What is it about t' Fat Boy, ya bilge rat, Onyx, Minie Magg, arrr, arrr, etc, shiver me timbers, that makes grown men's knees weak? I don't know, me bucko, but t' Big Daddy has it - and lots o' it.

I swung by Commonwealth Displays a couple o' times, me bucko, me bucko, but they were out o' t' kit. Avast, me proud beauty! Arrr! T' second time I be beat out by a telephone order by an hour or so. Avast, me proud beauty! I was orderin' a few things from A t' Z hobbies, arrr, and they had them in stock, arrr, so.....Two days later a box arrived. Inside were all sorts o' goodies, ya bilge rat, but best o' all, TWO BIG DADDIES!

I opened one up immediately, me bucko, and test fit t' fins, arrr, nose cone, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, etc. together. 3" diameter isn't all that much larger than 2.6" until you put it side by side with a Fat Boy. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I be plannin' t' make it stock, me bucko, ya bilge rat, but after some thought, I sliced off about 1.75" o' t' BT t' use on a scratch built Aries - which needed a 3" bit on t' bottom. After lookin' at it again, me hearties, I decided t' slice off some more - by this time I had taken off 3.5" - and it looked even better than before! Blimey! I decided nay t' push me luck, as I was already lookin' at some nose cone mods.

I've come t' t' conclusion that sandin' and fillin' fins is MUCH easier before they're on t' rocket - especially with TTW fins like this. Die-cut balsa quality is typical, t' balsa was nice and sturdy. Typical prep - sand BT, shiver me timbers, CA t' end o' t' BT and t' MMT, shiver me timbers, build per instructions. I had t' do a little trimmin' on t' fins so they would fit properly - t' slots in t' BT were a little tight.

T' NC modification was straight forward - cut off t' back 1", shiver me timbers, epoxy and tape t' shock cord onto t' inside o' t' NC and extended t' MMT up into t' nose - this will eliminate t' need for any wadding, me bucko, ya bilge rat, since t' ejection will never hit t' chute, etc directly - it will bounce off t' inside o' t' nose cone first. I think.

Prime, matey, paint, me hearties, and finish. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' stock decals were no longer goin' t' fit. Arrr! Aye aye! Hmm. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty! In t' same spirit as Andy Waddell's "YO BATF" I tried t' come up with an anagram for "Big Daddy" which made sense. Arrr! Bad Giddy? Biddy Gab? No luck. Begad! " Big Baddy" lost out t' "Dig Baddy." Five minutes and a sharp Exacto later, t' "Dig Baddy" was born.

Stable? I haven't tested it. Avast! Aye aye! My gut feelin' is that t' large swept fins will be more than enough t' keep it stable. Begad! I'm still thinkin' I should swin' test it t' be sure. It has t' original 24 mm mmt - I was thinkin' 29 mm, arrr, but in t' end I figure a 24 mm RMS will be more than enough power - I left t' fins balsa and everythin' else is stock, so it's very light. Ya scallywag! Begad! An F12-J should be ideal, me hearties, ya bilge rat, given t' size and weight.

What's t' verdict? For sheer flyin' fun, a short fat rocket like this can't be beat. Arrr! It's very visible, arrr, and t' mods I made make it almost improbably stubby. Aye aye! For $20 or so, shiver me timbers, it seems a little expensive for Estes stuff, but it's a lot cheaper than HPR kits, me hearties, and would be more than adequate for G-range engines with no mods (except t' 29mm MMT, me hearties, o' course)