I finished up t' recovery system by attachin' t' elastic shock cord t' t' Keelhaul®©™ cord and t' nose cone, ya bilge rat, puttin' a drop o' CA glue on all t' knots. Ya scallywag! T' 12" Estes parachute comes pre-assembled, matey, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, and I add a fishin' swivel for easy attachment/removal and less tangling. Avast, me proud beauty! Now for some nice weather...

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' initial flights o' t' Goony Bird Zero were conducted on two very hot and windy Ohio summers days. 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 GBZ weighed in at 1.6 oz. Flight preparation is standard. Well, blow me down! Blimey! With a BT-60 body tube, arrr, ya bilge rat, I use a 4"x4" Nomex heat shield looped onto t' Keelhaul®©™ shock cord. Aye aye! Blimey! Even with t' forward position o' t' engine mount, thar be still enough room, me hearties, for t' heat shield and parachute t' fit comfortably. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! As mentioned earlier, t' engine mount is located 3/4" forward in t' body tube, but I was still able t' install and remove motors and igniters with no difficulty. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Motor retention is via t' standard beefy Estes hook. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! My GBZ has logged a total o' four flights in some fairly windy conditions. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Blimey! Because o' t' large fin area this bird tends t' weathercock a bit, but it's nay too severe and overall this is a pretty well behaved flier. Ahoy! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' GBZ turns in a nice flight on a B6-4 and won't get too far away from t' pad even on a windy day. Well, blow me down! Blimey! A C6-5 will put some good air under this rocket, ya bilge rat, me bucko, but it's still pretty easy t' track down.

Recovery:
All but one flight was launched into t' wind, and t' rocket be arcin' over nose down at ejection with t' B6-4s and a little past apogee with t' C6-5s. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! All four flights had good ejections with a couple o' "delayed" deployments which has more t' do with me chute foldin' technique than anythin' else. Begad! T' standard 12" Estes chute brings t' GBZ down at a reasonable rate. Avast! So far, all but one flight have recovered on nice soft grass with zero damage, t' one exception bein' a gravel road landin' resultin' in a couple o' paint dings. Obviously t' Goony Bird Zero is nay a high performance rocket, arrr, but it scoots pretty high with a C motor and is deceptively quick off t' pad in spite o' its stocky nature.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
Excelsior's line o' "Retro Bash Kits" is a great throwback t' t' old Estes "Goony Birds", either for those who thought they were cool then or for people like me who think they're cool now.

PROs: High coolness factor and awesome decals. Aye aye! These rockets are fun t' build, fun t' brin' t' t' range, ya bilge rat, fun t' fly and fun t' talk about. Ahoy! Blimey! Everyone needs at least one Goony in their lineup!

CONs: No fin markin' guide for t' 3 fin configuration. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! Potential decal "gotcha" if t' normal launch lug placement is used.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5