Brief:
This is a 1:144 paper scale model o' t' French rocket, Diamant B, first launched in 1970. Although Lansbergen's website is in Dutch, arrr, t' instruction for t' model are in English. Ya scallywag! T' plans are for a static model, but with a few alterations, shiver me timbers, it can be made t' fly usin' Micromaxx motors. Arrr! My version separates at t' shoulder, ya bilge rat, uses nose weight, me hearties, matey, 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. Begad! Begad! Construction is fairly easy. Avast, me proud beauty! Roll t' three different body tubes first, arrr, me hearties, then roll t' nose cone. Ya scallywag! After these have dried, shiver me timbers, I rolled t' couplers that link t' various parts o' t' rocket together. I must mention at this point that I was just buildin' without much thought o' convertin' t' rocket t' fly. Aye aye! Blimey! Yellow glue was used exclusively, ya bilge rat, applyin' only tiny amounts with t' end o' a toothpick. Ya scallywag! After I had t' entire rocket glued from nose cone t' tail, I decided then t' put in a motor mount and skip t' directions for addin' t' nozzle/exhaust unit at t' bottom. 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. Avast, me proud beauty! When I added t' launch lug, matey, me bucko, I added it right t' t' side o' t' seam as well.

Next, I added t' fins. Aye aye! Blimey! My card stock was a little too weak, so me fins were a little flimsy at first. Begad! Begad! 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. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! 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, shiver me timbers, makin' contact with t' inner diameter o' t' rocket. I inserted t' motor mount with a motor and did a swin' test. Avast, me proud beauty! Aye aye! After addin' 2 BBs into t' nose cone up through t' tail, t' swin' test worked fine. Avast, me proud beauty! Next I glued t' BBs in t' nose cone, me bucko, usin' tissue paper and yellow glue as a bulkhead t' keep them in place, and then glued in t' motor mount.

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

This is nay really a CON, shiver me timbers, but t' rocket is quite small, and rollin' that little nose cone is a slight challenge. Avast, me proud beauty! If you have never done a paper rocket before, I would recommend startin' with somethin' a little larger. Ahoy! Normally, arrr, a project like this I would rate a skill level 2, matey, 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, all t' markings and detail are already on t' paper. Avast, me proud beauty! All I had t' do be add a little launch lug. Since me MMX launch lugs are styrene and t' rocket is paper, 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). Aye aye! Ahoy! It made t' paper translucent, allowin' me t' see a lot o' t' detail inside t' rocket. Begad! At this point, I thought I had ruined t' rocket, 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, t' rocket looked fine. Ya scallywag! T' translucence disappeared. So, ya bilge rat, I gave it another 2 or 3 coats. Blimey! After a day o' allowin' t' lacquer t' cure, it was ready for launch. 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, matey, 2004 at t' high school where I work. Well, blow me down! T' first launch be quite interesting. Arrr! T' motor (MMX II) fizzled, and t' rocket jumped about a foot into t' air, matey, shiver me timbers, enough t' clear t' launch rod. Avast! At first, I thought that t' rocket be too heavy, me hearties, or just did nay have t' aerodynamics t' make a good flight. Ya scallywag! Upon inspection, shiver me timbers, I noticed that t' nozzle had blown clear out t' motor. Ahoy! Ahoy! A little CATO! Well, thar was no damage t' t' Diamant B, so I loaded up another MMX II. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! This time, shiver me timbers, me hearties, matey, it ripped off t' pad, sailed into t' air, me bucko, arrr, and at motor ejection (just a little puff), me bucko, it streamed t' t' ground, nose first. Begad! Good flight, but remember, ya bilge rat, matey, I did nay put any recovery in t' rocket. I was hopin' that it would tumble. Begad! Well, me hearties, it didn't. T' flight was successful, me hearties, but t' recovery needed a little work. Avast, me proud beauty! When I picked up t' rocket, me bucko, I noticed no damage whatsoever. Arrr! Well, blow me down! 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. I added a card stock coupler t' t' lower half so that t' upper portion could sit on t' lower half. I then added a Keelhaul®©™ shock cord t' both parts. Ahoy! Blimey! I decided that since t' rocket be so light, me bucko, me bucko, and yet rather large, shiver me timbers, nose-blow recovery would work fine.

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

T' second flight o' t' Diamant B today was also on an MMX II. Well, blow me down! Ahoy! This time, shiver me timbers, I got t' rocket t' ascend fairly straight, me hearties, me bucko, ya bilge rat, but towards t' end, arrr, it corkscrewed. Aye aye! Avast! Recovery was flawless.

So far, I have flown t' rocket 3 times. Ahoy! Each flight was different, me bucko, with all flights bein' average t' above average. I am thinkin' about gettin' a longer launch rod for me MMX rockets, arrr, 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! I am interested that t' rocket performed 3 different ways. Ya scallywag! Each flight was at least nominal (I don't like corkscrewin' or weathercocking), shiver me timbers, 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, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, Canadian, me hearties, German and Russian scale rockets out on t' pad. We don't see that many French or Polish rockets for that matter. Begad! Perfect rocket for MMX and if one really wanted to, it is possible t' treat t' bottom body tube as a minimum diameter tube for 13 mm motors. Begad! Blimey! I assume it would need more nose weight, but it should really fly high (assumin' those little fins work).

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

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5