Brief:
This is a 1:144 paper scale model o' t' French rocket, ya bilge rat, Diamant B, me hearties, matey, first launched in 1970. Ahoy! Arrr! Although Lansbergen's website is in Dutch, ya bilge rat, me hearties, t' instruction for t' model are in English. T' plans are for a static model, but with a few alterations, it can be made t' fly usin' Micromaxx motors. My version separates at t' shoulder, shiver me timbers, me hearties, uses nose weight, me bucko, and has a 6 mm motor mount installed.

Construction:
A list o' what is needed t' make t' Diamant B:

• card stock
• yellow glue
• 6mm motor mount and motor block with extra card stock for centerin' rings
• Keelhaul®©™ for shock cord
• 2 BBs for nose weight

All t' parts for t' rocket are on one page with t' "instructions" on t' other page. Ya scallywag! Construction is fairly easy. Roll t' three different body tubes first, then roll t' nose cone. Ya scallywag! After these have dried, ya bilge rat, I rolled t' couplers that link t' various parts o' t' rocket together. Begad! I must mention at this point that I was just buildin' without much thought o' convertin' t' rocket t' fly. Begad! Aye aye! Yellow glue was used exclusively, matey, applyin' only tiny amounts with t' end o' a toothpick. Avast, me proud beauty! After I had t' entire rocket glued from nose cone t' tail, shiver me timbers, I decided then t' put in a motor mount and skip t' directions for addin' t' nozzle/exhaust unit at t' bottom. Aye aye! T' important thin' t' remember when gluin' t' rocket together is t' keep all t' seams lined up so that they are on t' "back" o' t' rocket. Ya scallywag! When I added t' launch lug, shiver me timbers, I added it right t' t' side o' t' seam as well.

Next, I added t' fins. Begad! My card stock was a little too weak, so me fins were a little flimsy at first. T' fins are rather small and I began t' wonder how they would perform once it came time t' fly them.

I cut a small piece o' 6mm tubin' and put in a motor block. Well, blow me down! I then used scrap pieces o' card stock in long thin strips and rolled them around t' motor mount until it slid in t' t' tail o' t' Diamant B, matey, makin' contact with t' inner diameter o' t' rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! I inserted t' motor mount with a motor and did a swin' test. After addin' 2 BBs into t' nose cone up through t' tail, t' swin' test worked fine. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! Next I glued t' BBs in t' nose cone, matey, usin' tissue paper and yellow glue as a bulkhead t' keep them in place, ya bilge rat, and then glued in t' motor mount.

Basically, if you know t' alphabet and use common sense, arrr, me hearties, it should be a piece o' cake t' make t' rocket. Well, blow me down! T' parts are labeled with letter names, me bucko, and t' guide on page 2 clearly show that part "B-C" clearly links part B with part C, and so on.

This is nay really a CON, but t' rocket is quite small, ya bilge rat, and rollin' that little nose cone is a slight challenge. Blimey! If you have never done a paper rocket before, I would recommend startin' with somethin' a little larger. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Normally, matey, a project like this I would rate a skill level 2, but because o' t' size o' t' rocket, I would put it at a skill level 2.5 - 3.

PROs: parts fit very well and do nay need t' be altered or cut in any way t' get proper fit.

Finishing:
Since t' rocket is pre-printed, matey, all t' markings and detail are already on t' paper. Begad! Blimey! All I had t' do be add a little launch lug. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Since me MMX launch lugs are styrene and t' rocket is paper, arrr, I used a dab or two o' CA glue t' keep t' launch lug on.

After t' rocket was completely dry, I sprayed it with Rustoleum Lacquer (high luster coating). Begad! It made t' paper translucent, allowin' me t' see a lot o' t' detail inside t' rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! At this point, I thought I had ruined t' rocket, ya bilge rat, me bucko, so I just let it sit in t' sun and I forgot about it. Later on that day, I went outside and t' me surprise, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, t' rocket looked fine. Avast! T' translucence disappeared. So, I gave it another 2 or 3 coats. Begad! After a day o' allowin' t' lacquer t' cure, it be ready for launch. Well, arrr, blow me down! T' fins also became much more rigid from t' lacquer treatment.

Construction Rating: 5 out o' 5

Flight:
I first flew t' rocket on August 7, ya bilge rat, arrr, shiver me timbers, 2004 at t' high school where I work. Begad! Blimey! T' first launch was quite interesting. Ya scallywag! T' motor (MMX II) fizzled, and t' rocket jumped about a foot into t' air, shiver me timbers, enough t' clear t' launch rod. Blimey! At first, I thought that t' rocket was too heavy, matey, ya bilge rat, matey, or just did nay have t' aerodynamics t' make a good flight. Avast! Begad! Blimey! Upon inspection, I noticed that t' nozzle had blown clear out t' motor. Begad! A little CATO! Blimey! Well, thar be no damage t' t' Diamant B, so I loaded up another MMX II. This time, it ripped off t' pad, matey, sailed into t' air, me hearties, me bucko, arrr, and at motor ejection (just a little puff), matey, arrr, it streamed t' t' ground, nose first. Aye aye! Well, me hearties, blow me down! Blimey! Good flight, but remember, I did nay put any recovery in t' rocket. I was hopin' that it would tumble. Blimey! Well, me bucko, it didn't. Begad! T' flight was successful, me bucko, but t' recovery needed a little work. Well, blow me down! Blimey! When I picked up t' rocket, me hearties, matey, matey, I noticed no damage whatsoever. Avast! Blimey! It is very light and t' lacquer treatment added some strength t' t' paper.

I took t' model home and used an X-Acto cutlass t' cut around t' lower half o' t' shoulder. Aye aye! Arrr! I added a card stock coupler t' t' lower half so that t' upper portion could sit on t' lower half. Avast, me proud beauty! I then added a Keelhaul®©™ shock cord t' both parts. Begad! I decided that since t' rocket be so light, matey, and yet rather large, nose-blow recovery would work fine.

I launched t' Diamant B again on August 25, arrr, 2004, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, usin' MMX II motors again. Ya scallywag! Begad! T' first launch o' t' day t' Diamant took off at an angle. Although it flew well, matey, it flew with more o' a trajectory than I had hoped. Avast, me proud beauty! Ejection occurred early (MMX IIs have very short delays), and I know that if Quest built 2 or 3 second delays on their MMX IIs, we would have great little motors. Begad! Recovery be fine.

T' second flight o' t' Diamant B today was also on an MMX II. Avast! Avast! This time, me bucko, I got t' rocket t' ascend fairly straight, ya bilge rat, me bucko, but towards t' end, it corkscrewed. Recovery was flawless.

So far, I have flown t' rocket 3 times. Aye aye! Each flight was different, with all flights bein' average t' above average. Ya scallywag! Begad! I am thinkin' about gettin' a longer launch rod for me MMX rockets, me hearties, so that I can avoid some o' t' weathercockin' and corkscrewin' on lift-off.

Recovery:
Flight recovery worked fine once I installed t' nose-blow/Keelhaul®©™ idea into t' rocket. Well, blow me down! Blimey! Aye aye! Blimey! I am interested that t' rocket performed 3 different ways. Each flight was at least nominal (I don't like corkscrewin' or weathercocking), and all flights were safe with ejection occurrin' way up in t' air.

Flight Rating: 4 out o' 5

Summary:
It's a fun little build and I like t' idea that it's a scale model rocket out o' paper that flies rather well despite t' small fins.

PROs: attractive French rocket with lots o' detail printed on t' card stock. We often see American, Canadian, arrr, German and Russian scale rockets out on t' pad. Ya scallywag! Avast, me proud beauty! We don't see that many French or Polish rockets for that matter. Begad! Perfect rocket for MMX and if one really wanted to, matey, it is possible t' treat t' bottom body tube as a minimum diameter tube for 13 mm motors. I assume it would need more nose weight, ya bilge rat, but it should really fly high (assumin' those little fins work).

CONs: none, really. Aye aye! I wonder if t' rocket would perform slightly better with larger fins. Ya scallywag! This would be fairly easy t' do, just printin' up t' first page again slightly enlarged for t' fins, but usin' t' original size for t' rest o' t' rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! Considerin' this is supposed t' be a static rocket plan, it flies pretty well.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5