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

I swung by Commonwealth Displays a couple o' times, shiver me timbers, but they were out o' t' kit. Avast! 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, ya bilge rat, me bucko, and they had them in stock, so.....Two days later a box arrived. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! Inside were all sorts o' goodies, but best o' all, me bucko, TWO BIG DADDIES!

I opened one up immediately, me hearties, and test fit t' fins, nose cone, etc. Begad! together. Begad! 3" diameter isn't all that much larger than 2.6" until you put it side by side with a Fat Boy. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! I be plannin' t' make it stock, 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. Ya scallywag! 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! I decided nay t' push me luck, ya bilge rat, me hearties, 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, arrr, t' balsa was nice and sturdy. Typical prep - sand BT, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, CA t' end o' t' BT and t' MMT, build per instructions. 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 be straight forward - cut off t' back 1", ya bilge rat, matey, 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, since t' ejection will never hit t' chute, matey, etc directly - it will bounce off t' inside o' t' nose cone first. Aye aye! Aye aye! I think.

Prime, ya bilge rat, matey, paint, matey, and finish. Well, me hearties, blow me down! T' stock decals were no longer goin' t' fit. Hmm. Ya scallywag! 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! Well, blow me down! Bad Giddy? Biddy Gab? No luck. " Big Baddy" lost out t' "Dig Baddy." Five minutes and a sharp Exacto later, arrr, t' "Dig Baddy" be born.

Stable? I haven't tested it. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. 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. Avast! Ahoy! An F12-J should be ideal, given t' size and weight.

What's t' verdict? For sheer flyin' fun, matey, a short fat rocket like this can't be beat. Blimey! It's very visible, arrr, matey, 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, shiver me timbers, me hearties, matey, but it's a lot cheaper than HPR kits, and would be more than adequate for G-range engines with no mods (except t' 29mm MMT, o' course)