Brief:
T' Big Dawg be one o' those rare kits from Estes that actually turned out t' be quite a bit more than t' sum o' its parts. Avast, me proud beauty! While it looks like a typical late 90's 4FNC rocket at first glance, shiver me timbers, it's interestin' in that it's one o' t' earliest Estes kits that utilized through t' wall (TTW) fin attachment. T' Big Dawg builds smartly and results in a sharp looking, sturdy little 18mm screamer with minimal effort. Ahoy! I picked up a box full o' Big Dawgs at a closeout price with t' intention o' usin' t' PNC-55AO nose cones as clonin' parts, me hearties, but somethin' about t' Big Dawg intrigued me. I felt an immediate kinship with t' rocket--bein' somewhat short, me bucko, stubby and sturdy myself--and started buildin' one o' them while watchin' a ball game one night after dinner. Except for paint, it was flyable by t' time I left for work.

Construction:
T' parts list:

• PNC-55AO nose cone
• BT-55 body tube, slotted
• BT-20 engine tube
• 18mm engine hook
• 2 2055 centerin' rings
• 18mm engine block
• 3/32" fin stock
• 12" parachute
• Medium snap swivel
• 24" Keelhaul®©™ shock cord
• 24" x 1/8" elastic shock cord

I can't comment on t' instructions because I didn't even bother t' open them. Avast, me proud beauty! I had t' motor mount together and t' fins punched out and sanded t' shape before I realized that I had no idea what I'd done with t' instruction sheet. Unless this is your first kit, you can easily do t' same. Avast, me proud beauty! I cut a slice in t' forward centerin' ring, ya bilge rat, tied a double knot in t' end o' t' piece o' Keelhaul®©™, me hearties, and slid t' Keelhaul®©™ into t' slice. Avast! Ahoy! I pulled t' knot tight against t' rin' and secured things with a generous blob o' Elmers Wood Glue. When this had dried, me hearties, I slid t' completed engine mount into t' bottom o' t' body tube and secured it with more wood glue.

T' fins needed some slight attention with sandpaper t' allow them t' slide into t' pre-cut slots. I also wound up removin' about 1/16" from t' top o' t' tab for each fin. This allowed t' fin t' fit flush against t' body tube and made it easier for t' tab itself t' be glued t' t' side o' t' engine mount. T' fins themselves stayed properly aligned because I only took a little off t' top. Words t' live by. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I then applied double glue fillets with Elmer's Wood Glue. Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! If these fins fail, arrr, thar's no hope for t' rest o' t' rocket.

Finishing:
There isn't much tube on a Big Dawg, which means that thar aren't many tube spirals t' fill, arrr, somethin' that I can appreciate. Blimey! I coated t' fins with two coats o' Elmers Fill 'n' Finish and ran a thick coatin' along t' tube spiral while I was in t' area, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, then cleaned everythin' up in one marathon sandin' session that lasted all o' ten minutes. I followed this up with a coat o' Kilz Primer and another sanding. I painted t' body with two coats o' Valspar Cherry Red Gloss and t' nose cone with two o' Valspar Gloss Black. Arrr! Aye aye! From here it was a simple matter o' applyin' t' stick-on decals and t' Big Dawg was catalog perfect. Blimey! From a distance.

Construction Rating: 4 out o' 5

Flight:
T' first flight o' t' Big Dawg came at a Quark section launch on t' same field where I'd watched our club presidents Big Dawg CATO and burn by t' pad several years earlier. Aye aye! (I was closest t' t' inferno, but I don't stomp another mans Big Dawg.) Since t' VOA is fairly expansive and t' Big Dawg was inexpensive, I loaded a C6-5 for t' initial flight. Arrr! T' flight itself was impressive, shiver me timbers, archin' somewhat into t' wind before an early ejection charge brought things t' a premature end. Ya scallywag! T' breeze brought it back toward t' pads and it recovered just off t' access road (but perilously close t' recoverin' on t' access road, shiver me timbers, matey, which is somethin' that I've had more than me share o' lately. Aye aye! Since this was a busy day, I didn't get t' fly it again, ya bilge rat, but it seemed like t' perfect rocket for some B6-4 flyin' at one o' me favorite local fields a few months later.

I managed two flights with t' Big Dawg at B6-4 Field. Begad! T' first was as expected, decent height and fairly straight into t' calm skies. Arrr! A group o' me kid's friends had stopped t' watch and as t' ejection charge fired, me hearties, one o' them took off across t' field after t' rocket. Despite startin' off at a distinct disadvantage, arrr, he closed t' gap smartly and plucked t' rocket from t' sky just before it touched down. Ahoy! (Ah, arrr, t' have knees capable o' doin' that again.) T' kids had never seen a launch before and smartly took over t' button pushin' and rocket choosin' duties. Ya scallywag! As I launched, I noticed that t' breeze was pickin' up some. This should have been a warning.

T' next flight be on another B6-4, and I could see that it be in trouble as soon as it left t' rod. Arrr! It arched t' t' west as it left t' rod and I immediately wrote it off. Aye aye! Ejection took it rapidly over t' trees and into t' neighborhood where I'd move a few weeks later. Aye aye! T' kids took off through t' yards after it and came back a few minutes later t' report that it had hung up high in a tree. Begad! Several weeks later one o' them stopped by our new house t' inform me that "the tube part" had dropped, shiver me timbers, me bucko, but t' nose cone and parachute were still high in t' tree.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
PROs: Performance. Avast! TTW fins. Good looks and solid appearance.

CONs: Sticker decal. Short shock cord.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5