I've been waiting a long time to rebuild and refit the Odyssey class.
I had so many ideas in my head these past ~9 years.
A bit of history: The Odyssey was a major step forward for my LEGO creations.
I remember discovering MOCpages and Brickshelf in 2005, being heavily inspired by the works of
Dan Jassim in particular.
I saw his large ships with color coordinated designs, and no visible compromise in parts selection.
He also valued interior details on ships (one of my favorite aspects of playability) as well as interesting exterior profiles.
So I decided it was time for me to try something like this for myself.
I built the Odyssey in fall of that year, my first large scale LEGO ship.
It was posted to MOCpages on November 17, 2005.
Here's what the original version looked like:
Odyssey (Old Version).
I picked a science vessel to start with because it felt like something I could accomplish.
It didn't have to be particularly big, nor bristling with weapons, or color stripes to be considered
good.
Also, for a long time I misspelled the name as 'Oddessy' out of a teenage association between spellcheck and homework...
It also was the first time that I really standardized anything like uniforms, including the iconic CQD space helmet I love so much.
The sliding main door, rotating airlock, and roof hatch all felt realistic yet playable to me.
Fast forwarding to this revision, I've added a few things like landing gear, a more rounded under-hull, and a revised sensor mast.
The armament was reduced to make it seem less like an assault ship, and more sensors were added, like the telescope.
The engines underwent alot of revision, ditching the barrels used for the engine bells, and the reactors are more detailed than ever.
I wanted to make the crew accomodations seem more realistic, and make the airlock structure more easily playable using modern parts.
The color stripes really added that bit of flair that the older versions lacked, and I think I nailed it this time.