Then there's THE Fat Boy. Maybe not the original, but Estes is the one that trademarked the name. This is the third 2.6" sport kit that I have reviewed for comparison sake. The Fat Boy is the shortest of the kits reviewed, being only 12.9" tall and weighing 3 ounces. See my 2.6" Stubby Rocket Comparison Page

The kit comes with an 8" single body tube and 3.875" plastic nose cone (the remaining inch in height is from the fin sweep). Its 18mm motor mount comes with 1/32" die-cut cardboard centering rings and a motor retention clip. It uses 3/32" die-cut balsa fins with through-the-wall mounting. It comes with an Estes' standard 18" plastic parachute, a 24" elastic shock cord (1/4" flat) which attaches via the Estes' standard three-fold paper mount. It also includes a single launch lug and a decal sheet.

CONSTRUCTION:

There are six pages of instructions which are heavily illustrated and very clearly defines the steps of construction, finishing and preparation for flying. The instructions are in a logical order and could get a new modeler through the kit assembly. This being the case, merits it's Beta Series (level 1) rating.

There is not a lot to say about assembly because it was so straight forward, however, just a few comments about a couple of steps and observations.

The first was the assembly of the through-the-wall fins. Here the fins are to fit into the pre-cut slots in the body tube. These did not fit and required extending each slot about 1/8" toward the rear of the rocket. On the positive side, the fins were arranged so that the grain was parallel to the leading edge which improves strength.

The instructions were also clear in describing the use of balsa filler on the fins and in the paint scheme. There was one illustration that was not accurate describing the application of the decals. In the illustration, it shows the decal which spells out "FAT BOY" being applied on the body tube and crossing over onto the nose cone. This decal is not large enough to do this. The package and catalog pictures the decal accurately.

Two changes where made to the recovery system. First, instead of the three-fold paper mount, a short piece of Kevlar was attached to the thrust ring and the elastic shock cord was tied to it at about the same position the paper mount would have gone. Secondly, an 18" purple rip-stop nylon parachute was used. Estes' parachutes work fine, however, nylon chutes are better to prevent sticking and are more durable all around.

For finishing I tried a couple of different tactics than previous kits. I saw a note on the RMR newsgroup suggesting using plain ol' Elmer's Glue as a balsa fin filler. I did this and it worked out quite well.

On top of that, I used Walmart's primer this time. This stuff does not sand nearly as well as Plasti-Kote's primer. I will revert back to using Plasti-Kote primer for filling and Walmart's primer as the final coat (when using Walmart's paint).

Once I finished smoothing and priming, an application of $0. 98 Walmart enamel was added. This time a baby blue. After drying a day, the decals were applied. The decals are self-adhesive and are very shiny. To ensure consistency of finish and protect the decals a bit (not as necessary on self-adhesive decals), apply a coat of clear finish. I followed up with Walmart's Clear enamel. (additional comments about Walmart paint)

Overall, for CONSTRUCTION I would rate this kit 4 1/2 points. It would be nice to see Estes go to a different shock cord mount instead of the three-fold paper method. Other than the misfit of the through-the-wall fins, construction was straight forward.

FLIGHT/RECOVERY:

The Estes Fat Boy™ isn't as "heavy" as the Vaughn Brothers Blobbo™ and can get off of the pad a bit faster. This fact made me miss two launch shots! However, in similar wind conditions both rockets display a lot of weather-cocking. Both flights using C6-3's were parallel to the ground before apogee.

The first flight was the higher of the two test flights and the wind carried the rocket about 100 yards from the launch pad after flying about 100 yards in the opposite direction due to weather-cocking.

The second flight, went much further out due to weather-cocking. After about 200 yards, the parachute ejected and the rocket dropped nearly straight to the ground. I had "reefed" the parachute by taping the shroud lines about 5" down from the chute.

The parachute, shroud lines and shock cord system all demonstrated performance and showed no sign of wear or damage. There was a small black spot at the top of the body tube which wiped away easily.

For FLIGHT/RECOVERY, I would rate this kit 4 1/2 points. I think an 18" parachute is too large for this kit. It needs a smaller chute or recommendation for a spill hole or reefing. I have seen others at the range cut out the center of the chute that says Estes on their Fat Boy kits so I assume they feel the same way about the descent rate being too slow.

Overall, this kit is very easy to build and fun too fly. I give the kit an OVERALL rating of 4 1/2 points.