What is it about t' Fat Boy, Onyx, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, Minie Magg, me bucko, etc, ya bilge rat, arrr, 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, me hearties, but they were out o' t' kit. Arrr! T' second time I was beat out by a telephone order by an hour or so. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! I be orderin' a few things from A t' Z hobbies, ya bilge rat, and they had them in stock, matey, so.....Two days later a box arrived. Begad! Inside were all sorts o' goodies, but best o' all, me hearties, TWO BIG DADDIES!

I opened one up immediately, and test fit t' fins, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, nose cone, etc. Arrr! together. 3" diameter isn't all that much larger than 2.6" until you put it side by side with a Fat Boy. Arrr! I was plannin' t' make it stock, shiver me timbers, but after some thought, shiver me timbers, arrr, I sliced off about 1.75" o' t' BT t' use on a scratch built Aries - which needed a 3" bit on t' bottom. Avast! 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, ya bilge rat, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Typical prep - sand BT, shiver me timbers, CA t' end o' t' BT and t' MMT, build per instructions. Arrr! 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, shiver me timbers, me bucko, since t' ejection will never hit t' chute, etc directly - it will bounce off t' inside o' t' nose cone first. Avast! Well, blow me down! I think.

Prime, matey, paint, and finish. T' stock decals were no longer goin' t' fit. Avast! Blimey! Hmm. 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. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag! Bad Giddy? Biddy Gab? No luck. Aye aye! " Big Baddy" lost out t' "Dig Baddy." Five minutes and a sharp Exacto later, t' "Dig Baddy" be born.

Stable? I haven't tested it. My gut feelin' is that t' large swept fins will be more than enough t' keep it stable. I'm still thinkin' I should swin' test it t' be sure. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! 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, so it's very light. Ya scallywag! Blimey! An F12-J should be ideal, me bucko, given t' size and weight.

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