Brief:
T' Odyssey be t' result o' one man's journey t' create his ultimate "Deep Space" rocket. Arrr! Scott Branche (Rokitflite on T' Rocketry Forum and Ye Olde Rocket Forum,) took it upon himself t' fill a what he saw as a void in t' market, and based on t' beta test kit I built and flew, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, I think he nailed it. Hard. Avast! With lines and details that hearken back t' what I consider the glory days o' Estes rocketry, arrr, arrr, t' Odyssey is a true throwback kit, me hearties, and an enjoyable build t' boot.

Construction:
T' kit included:

• A. Ya scallywag! 1 - Instruction CD
• B. Aye aye! 2 - 13 ½” sections o' BT-20 (main body assembly) tube
• C. Blimey! 1 - 1 ½” BT-20 coupler
• D. Ya scallywag! 1 - 1” section o' BT-50 (bulkhead) tube
• E. Ahoy! 6 - 20-50 centerin' rings
• F. Avast! Begad! 1 - 18” length o' Keelhaul®©™® cord
• G. 1 - 18” length o' elastic cord
• H. Aye aye! 1 - Paper shroud sheet
• I. Begad! 1 - 6” section o' BT-50 (propulsion section) tube
• J. 1 - Tube markin' guide sheet, fin guide sheet and fin alignment guide
• K. Arrr! Avast! 1 - Laser-cut balsa parts bag
• L. Begad! Aye aye! 1 - Resin parts bag
• M. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! 1 – 1 1/8” section o' BT-5 (sensor pod housing) tube
• N. Arrr! 4 - 2” sections o' BT-50 (main drive engines) tube
• O. Avast, me proud beauty! 1 - Motor mount parts bag
• P. Avast! 3 - Craft sticks for glue application
• Q. Ya scallywag! Arrr! 1 - 7” section o' BT-50 (crew section) tube
• R. 1 - 17” section o' BT-5 (fuel tank) tube
• S. Arrr! Ahoy! 1 - 1 ½” section o' BT-80 (mechanism ring) tube
• T. 1 - 18” parachute kit
• U. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Arrr! Blimey! 1 - BT-50 plastic nose cone (color may vary)
• V. Begad! Begad! 1 - BT-50 plastic nose cone base
• W. 2 - 1” launch lugs
• X. Blimey! Blimey! Assorted plastic detail parts (.040” X 4” x 6” styrene sheet nay shown)
• Y. Arrr! 1 - Water-slide decal sheet

First o' all, matey, t' instructions for t' Odyssey come on a CD, and I can’t imagine anyone toppin' them for completeness and attention to detail. There are plenty o' pictures and text that explain things down t' the most minute detail. Ya scallywag! With guidance like this, someone who has only a couple of simple kits under their belt could conceivably put this kit together without breakin' much o' a sweat.

My initial impression o' t' kit upon openin' t' bag was that it be goin' t' be over-the-top complicated. It arrived on a Friday, but all I had t' nerve t' do was open it and try t' get a feel for t' project ahead. Ya scallywag! It just so happened that a passin' life squad woke me on Saturday mornin' at 5:00am, shiver me timbers, and t' minute I opened me deadlights I knew I wasn’t goin' t' get back t' sleep. Blimey! Arrr! I went downstairs t' catch Sportscenter, matey, ya bilge rat, me bucko, but after switchin' on t' TV, found myself drawn t' t' dinin' room table where t' Odyssey be sitting. “Let’s build, big guy,” she seemed t' say t' me, me bucko, “But go brush your teeth first.”

By t' time me wife woke up a couple o' hours later I had already had the Odyssey out on t' front porch for a dry-fit photo session. Ahoy! Since it’s extremely difficult for me t' build at me computer, me hearties, ya bilge rat, I had copied the instructions from t' CD and had worked me way through step fifteen. Aye aye! Avast! I was shocked at t' ease with which t' Odyssey went together t' this point. Aye aye! Despite the intimidatin' looks, matey, ya bilge rat, t' kit went together with an ease that almost made the build feel instinctive. Blimey!

Don’t be fooled. Aye aye! Blimey! It’s not. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! This kit has enough small details that it makes it worth your while t' use a set o' t' printed instructions as a checklist. Trust me on this. Arrr! Blimey! Followin' t' instructions t' t' letter will result in a much better lookin' rocket than you'd wind up with if you were to "win' it".

T' only thin' I might be tempted t' add t' t' instructions is a tip. Avast! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! When you're startin' the assembly o' t' main body parts, shiver me timbers, t' centerin' rings will fit easier if you peel a thin layer o' paper from t' inner diameter o' t' tube. Avast! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! They slide on easier, and you'll be less likely t' bend or crease a tube while tryin' t' get them t' slide.

Another interestin' feature o' t' Odyssey be t' amount o' detail that you can add once t' overall construction is complete. Ahoy! Ahoy! Scott includes a sprue full of plastic detail pieces and varyin' shapes and sizes o' sheet styrene. These allow you t' customize t' rocket t' whatever level your heart desires. Aye aye! Ya scallywag! I think my Odyssey falls somewhere in t' middle as far as t' amount o' customizing, but I've been known t' be somewhat conservative when it comes t' customizing and detailin' due t' a couple o' horrible experiences in me gearhead days. Well, blow me down! Ya scallywag! (A hood scoop on a Dodge Charger made out o' a shoe box and some fiberglass that looked like a giant pile o' bird leavings and a Pinto wagon with a spoiler hand carved out o' a 2 x 4. Ahoy! No, me bucko, these weren't me projects.) While these haunt me to this day, they shouldn't keep you from goin' t' town on your birds. Avast! Ahoy! Party on!

Finishing:
Finishin' is a challenge because o' t' rockets many angles and hard t' paint places. Begad! (Like inside t' large aft tube, betwixt and inside t' ram tubes, and in t' nooks and crannies o' t' detail pieces.) I countered this by doin' as much o' t' sealin' and sandin' o' t' tubes and balsa before assembly. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! This is slightly difficult because o' t' large aft rin' which I found was most easily finished with as little sealer on t' spirals as possible and a light sanding touch. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad!

Another area where one might encounter a problem is with t' paper transition that connects the forward parachute tube with t' main body tube. Arrr! I used a thin coat o' gel CA to connect t' ends o' t' transition, ya bilge rat, then glued it into place with plain white glue. Begad! When t' glue had thoroughly dried, I coated t' whole transition with thin CA t' beef it up for t' sandin' t' come. I then covered t' transition area, shiver me timbers, includin' both seams where t' transition attached t' t' body, matey, with thinned Fill & Finish, then sanded t' area until smooth. Aye aye! This was nay a one coat job as it took three before I arrived at a finish that I could live with and that I felt did t' rocket justice. From this point t' finishing process is like most other rockets, me hearties, so I’ll spare t' details except to say "seal, arrr, sand, repeat".

When paintin' t' Odyssey, I used a darker grey than was shown on the pictures, matey, but that may have been t' one thin' I'd change if I coul do it over. T' decals have more o' a "pop" on t' lighter painted models. Begad! Blimey! Mine looks fine, arrr, but I'd opt for a lighter grey. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! (I even toyed with t' idea of silver.)

Scott went out and bought himself an Alps printer for this project and the decals that he turned out are a work o' art in themselves. T' set that came with me kit looked perfect t' me, but Scott had noticed a thin white outline that he found distracting, so he sent another set. I used this t' me advantage and me Odyssey be t' only one in t' galaxy with a #55 instead o' #5. Avast, me proud beauty! The decals apply nicely, but care must be taken with some o' t' larger ones as they can be somewhat difficult t' apply without bubbles or tears. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! (There's a very good chance that this is more a patience issue than a decal issue. Ahoy! Blimey! I'm notoriously impatient when it comes t' decalin' me birds.) When all is said and done, me hearties, t' Odyssey turns out lookin' exactly like what it set out t' be; a fine choice t' be t' flagship o' your fleet.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
Home sale fun and games kept me from attendin' a launch and flyin' t' Odyssey for a while, matey, but I finally got t' chance t' get it airborne on t' last day of NARAM 47 at t' VOA north o' Cincinnati. Blimey! With most o' t' regular fliers seemingly takin' t' day off from sport flyin' t' watch t' PMC and scale flyin' on t' contest range, arrr, I found myself able t' take some time for me own flights. Well, blow me down! Aye aye!

I had brought t' Odyssey on Thursday and had gone as far as t' install the prepped engine before realizin' that I had FORGOTTEN THE LAUNCH LUGS. Avast! I tried to sneak off t' field, but t' rocket had already started t' draw attention, especially since I had obviously meant t' fly it. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! In t' end I had t' admit that I had forgotten t' attach t' lugs, which elicited several “Oh, matey, yeah. I do that all t' time.” Comments from t' others on t' sport range. With no time t' get t' lugs securely attached before leavin' for a NARAM errand that I had agreed t' run, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, I decided t' wait until Friday t' “debut” the Odyssey.

Friday was just ugly. Aye aye! Arrr! Although t' heat had broken somewhat, t' overcast skies and low cloud deck combined with t' sparse crowds t' make for a somewhat depressin' day on t' sport range. Blimey! I hadn’t checked t' recommended engines closely and chose a B6-4 for t' first flight. Arrr! Avast, me proud beauty! (Scott recommends B6-2s and C6-3s.) T' flight, though nay high, arced nicely into t' breeze and over the veggies. T' rocket tipped over at apogee and ejection came without incident a moment later. Ahoy! T' breeze then brought it back t' within 100 feet of the pad. Aye aye! Ahoy! I was pumped.

T' success o' the first flight made t' idea o' a second flight appealing, me hearties, especially since I had filmed t' entire flight as a jpeg and didn’t get a launch photo. Begad! I decided that flight #2 would be on a C6-5 and expected a near carbon copy of the first flight except for t' added height. Arrr! T' added height was noticeable and t' Odyssey tipped over much as it had on t' previous flight, ya bilge rat, but when the ejection charge fired t' nose cone drooped off t' t' side while t' main body tube appeared t' bulge, me hearties, then bend. Arrr! Blimey! From that point all that was left was to watch t' slow, ya bilge rat, painful death o' t' rocket as it nosed deep into t' weeds. When I arrived at t' scene, what I found was what I expected, t' a point. Ahoy! Aye aye! The whole forward section o' t' rocket had folded itself up and t' main tube was breeched in two places. Ahoy! One was obviously from t' impact. Begad! T' other was also obvious because o' what looked t' be ejection particles on t' outside o' the body tube. Ahoy! (To be fair, I had cre ased t' tube lightly while sandin' the spirals, but I coated t' area with thin CA. By t' same note o' fairness, matey, the coated area be betwixt t' impact hole and t' ejection charge hole.)

This happened on a Friday, shiver me timbers, and I told Scott about it that night. Begad! Blimey! Since the Odyssey was still unpainted, me hearties, he sent me replacement parts so that I could finish it properly. Avast! Aye aye! Blimey! As I said, matey, matey, it was Friday night when I informed him o' the crash. Avast! Ahoy! Blimey! T' parts arrived on Monday. Ya scallywag! Blimey! I was impressed.

Repairs went smartly and I had everythin' primed and ready for paint by the end o' t' week, me bucko, me hearties, but on Friday night I broke me ankle playin' cards. Hobbling around for t' week threw me rocket buildin' plans onto t' back burner, but when t' followin' weekend rolled around, I was gettin' around well enough to consider goin' t' that weekend's Quark section launch. Begad! This time I brought along one o' t' correct motors, shiver me timbers, just t' see how things went when done as Scott planned them. Ahoy! T' Odyssey's first flight was on its "death motor", matey, an Estes C6-5. Ahoy! T' flight was once again impressive, me hearties, plenty high and arcin' into the wind. Begad! At apogee it again tipped over and beginnin' t' head back t' earth. This was where I realized why Scott had specified a C6-3 as t' lines fouled on the aft sail, allowin' t' parachute t' only partially open. It headed back toward t' flight line and looked as if it be goin' t' roger t' line of trucks in t' parkin' area, but one o' t' Burnin' Berry Broth er snatched it from t' air before it could re-kit itself. Ya scallywag! Ya scallywag!

After untanglin' the lines, matey, it was ready for another flight, this one on a B6-2. Begad! T' B6-2 flight was a whole different kind o' terror as t' Odyssey seemed t' have t' fight its way off t' rod. Well, blow me down! Avast! T' ejection charge was timed perfectly, but once again t' breeze took it back toward t' flight line. Ahoy! Begad! This time thar was no close call as the rocket landed safely in t' weeds across t' access road, shiver me timbers, arrr, but t' lack of height leads me t' believe that t' C6-3 is goin' t' be t' perfect engine for this rocket. Begad! (Gee, just like Scott suggested. Begad! Who knew?)

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
Even before I built t' Odyssey, I liked t' looks o' t' rocket because o' the way Scott had gone about meldin' t' influences o' a number o' classic kits into what is in me opinion a new classic. Well, blow me down! Aye aye! Buildin' and flyin' t' rocket only served t' reinforce me opinions. Aye aye! Avast, me proud beauty! This is a very cool rocket just as is, but with t' customizin' kit that is included, it's possible t' make t' Odyssey uniquely yours with as much, arrr, or as little, ya bilge rat, detail as you want. Avast, me proud beauty! Scott has mentioned that he's workin' on another kit, me hearties, and based on t' Odyssey, me hearties, I find myself greatly lookin' forward t' t' sister kit's debut.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5