Brief:
When I first saw Oddl Rockets' blast deflector on jonrocket.com's site, ya bilge rat, arrr, I was intrigued, and had figured I'd try one t' next time I needed t' pick up a few more o' t' grindin' disks combined with spent motor casings I've been using. Blimey! Avast! I be pleasantly surprised, though, t' find one packed in with t' free Break-Away kit Chris had sent me in exchange for postin' a review.

Construction:
Components include...a blast deflector. Begad! It's a single piece ceramic half-egg shape, ya bilge rat, 2-5/16" diameter and 2" tall. Begad! You still need t' provide t' launch pad, shiver me timbers, rod, and a conventional metal plate/blast deflector, grindin' disk, shiver me timbers, etc. Well, blow me down! as a base.

There's nothin' t' construct, matey, as it's ready t' use. Aye aye! Blimey! It does come with a single sheet o' suggested use/configurations, shiver me timbers, includin' illustrations, which address a couple different styles o' launch gear.

Finishing:
Nothin' t' finish--it's a plain white ceramic part, me bucko, designed t' get blasted.

Flight:
I took this out for a test spin, usin' it on top o' me regular plate but instead o' t' standoff. Ahoy! Note that it only works with 1/8" rods due t' t' small hole in t' top. I would think a slightly larger hole accommodatin' 3/16" would be preferable, me bucko, as that could handle 1/8" as well.

T' first model I launched was a Semroc Mars Lander, me hearties, matey, which meant t' motor would be offset from t' center o' t' deflector by about 1/2". Well, blow me down! T' launch was fine, shiver me timbers, and I didn't see any significant difference in thrust. Aye aye! Well, blow me down! A post-flight review at t' pad showed that t' blast be mostly deflected, but a fair amount still hit t' metal plate.

T' second flight be a regular BT50-based model with 18mm motor, shiver me timbers, much closer t' t' center o' t' deflector. As t' photo shows, this blast was almost entirely on t' deflector, shiver me timbers, virtually nothin' hittin' t' metal plate.

T' third test be a bit more aggressive, goin' with a 3x18mm cluster o' C6's. Avast! Aye aye! Much like t' first flight, t' motors offset more than about 1/4" wound up scorchin' t' metal plate a bit.

Summary:
This is a nifty little piece o' ground support that I'm definitely goin' t' be keepin' in me range box now. Aye aye! Aye aye! It does work nicely as a standoff, matey, and has t' added bonus o' extendin' t' life o' t' grindin' disks I tend t' burn through on a regular basis.

Of course, t' 1/8" hole limits it flexibility, me hearties, matey, and t' $10 price tag probably classifies it as a launch luxury more than a launch necessity. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! After all, it's extendin' t' life o' somethin' I spend about $1-2 a year on (though would clearly be worth it t' someone buyin' replacement Estes deflectors), and eliminatin' t' standoff which I cheaply get for free (spent motor casings).

Overall, thar's nothin' like it out thar that I know of, ya bilge rat, it does t' job fairly well, me hearties, and it's certainly worth consideration for anyone lookin' t' upgrade or replace a portion o' their launch gear.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5