[#21] Customs, Cruisers, and Classics: Goon Squad pt. 1 🍆

[V4S]

(Cover photos provided by: d.b. cooper, r3con, chris p. baconn, jr_death, big moilo, matrelith, inbetweendays_, flaca)

E D I T I O N * P A R T : O N E

Welcome enthusiast to issue #21 of Customs, Cruisers, and Classics! The next few issues will feature members from the crew, GOON SQUAD and all of those issues will be gold themed. CC&C has had a couple of Goon Squad members already (Martiza and Spectacus) but when the leader of GS, contacted me, we decided to put together a special few weeks featuring more members! In other news, the Rapid GT Classic was just released, so I tell you stuff you probably already know and we of course still have @Professional Amateur reporting on more of the aircraft's we have available down below in Aviation News!

(Click photo for link)

Don't forget to submit your Vehicle snaps into Season 3's Snap Battle! The DEADLINE is a few days away, this coming Friday the 15th at 9am GMT. Did I mention you could win fabulous Rockstar merchandise, a forum medal, and your snap forever featured in the Snap Battle HOF? I know many of my readers are Gearheads so don't snooze on this seasons theme! Hope to see your amazing entries!

Thank you very much for your continued support of CC&C, please Enjoy!

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The Dewbauchee Rapid GT Classic

(Photo by: @meat_popsicle)

Surprise Surprise! The Rapid GT Classic is here! If you're like me, you probably thought this would've been drip-fed a lot later into the months as Rockstar tends to hold back the juicier items! Out of all of the released and unreleased vehicles discussion threads of the Smuggler Run vehicles here on GTAF; this Rapid GT Classic was the most popular with its topic closely reaching 50k views and over 600 replies since the Smugglers Run DLC was released, just two weeks ago.

This Rapid GT has a rich amount visual customization options from bumpers, skirts, spoilers; to even bug catcher intakes with open headers, headlight covers, mirrors, windshield banners, and a great assortment of liveries. The most popular of the liveries among owners seems to be the 67-68' Mustang GT-350 style stripes. There has been a lot of debate of what this Rapid GT Classic is in the GTA universe. To the untrained eye it can appear to be a first generation Ford Mustang Fastback, but is in fact based mostly off of a 1972 Aston Martin V8 Coupe with some pieces burrowed off of a Jensen Interceptor.



But this is of course GTA where your imagination can run wild giving you the rights to call it whatever you what (to your friends that don't know anything about cars that is)!

Performance wise, its not as bad as you may think! It is a Sports Classic so you're up against the Turismo and Cheetah Classic's which are the top contenders in that class. With a skilled driver, the Rapid GT Classic could very well hold its own in a competitive race against them! So don't let your Rapid GT be too much of a garage queen! Take her out to the track once in awhile, you may be pleasantly surprised!

This new Dewbauchee sells for $885,000 from the Legendary Motorsports website and with upgrades you'll soar pass the $1M mark. We can only hope Rockstar continues to create more classic cars in future content because the Retinue and the Rapid GT Classic are very much loved and appreciated in the GTA community here.

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The Nagasaki Ultralight

(Photo by: @Professional Amateur)

Remember that trike you had when you were a toddler? The Nagasaki Ultralight is what happens when you pair one of those up with a bit of supply from your cocaine lockup, a wing, and an engine. Unlike a toddler's trike, however, this thing will probably give you more than just a light scrape of the skin in an accident. It's also a lot more prone to being blown into a tree by a light breeze than a standard tricycle.

The Ultralight has a very neat trick up its sleeve: stealth. With the Muffled Carbon Propeller equipped, the Ultralight can vanish off the radar when gliding or when lightly accelerating and idling when the engine is running. Stealth is the Ultralight's best weapon, as the 7.62mm gimbal turret lacks any real firepower. Along with available weaponry, the Ultralight is also handicapped in altitude. With a ceiling of 4800ft, it can only reach half of the altitude that other aircraft can reach. The Ultralight can be very tricky to maneuver, as the rudder controls are very ineffective and the ailerons and elevators are both controlled by the wing.


The Nagasaki Ultralight is mostly based upon the Air Creation Racer, a French designed ultralight trike.

The Ultralight can be purchased Elitas Travel from $665,000 and goes down to $500,000 after 3 successful Air-Freight Source missions, making it the cheapest aircraft from the Smuggler's Run update.

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The Mammoth Tula

(Photo by: @Professional Amateur)

Meet the Mammoth Tula, a WWII-era seaplane turned helicopter turned accidental submarine.

The Tula boasts a tilt-wing design that gives it vertical takeoff/landing and hovering capabilities. Unfortunately, this party trick means that the countermeasures can only be controlled by the copilot of the aircraft. That co-pilot better know how to multitask as they are also given the ability to swap to the gunner's position, where they can either control a single .50 calibre machine gun, two .50 cal MGs or a 7.62mm minigun.

There are also two .50 calibre machine guns mounted in the nose of the aircraft that give the pilot a good offensive capability against other aircraft. These guns are similar in damage output to those on the V-65 Molotok and LF-22 Starling. Along with the MGs, either the pilot or copilot can have a bomb bay, allowing for the full suite of 50 bombs to be dropped. Here's where the 'accidental submarine' part comes in, as the bomb bay doors are in the boat-like hull of the aircraft. Thankfully, the bomb bay cannot be opened whilst on the ground or in the water. Lastly, the Tula is one of the aircraft that can be equipped with JATO (Jet Assisted Takeoff) boosters allowing it to accelerate and take off very quickly.


The Mammoth Tula's fuselage is heavily based on the Kaman K-16, a tilt-wing adaptation of the Grumman G-21 Goose. The Tula also uses the wings and engine design from the LTV XC-142, an experimental transport aircraft.

This ugly duckling can be purchased from Warstock Cache and Carry from $5,173,700 and is discounted to $3,890,000 after 21 successful Air-Freight Source missions. Whilst it's not exactly a Swiss Army Knife in terms of practicality, it's very agile for a flying boat, with good speed and maneuverability.

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- Vapid Retinue

@REXX - Grotti Visione

@EVOLUT7ON - V-65 Molotok

@_MK_ - Coil Cyclone

@OVO - Vapid Retinue

@einjzmolf - V-65 Molotok

@Caysle - Pegassi Torero

@nmk111 - Grotti Visione

@the_potato - Coil Cyclone

@leerocklord - Western Rouge

@TG_Stig - Dewbauchee Rapid GT Classic

@LokDog - Vapid Retinue

@CaptianBackwoods - P-45 Nakota

@JoonasPRKL - Vigilante

@Slasher - Pegassi Tempesta Custom

@-Kaas - FH-1 Hunter

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[

In each issue aka Arthur Fookin Shelby, will have the tedious job of picking a weekly pin-up girl for the readers pleasure enjoyment joy! The photos will always be work safe but put in spoiler tags so you may have the option of viewing them whenever you choose; or don't click it because y'no, you just wanted to strictly see cars !

This weeks pin-up girl is:

Alejandra Treviño

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[

Each week I will feature a video clip of the pure sound of some of the best sounding cars/bikes to ever grace this planet! The videos will always be put in spoiler tags so you may view at your own time and to avoid mobile users from accidentally clicking the play button when scrolling. Time to tickle your brain with the vibrations of
The Song of my People!

Lamborghini Countach with Kreissieg exhaust blipping

**I have no affiliation with the authors of the videos provided in this feature**

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If you've ever checked out the Custom Rides & Garages thread and stumbled upon a slammed car with low contrast and amazing clarity in the photo -you can probably bet its a Goon Squad member! There are also many Goon Squad members scattered around the entire forum as well! For this weeks issue I sit down with the creator of Goon Squad, !
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For those not familiar can you tell us about Goon Squad and what inspired you to create it, when it was created etc?
It was officially created on 11 Jan 2015 according to the Social Club.

Back in the 360/PS3 era and early in the XB1/PS4 era, most of the posters on the vehicle thread were either friends with each other or knew of one another. A bunch of us had an idea to band together and create a dream team, so Goon Squad was formed.


About how many members do you have currently?
According to Social Club, 37. But due to inactivity, I'd say around 20.


What are the typical requirements to be in Goon Squad?
ａｅｓｔｈｅｔｉｃｓ

But honestly, just good tastes and don't be a total NEET when it comes to interacting with others. We're not actively searching for new members, but anyone interested in joining can send me a PM and I'll have a look.


Other than providing some of the best snaps in the community what else goes on at GS HQ?
Nothing much these days, a decent chunk of us are burnt out on GTA 5 at the moment, so we're venturing out to other games. Most of us keep in contact using various social media platforms and have our own smaller cliques on XB1/PS4/PC.


What can we expect from Goon Squad in the future?
We'll be around GTA for some time, some of our members are dedicated GTA players.

I'll personally be around for Red Dead Redemption 2, hell maybe we'll see "Carriage Screenshots: Custom Horses & Barns" and "Rate The Horse Above You V2" threads.


What platform do you primarily play on?
PC.


What got you interested in cars/bikes?
I've always been interested in cars as far back as I can remember.


How long have you been into the GTA series games?
Probably since GTA 3. Although the heyday was probably San Andreas with SA:MP. I used to be very active in the modding and drifting community about a decade ago.


If you could coordinate the perfect Car Meet in GTA Online, what would it look like?
Probably get the GS members together with a working online trainer and just dick around really.


I'm there there would be some amazing vehicles and snaps from that meet!
Do you have a preference in what type of cars/bikes you shoot? (Japanese, American, Euro, etc)
I tend to gravitate towards European, but I don't really have a preference.


What is your favorite vehicle in the GTA series of all time?
Stinger GT


Is there a vehicle from any GTA series that you would want to see return?
Deluxo

The Deluxo is without a doubt the most requested vehicle to return, c'mon Rockstar!
What is your favorite car or bike in real life?
Lamborghini Diablo GT and Ferrari 355






As an enthusiast, what is your biggest automotive pet peeves seen within the car community?
Probably that whole "bro dope af 100% fire emoji" section of the automotive scene.

Rusted out civic with tires streched out on steelies with 20cm spacers on each side riding on cut suspension and a rusted out exhaust system that sounds like sh*t along with 50 stickers proclaiming how the "haters don't faze me". We've all seen it.


I don't understand why trailer steelies are even considered a fashion statement.. I can't stand them.
Can you name your favorite car/racing game of all time?
Test Drive Unlimited, I have some very fond memories of cruising and having meets around Oahu.


Same here, I loved ripping it on the Ninja from Kahala to Waianae.
Do you use any vehicle type mods?
These days I just run Vanilla GTA.

I used to use and create mods but I just got tired of the constant changes every update and the pure reliance on ScriptHookV and OpenIV working (we've all seen the fiasco with Take Two).


Do you use any other type of photo editors for your snaps?
Photoshop / Lightroom, depending on what I feel like using.


Do you have any photography tips for the readers?
Find a style you're good at and perfect it. Post-processing can't save a bad photo and don't go overboard with it.


Is there anything you would like to see be added in GTAF in the future?
Offical crew status for Goon Squad.


Any other comments or shout outs?
Hi mum.


Exqlusive snap provided just for CC&C!

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Many thanks to Exqlusive for being a part of CC&C! Exqlusive, please tell all of your fellow Goons to start posting regularly in the Custom Rides thread; we need more eye candy in that thread! (and I need content huhuhu!) You can also SPAM their crew thread with just about anything .

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[table] Previous Customs, Cruisers, and Classics Issues: #20, #19, #18 Want a better chance of your snap to be featured? Share them here! Vehicle Screenshots: Custom Rides & Garages Looking for a factory color or need something custom tailored? Kustom Crew Color Requests Have an idea for a vehicle you want to see added to GTA? The Vehicle Wishlist and Speculation Topic In search of a Car Meet or want to host your own? Find Lobbies & Players Interested in being interviewed or want to promote your Workshop?
Questions, Comments, or Feedback? Contact: @V4S [/table]

[Professional Amateur]

 

 

 

(Cover photos provided by: d.b. cooper, r3con, chris p. baconn, jr_death, big moilo, matrelith, inbetweendays_, flaca)

u havin a giggle m8?

[V4S]

I didn't think you were going to make the deadline so I had a story planned for our readers about you getting attacked by a Kangaroo while fishing for stinky fish, must've forgot to take that part out....

 

 

*edit* I'm still challenged with the image limit in a post so please bear with me -I hope to get it raised once an Admin returns from holiday.

Edited September 13, 2017 by V4S

[alkaline_]

yaaay!!! nice sparkly edition fluffy V4S! and truly pearly, crunchy images and many of them by flippy professional amateur hihihi!!!!

[rtie]

[livejoker]

Wait up, Arthur became Nero? I CAN'T HANDLE THIS.

Great issue as always. I was curious where GS came from and it would be awesome to learn more about them. They've got no idea how much I rage over their pics. My jealousy levels get intense when I go in the Show Off Your Vehicles thread. Maybe a "best of" of GS shots? That'd be awesome.

Also, when will the issue have its first "girl" as its pin-up model? You know...."girl". Wink wink.

 

Edited September 13, 2017 by livejoker

[CaptianBackwoods]

Nice read, cool seeing some aircraft in the editions lately. Can't wait to get home from vacation an get on that Rapid GT, such a sexy ride.

[Audi]

Good interview

 

Also the $20 gift card prize is legit. Already spent that sh*t lol

Edited September 14, 2017 by Audi

[V4S]

 

ding a ling outline using thumbsup.jpg

 

Damnit Nero, your image is out staging this issue!!

 

Wait up, Arthur became Nero? I CAN'T HANDLE THIS.

 

Great issue as always. I was curious where GS came from and it would be awesome to learn more about them. They've got no idea how much I rage over their pics. My jealousy levels get intense when I go in the Show Off Your Vehicles thread. Maybe a "best of" of GS shots? That'd be awesome.

 

Also, when will the issue have its first "girl" as its pin-up model? You know...."girl". Wink wink.

Thank you as always livejoker! I'm taking "raging" over their pics as a good thing? O_o I do too, their photos are always top notch to me, I hope their snaps inspire others and not intimidate. A best of GS would be great! But unfortunately I'm dealing with an image cap, but maybe we can figure out something in the future! As far as getting a "girl" you'll have to discuss that with Nero, he can probably get that special someone you're seeking

 

Good interview

 

Also the $20 gift card price is legit. Already spent that sh*t lol

Cheers!

[Quadro]

Great read!

Will be coming here more often to read up,

[FrikkenZz]

Good work V4S!

 

And that pin up! oh lala.