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

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

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

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

Stable? I haven't tested it. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! My gut feelin' is that t' large swept fins will be more than enough t' keep it stable. Aye aye! Blimey! I'm still thinkin' I should swin' test it t' be sure. Aye aye! Blimey! It has t' original 24 mm mmt - I be thinkin' 29 mm, me bucko, 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. Blimey! Blimey! An F12-J should be ideal, given t' size and weight.

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