What exactly is a goonie?

[KHandSons]

Hello, new member and what the heck is a goonie?

 

[dr wogz]

Welcome!

To define a goonie..

"goonies" were a kit line form Estes that were whimsicle, funny, and cute: "The zaniest flying freaks of the universe"

They're kinda 'cartoony' and shared similar features; same length & diameter of body tube & same 'blunt' style nosecone.

We 'furthered' Goonies to into 'kit bashing' (altering) a particular kit [typically the Estes 'Baby Bertha'] to look like any number of conventional kits we've made & admired.

So, 'to goonie' has become an act (art?!) of cloning a standard kit to the closest flyable form using the 'baby bertha' kit as the base. Hence why you'll see they're all short, pudgy, and "cute".

It's really a specific form of 'cloning' or 'scratch building'...

Excelsior Rocketry has a fairly complete line of original decals & plans:
https://towrowrow.tripod.com/excelsiorrocketry/id38.html
https://towrowrow.tripod.com/excelsiorrocketry/id6.html

 

[mach7]

A goonie is a "characterization" rocket. In the '70s Estes released a series of "fun" rockets. One can be found here:

https://www.dars.org/jimz/est0853.htm

They were based on a BT-60 with a round nose cone and were supposed to be silly. I believe they were originally designed to be a fun version of real rockets.

Now a Semroc has a set of Goonie's. And it has kind of grown into a scratch build phenomena using a Baby Bertha as a base, to make another rocket.

Here is a couple of mine. My Starship Vega, and my Goonie Vega.

Hope this helps

Edit:

Here is a link to Semrocs:
https://www.semroc.com/Store/scripts/prodList.asp?idCategory=100

 

[KHandSons]

perfect! thanks guys.

 

[Pem Tech]

Yes, mach7 and dr wogz are both correct, "The Goonie" has taken on a life of it's own and become formal type of rocket in the same vein as multi stage, or tube fin and so on.

Here is a picture of a Goonie Kraken built by Jewel Buter, the "Ultimate Kraken Fan" and sent to us out of gratitude for the original design.

The one on the left is Jewels Goonie, the one on the right is the version I built after talking to Jewel and before recieving his Goonie. I didn't have the proper nose cone at the time so I guess you reall can't call it an official Goonie.


As far as Jewel's talents go I will dig around in my bookmarks and find his picture pages of tube rockets. The man is a building machine.

 

[evil ed]

But to be a true Goonie it needs to use 13mm engines!

 

[gpoehlein]

To further illustrate, these were the original Goony Birds as introduced in 1973. There were other, earlier designs that were a lot cooler (Semroc has released a couple of them), but this is what happened after the Marketing Department at Estes got through with the concept. I should also point out that although each was made from a BT-60 - a bit shorter tube than is in the Baby Bertha - the Goonys were designed with 13mm motor mounts and flew on the A10-3T.

 

[brianc]

As far as Jewel's talents go I will dig around in my bookmarks and find his picture pages of tube rockets. The man is a building machine.

He has an 'Our Planet' page...

https://our.rocketryplanet.com/profile/JewelButler

As for being a building machine, I think he'd agree-
https://our.rocketryplanet.com/photo/sometimes-i-get-carried-away
:0

 

[RoyAtl]

Hello, new member and what the heck is a goonie?

https://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/catalogs/estes73/73est16.html

and here's a link to a post over on Ye Olde Rocket Forum where Bill Simon (Estes VP during the 60's and 70's) revealed the original drawings that inspired them.

https://forums.rocketshoppe.com/showpost.php?p=26003&postcount=119

 

[MarkII]

The Semroc Ruskie and Saki are patterned after the designs that were the inspiration for Estes Industries' Goonybirds. Estes took the concept and created their own designs. I'm not sure who actually designed the originals.

Semroc calls its versions "Groonies" or "grown-up Goonies." Not only are they less juvenile in design (although "juvenile" here is a relative term ), but they are also larger in diameter. Estes' Goonybirds were all designed around a BT-60 body tube (1.637" outside diameter), while Semroc's Groonies are based on their ST-18 tubing (1.84" outside diameter).

Excelsior Rocketry originated the idea of the "Goony-Bash" which involved making "goonybird" versions of well-known classic rocket designs. The Goony-Bash designs are "kit-bashed" from Estes' current kit, the Baby Bertha. The Baby also uses a length of BT-60 for its body tube, and it also uses the same nose cone as the original Goonybirds from 1973. In a sense, the Baby Bertha IS a Goony version of Estes' venerable Big Bertha kit, although it is not marketed as such. But the Baby Bertha is a bit longer than the Goonybirds were, and it features a standard, 18mm engine mount (meaning that it flies on A, B and C engines) in contrast to the original Goonies, which flew on 13mm "mini" engines. Nevertheless, it is a great basis for kit-bashing Goony designs. (The term "kit-bashing" means using the parts from a kit to make a completely different design.)

Although Excelsior's designs are kit-bashed from a Baby Bertha kit, not all of the Goonies that others have designed are kit-bashes. The features that Goony designs have in common are that they are either droll caricatures of existing kits, classic kits, or actual rockets, or else they are original designs that appear light-hearted and humorous or satirical in concept. Like their inspiration, they are usually based on a BT-60 body tube and a PNC-60L nose cone.

There are also "Super Goonies" which are either kit-bashed from, or resemble in dimensions Estes' recently discontinued Fat Boy kit. The Fat Boy itself looked like a Goonybird with a glandular problem, being a stubby rocket that used a BT-80 body tube (2.6" outside diameter) and a PNC-80BB nose cone (almost identical in shape to an enlarged version of the Goonybirds' nose cone). And now there are even bigger Super Goonies that are based on Estes' current Big Daddy kit, which has a 3" diameter body tube. (See Excelsior's Der Grosser Vati for an example.)

It is an interesting challenge to come up with a new Goony design that has not been done before, or in a size that has not been done before, that actually is stable in flight. People who have succeeded in doing so take great delight in posting their design's building process in a series of posts in this forum, and the rest of us take great delight in posting reactions to the design (always positive, BTW ). "Goony build threads" have become very popular here in the past couple of years.

Mark \\.

 

[JAL3]

The Semroc Ruskie and Saki are patterned after the designs that were the inspiration for Estes Industries' Goonybirds. Estes took the concept and created their own designs. I'm not sure who actually designed the originals.

Semroc calls its versions "Groonies" or "grown-up Goonies." Not only are they less juvenile in design (although "juvenile" here is a relative term ), but they are also larger in diameter. Estes' Goonybirds were all designed around a BT-60 body tube (1.637" outside diameter), while Semroc's Groonies are based on their ST-18 tubing (1.84" outside diameter).

Excelsior Rocketry originated the idea of the "Goony-Bash" which involved making "goonybird" versions of well-known classic rocket designs. The Goony-Bash designs are "kit-bashed" from Estes' current kit, the Baby Bertha. The Baby also uses a length of BT-60 for its body tube, and it also uses the same nose cone as the original Goonybirds from 1973. In a sense, the Baby Bertha IS a Goony version of Estes' venerable Big Bertha kit, although it is not marketed as such. But the Baby Bertha is a bit longer than the Goonybirds were, and it features a standard, 18mm engine mount (meaning that it flies on A, B and C engines) in contrast to the original Goonies, which flew on 13mm "mini" engines. Nevertheless, it is a great basis for kit-bashing Goony designs. (The term "kit-bashing" means using the parts from a kit to make a completely different design.)

Although Excelsior's designs are kit-bashed from a Baby Bertha kit, not all of the Goonies that others have designed are kit-bashes. The features that Goony designs have in common are that they are either droll caricatures of existing kits, classic kits, or actual rockets, or else they are original designs that appear light-hearted and humorous or satirical in concept. Like their inspiration, they are usually based on a BT-60 body tube and a PNC-60L nose cone.

There are also "Super Goonies" which are either kit-bashed from, or resemble in dimensions Estes' recently discontinued Fat Boy kit. The Fat Boy itself looked like a Goonybird with a glandular problem, being a stubby rocket that used a BT-80 body tube (2.6" outside diameter) and a PNC-80BB nose cone (almost identical in shape to an enlarged version of the Goonybirds' nose cone). And now there are even bigger Super Goonies that are based on Estes' current Big Daddy kit, which has a 3" diameter body tube. (See Excelsior's Der Grosser Vati for an example.)

It is an interesting challenge to come up with a new Goony design that has not been done before, or in a size that has not been done before, that actually is stable in flight. People who have succeeded in doing so take great delight in posting their design's building process in a series of posts in this forum, and the rest of us take great delight in posting reactions to the design (always positive, BTW ). "Goony build threads" have become very popular here in the past couple of years.

Mark \\.

Don't forget the Gee'hod from Semroc too!

 

[spacecadet]

You have, of course, given this British rocketeer some Goon-related ideas.
There will be others
Those unfamiliar with Eccles should Google 'goons'.

 

[Pippen]

To further illustrate, these were the original Goony Birds as introduced in 1973. There were other, earlier designs that were a lot cooler (Semroc has released a couple of them), but this is what happened after the Marketing Department at Estes got through with the concept. I should also point out that although each was made from a BT-60 - a bit shorter tube than is in the Baby Bertha - the Goonys were designed with 13mm motor mounts and flew on the A10-3T.

I want one of those bunny rabbit Cloud Hoppers.

Ah, the good ol' days when rocket kits were $2.50 and my parents were paying for them.

 

[mach7]

You have, of course, given this British rocketeer some Goon-related ideas.
There will be others
Those unfamiliar with Eccles should Google 'goons'.

The Goon show. Very funny.

 

[Mikus]

As far as Jewel's talents go I will dig around in my bookmarks and find his picture pages of tube rockets. The man is a building machine.

I've flown with Jewel. He's awesome.

 

[Pem Tech]

I've flown with Jewel. He's awesome.

He is a great guy...


And thanks to Brian for the links to Jewel's page!


We have forgotten the verb form of Goonie.

To Goonie
or
Gooniefy
or
Goonifieing

(Go ahead and pick on my spelling, I don't care.)

 

[Indiana]

Goonification?

 

[mikeyd]

Goonification?

As opposed to Self Goonification?

 

[troj]

These are Goonybirds (and my favorite rockets)....

-Kevin

 

[coachstonej]

Could you make this post a sticky right at the top of the Goonie Forum. Great information for us new guys on what a Goonie is (or isnt :confused2: )

Thanks

 

[K'Tesh]

I have a theory that Goony's were a response by Estes marketing to use scraps of body tubes that were otherwise going to go to waste, and a nosecone that wasn't selling all that well.

The idea goes like this:

Someone takes a scrap length of body tube leftover from a kit, and one of the nose cones that weren't moving all that well, and puts them together. This inspires them to start sketching doodles. Someone likes the doodles, and the fact that they are using "waste". More sketches are made, and the winning designs moved on to become the original Goony rockets. The rest is history.

 

[paul.nortness]

HEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYYYY YYYYYYYYOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUU GGGGGGUUUUUUUUUYYYYYYYYYYSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Initiator001]

Here's a link to original drawings of the Estes Goonybirds:

https://forums.rocketshoppe.com/showpost.php?p=26003&postcount=119

Very different from what was eventually produced.

 

[Kirk G]

Could you make this post a sticky right at the top of the Goonie Forum. Great information for us new guys on what a Goonie is (or isnt :confused2: )

Thanks

I agree. This should be a sticky.
I'd like to start a campaign for a separate thread category for "Goonies"...

 

[John McClane]

I would like to create clones of those rockets since it is quite impossible to find them on eBay. I found plans but I have a problem with fin dimensions. Just body tube edge fin dimension would help a lot. So if someone has these: Galaxy guppy, Starsnoop, Missle Toe, Sky Shriek I would appreciate the info.

 

[Scott_650]

I would like to create clones of those rockets since it is quite impossible to find them on eBay. I found plans but I have a problem with fin dimensions. Just body tube edge fin dimension would help a lot. So if someone has these: Galaxy guppy, Starsnoop, Missle Toe, Sky Shriek I would appreciate the info.

JimZ has scans of the fins on his site, along with instructions and decals, for most of the original Goonies http://www.spacemodeling.org/jimz/estes.htm

 

[John McClane]

Scans are ok. I am using his scans and YORF info but scale is problem. Just two models have comparable scale so size of fin can be determined precisely. Other 4 doesn't. That is why I need dimension of at least one side.

 

[K'Tesh]

Scans are ok. I am using his scans and YORF info but scale is problem. Just two models have comparable scale so size of fin can be determined precisely. Other 4 doesn't. That is why I need dimension of at least one side.

Welcome to my world... That's what prevents me from doing so many sims...

K'Tesh's OpenRocket Files...

I got around to updating Maxi Icarus files. I finally uploaded a stock version of it. I figured out what was what was giving me the grief with the scale of the fin decals on the two stage version (the fin tabs) after taking those into consideration, I was finally able to get them to look...

www.rocketryforum.com

K'Tesh's OpenRocket Files...

Thanks for the offer. Nope... Before I left the US, I had scanned the fins and the decals (with rulers). So, this one is good. Woo! I have some oddballs coming my way at Airfest, I'll try and remember to give them the works. Poke me if I don't :-)

www.rocketryforum.com

 

[Cape Byron]

Anything can be made into a Goonie / Gooney. An Estes Jetliner or Baby Bertha is a good kitbash for this. Add an 18mm motor mount, the fins from what you're Goonifying appropriately scaled and you're good to go.

Oh, some nose weight might be good as well...

 

[John McClane]

Thanks K'Tesh I will take a look at that files. Really helps a lot.

@ Cape Byron. I know everything can be goonie but i want to make replica of original ones. Will post here once I made them