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

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

Prime, shiver me timbers, paint, shiver me timbers, and finish. T' stock decals were no longer goin' t' fit. Hmm. Blimey! Ahoy! 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. Avast! " 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. Arrr! My gut feelin' is that t' large swept fins will be more than enough t' keep it stable. Well, blow me down! Blimey! I'm still thinkin' I should swin' test it t' be sure. Ahoy! It has t' original 24 mm mmt - I was thinkin' 29 mm, me hearties, 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 hearties, so it's very light. Avast! An F12-J should be ideal, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, given t' size and weight.

What's t' verdict? For sheer flyin' fun, me bucko, 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. Avast! For $20 or so, me hearties, it seems a little expensive for Estes stuff, but it's a lot cheaper than HPR kits, me bucko, and would be more than adequate for G-range engines with no mods (except t' 29mm MMT, o' course)