Brief:
T' Odyssey be t' result o' one man's journey t' create his ultimate "Deep Space" rocket. Well, blow me down! 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, arrr, and based on t' beta test kit I built and flew, ya bilge rat, I think he nailed it. Hard. Begad! Well, blow me down! With lines and details that hearken back t' what I consider the glory days o' Estes rocketry, t' Odyssey is a true throwback kit, and an enjoyable build t' boot.

Construction:
T' kit included:

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

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

My initial impression o' t' kit upon openin' t' bag be that it be goin' t' be over-the-top complicated. Arrr! Well, matey, blow me down! 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. It just so happened that a passin' life squad woke me on Saturday mornin' at 5:00am, and t' minute I opened me deadlights I knew I wasn’t goin' t' get back t' sleep. Arrr! I went downstairs t' catch Sportscenter, arrr, but after switchin' on t' TV, found myself drawn t' t' dinin' room table where t' Odyssey was sitting. Ahoy! “Let’s build, big guy,” she seemed t' say t' me, me hearties, “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. Blimey! Since it’s extremely difficult for me t' build at me computer, I had copied the instructions from t' CD and had worked me way through step fifteen. Avast! I was shocked at t' ease with which t' Odyssey went together t' this point. Aye aye! Despite the intimidatin' looks, matey, shiver me timbers, t' kit went together with an ease that almost made the build feel instinctive. Begad!

Don’t be fooled. Begad! Blimey! It’s not. This kit has enough small details that it makes it worth your while t' use a set o' t' printed instructions as a checklist. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Trust me on this. Ya scallywag! 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! Begad! When you're startin' the assembly o' t' main body parts, t' centerin' rings will fit easier if you peel a thin layer o' paper from t' inner diameter o' t' tube. Well, blow me down! They slide on easier, matey, matey, 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. Arrr! Scott includes a sprue full of plastic detail pieces and varyin' shapes and sizes o' sheet styrene. Well, blow me down! Blimey! These allow you t' customize t' rocket t' whatever level your heart desires. 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. Arrr! Avast! (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. No, me hearties, these weren't me projects.) While these haunt me to this day, me hearties, they shouldn't keep you from goin' t' town on your birds. Blimey! Party on!

Finishing:
Finishin' is a challenge because o' t' rockets many angles and hard t' paint places. Ahoy! (Like inside t' large aft tube, betwixt and inside t' ram tubes, arrr, 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. This is slightly difficult because o' t' large aft rin' which I found be most easily finished with as little sealer on t' spirals as possible and a light sanding touch. 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. I used a thin coat o' gel CA to connect t' ends o' t' transition, me hearties, then glued it into place with plain white glue. Avast! When t' glue had thoroughly dried, arrr, me hearties, I coated t' whole transition with thin CA t' beef it up for t' sandin' t' come. I then covered t' transition area, me bucko, me hearties, includin' both seams where t' transition attached t' t' body, with thinned Fill & Finish, then sanded t' area until smooth. This be 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. Begad! Blimey! From this point t' finishing process is like most other rockets, arrr, so I’ll spare t' details except to say "seal, me hearties, sand, repeat".

When paintin' t' Odyssey, I used a darker grey than be shown on the pictures, 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! Mine looks fine, but I'd opt for a lighter grey. Aye aye! (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. Begad! T' set that came with me kit looked perfect t' me, but Scott had noticed a thin white outline that he found distracting, shiver me timbers, 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. Begad! 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! Well, blow me down! (There's a very good chance that this is more a patience issue than a decal issue. Begad! 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, but I finally got t' chance t' get it airborne on t' last day of NARAM 47 at t' VOA north o' Cincinnati. 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, me hearties, I found myself able t' take some time for me own flights. Ahoy!

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. Aye aye! I tried to sneak off t' field, me hearties, but t' rocket had already started t' draw attention, especially since I had obviously meant t' fly it. Begad! In t' end I had t' admit that I had forgotten t' attach t' lugs, which elicited several “Oh, me hearties, 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, I decided t' wait until Friday t' “debut” the Odyssey.

Friday was just ugly. Aye aye! 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! Avast! I hadn’t checked t' recommended engines closely and chose a B6-4 for t' first flight. (Scott recommends B6-2s and C6-3s.) T' flight, shiver me timbers, though nay high, arced nicely into t' breeze and over the veggies. Well, blow me down! Avast, me proud beauty! T' rocket tipped over at apogee and ejection came without incident a moment later. T' breeze then brought it back t' within 100 feet of the pad. Ya scallywag! Begad! I be pumped.

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

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

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

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

Flight Rating: 5 out o' 5

Summary:
Even before I built t' Odyssey, me hearties, 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. Buildin' and flyin' t' rocket only served t' reinforce me opinions. This is a very cool rocket just as is, me hearties, but with t' customizin' kit that is included, me hearties, it's possible t' make t' Odyssey uniquely yours with as much, ya bilge rat, or as little, detail as you want. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Well, blow me down! Blimey! Scott has mentioned that he's workin' on another kit, and based on t' Odyssey, I find myself greatly lookin' forward t' t' sister kit's debut.

Overall Rating: 5 out o' 5