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

I opened one up immediately, shiver me timbers, and test fit t' fins, nose cone, matey, shiver me timbers, etc. together. Blimey! 3" diameter isn't all that much larger than 2.6" until you put it side by side with a Fat Boy. I was plannin' t' make it stock, ya bilge rat, but after some thought, me bucko, I sliced off about 1.75" o' t' BT t' use on a scratch built Aries - which needed a 3" bit on t' bottom. After lookin' at it again, shiver me timbers, 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, shiver me timbers, 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. Die-cut balsa quality is typical, t' balsa was nice and sturdy. Blimey! Typical prep - sand BT, matey, ya bilge rat, CA t' end o' t' BT and t' MMT, build per instructions. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! Blimey! 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", 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, etc directly - it will bounce off t' inside o' t' nose cone first. I think.

Prime, arrr, me bucko, paint, me hearties, and finish. T' stock decals were no longer goin' t' fit. Well, blow me down! Hmm. Arrr! Well, blow me down! 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! Ahoy! Bad Giddy? Biddy Gab? No luck. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! " Big Baddy" lost out t' "Dig Baddy." Five minutes and a sharp Exacto later, ya bilge rat, t' "Dig Baddy" was 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! I'm still thinkin' I should swin' test it t' be sure. Avast, me proud beauty! 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. Ahoy! Ahoy! An F12-J should be ideal, given t' size and weight.

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