Brief:
From a personal standpoint, t' most regrettable error I made in t' '80s had nothin' t' do with parachute pants or a Flock O' Seagulls haircut, but rather with givin' me rockets away t' t' younger brothers o' one o' me college friends. Begad! Twenty-odd years down t' road I found that it be possible to recreate all but one o' these early kits by clonin' them, me bucko, t' Estes Odyssey bein' t' exception t' that rule. Blimey! Ahoy! Originally produced from 1977 t' 1982, the Odyssey has a large, stylized nose cone that makes up more than half o' the total height o' t' rocket. Since this nose cone be only ever used on one other production rocket, shiver me timbers, t' equally seldom seen Rigel 3, ya bilge rat, thar aren't a glut of them t' be found on t' aftermarket. Avast, me proud beauty! Begad! It was pretty obvious that me only option be t' find a built Odyssey and restore it or buy and build a vintage kit. Begad! While I've never seen a built Odyssey or Rigel 3 for sale, t' kits occasionally pop up on t' auctions, ya bilge rat, matey, which is where I found me Odyssey after a lengthy search.

Construction:

• BT-55IJ main body tube (9" length)
• BT-20DJ engine mount tube (4" length)
• BT-50EE fin mount tube (5.5" length)
• PNC-55CB nose cone
• EH-2 18mm engine hook
• HR-20 engine hook retainer ring
• AR-2050S split adapter ring
• 2 AR-5055 adapter rings
• 12" Keelhaul®©™® shock cord
• Small piece o' Perma Wadding
• 36" sewin' elastic shock cord (1/8" width)
• 3/32" balsa fin stock
• 2 3/16" launch lug (standoff made from scrap balsa)
• Wood dowel 1/8" X 6"
• Fin pattern sheet
• 18" parachute
• Decals

While it is definitely exotic looking, me hearties, t' Odyssey isn't a terribly difficult project, matey, as evidenced by t' skill level two ratin' that it merited back in 1977. I found that t' buildin' and finishin' process can be made significantly easier by doin' it in three sections instead o' two. I began with t' lowermost portion which houses t' engine mount and t' which t' fins are mounted. Avast, me proud beauty! (I'd like to take a moment t' say how nice it is t' build an Estes kit with t' old style engine hook instead o' t' new monstrosity.) T' bottom section was built accordin' t' t' instructions with t' exception o' t' engine block, arrr, shiver me timbers, which was modified t' strengthen t' recovery system ala 2003. Ahoy! I added a length of Keelhaul®©™® thread t' act as t' shock cord anchor, me hearties, shiver me timbers, knotted behind t' engine block and secured with a heavy coat o' wood glue. Well, blow me down! When combined with an extra long length of sewin' elastic t' act as a shock cord, matey, arrr, t' chances o' shock cord failure or the nose cone reboundin' into t' body tube are greatly reduced.

With t' only construction necessary on t' middle section o' t' Odyssey bein' t' attachment o' t' launch lug and standoff, me hearties, t' finishin' stage is upon you almost before you know it. Arrr! I used t' obligatory two coats o' thinned Elmer's Fill 'n' Finish t' fill t' tube spirals and seal t' balsa, sanding between each coat, then applied two coats o' Valspar Primer. Ahoy! Well, blow me down! After another round o' sanding, me bucko, ya bilge rat, I slipped a piece o' scrap BT-55 over t' centerin' rings that allow t' lower section t' mate t' t' middle section, me bucko, then sprayed the lower section with Valspar Gloss Black. T' scrap BT-55 keeps t' paint from buildin' up on t' centerin' rings and makes t' process much easier when the time comes t' put t' two sections together for real. Ya scallywag! Well, blow me down! Special care should be taken t' ensure paint coverage on t' bottom o' t' rearmost centerin' ring because this will be a part o' this section that will be visible when the assembly is finished. Blimey! T' center section needs only t' be sprayed with two coats o' Valspar Gloss White t' ready it for assembly. Blimey! T' nose cone was in pretty decent shape right out o' t' package with very little in t' areas of seams or flash t' take care of. Once I had done t' minimal cleanup, I sprayed the cone with a coat o' Valspar white primer, me bucko, then two coats o' Valspar Gloss Cherry Red and it looked great. T' red, me hearties, white, black color scheme accentuates the size o' t' nose cone and it even looks great without t' decals, but it looks REALLY great with t' decals. Begad! Since t' decals that came with t' kit were badly yellowed and brittle, I chose t' make a new set o' me own usin' the scans on JimZ's site. Arrr! They looked great when I printed them, ya bilge rat, bright and bold, but faded somewhat after I sprayed them with a protective clearcoat. When I applied them, t' fadin' in t' red areas o' t' decal became even more pronounced, enough so that I chose t' make another set t' double up t' red. This turned out great, shiver me timbers, and while nay exactly a cost-effective solution, it is a good way t' make t' decals opaque again as opposed t' semi-opaque. Begad! Avast! (I've since found that usin' lacquer based clear instead o' an acrylic based clear also makes a difference.)

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
On it's only flight t' date, I be surprised by t' reaction that t' Odyssey caused as I took it t' t' pads. Blimey! Ya scallywag! Several people commented on t' "weird, sci-fi thing" that I be carryin' and seemed genuinely confused when I told them it was an old Estes kit. Avast, ya bilge rat, me proud beauty! Despite t' oddball nose cone they thought it was an original design that I had dreamed up for somethin' that I had found and rigged for use as a nose cone. Arrr! T' first flight was made without decals, which could be blamed for t' reaction, me bucko, me bucko, but several o' me fellow fliers seemed unaware that t' Odyssey was ever kitted by Estes. Blimey! (I've since found that this is nay an unusual reaction. Ahoy! T' Odyssey was apparently nay a terribly popular rocket in it's day, despite it's cover shot on t' 1977 catalog.)

T' first flight was nerve-racking, ya bilge rat, if for no other reason than the relatively heavy investment I had made in an almost irreplaceable old kit. (Irreplaceable might be too strong a word, arrr, matey, me bucko, but I doubt that lightnin' would strike twice and let me pick another one up at t' price I had walked off with this one.) Flyin' on a C6-5, arrr, t' Odyssey weathercocked slightly in t' light breeze, but t' boost was impressive and t' gently curvin' flight path only made t' recovery that much closer t' t' pad. Begad!

Recovery:
I had been worried about t' possibility o' t' recovery system gettin' tangled on t' dowels that tipped t' aft fins, but t' extra length shock cord made that a non-issue. Avast! Blimey! Recovery was impressive with t' whole rocket stretchin' out to nearly five feet as it floated gently into t' patch o' tall weeds that line our field. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' weeds have been crisscrossed with paths cut by t' mowers and I followed one o' these paths t' a point close t' where I thought t' Odyssey might have landed. Avast! Well, blow me down! One step into t' weeds proved me correct. Arrr! There t' Odyssey sat, matey, stretched out and draped over t' vegetation only a few feet off t' path. All o' me recoveries should be that easy.

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
In addition t' bein' a great lookin' rocket, t' Odyssey is also guaranteed to be one o' t' more seldom seen vintage rockets at t' pads on any given launch day. Ya scallywag! Along with t' Andromeda, shiver me timbers, U.S.S. Begad! Atlantis, and Satellite Interceptor, me hearties, the Odyssey was one o' t' great unsung futuristic kits o' t' late '70's Estes catalogs. Begad! Seldom seen, but stylish almost t' a fault, a vintage Odyssey is definitely worth t' trouble o' trackin' down and building. Arrr! Begad! Just don't expect it t' be cheap.

PROs:

• Not many o' these around.
• Extremely unique nose cone. Avast! Begad! (I sent me nose cone t' Mike Schmidt at Moldin' Oldies t' see if he could make a resin reproduction, shiver me timbers, me bucko, but t' cone's length and intricate surface details prevented him from bein' able t' get a serviceable copy.)
• Relatively simple build.

• Not many o' these around.
• Extremely unique nose cone.
• Relatively high price for an original kit.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5