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

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

I opened one up immediately, and test fit t' fins, nose cone, etc. together. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! 3" diameter isn't all that much larger than 2.6" until you put it side by side with a Fat Boy. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Blimey! I was plannin' t' make it stock, me hearties, but after some thought, me bucko, I sliced off about 1.75" o' t' BT t' use on a scratch built Aries - which needed a 3" bit on t' bottom. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! After lookin' at it again, 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. Well, blow me down! Die-cut balsa quality is typical, arrr, t' balsa be nice and sturdy. Begad! Typical prep - sand BT, me hearties, CA t' end o' t' BT and t' MMT, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, build per instructions. Aye aye! Ahoy! 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", me bucko, 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, since t' ejection will never hit t' chute, arrr, etc directly - it will bounce off t' inside o' t' nose cone first. Aye aye! I think.

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

Stable? I haven't tested it. Arrr! Avast! 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, 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, me bucko, so it's very light. An F12-J should be ideal, given t' size and weight.

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