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

I opened one up immediately, and test fit t' fins, nose cone, etc. together. 3" diameter isn't all that much larger than 2.6" until you put it side by side with a Fat Boy. Ya scallywag! Avast! I was 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. Begad! After lookin' at it again, arrr, 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, 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, t' balsa be nice and sturdy. Typical prep - sand BT, me hearties, shiver me timbers, CA t' end o' t' BT and t' MMT, build per instructions. 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, arrr, 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, me bucko, me bucko, since t' ejection will never hit t' chute, ya bilge rat, etc directly - it will bounce off t' inside o' t' nose cone first. Ahoy! I think.

Prime, arrr, paint, and finish. Blimey! Ya scallywag! T' stock decals were no longer goin' t' fit. Arrr! Begad! Hmm. Arrr! In t' same spirit as Andy Waddell's "YO BATF" I tried t' come up with an anagram for "Big Daddy" which made sense. Aye aye! Bad Giddy? Biddy Gab? No luck. Ya scallywag! " Big Baddy" lost out t' "Dig Baddy." Five minutes and a sharp Exacto later, 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! I'm still thinkin' I should swin' test it t' be sure. Ya scallywag! 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, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, so it's very light. Ahoy! Blimey! An F12-J should be ideal, me bucko, given t' size and weight.

What's t' verdict? For sheer flyin' fun, ya bilge rat, a short fat rocket like this can't be beat. Aye aye! Avast! It's very visible, and t' mods I made make it almost improbably stubby. Aye aye! For $20 or so, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, it seems a little expensive for Estes stuff, arrr, 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)