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

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

Basically, if you know t' alphabet and use common sense, me hearties, it should be a piece o' cake t' make t' rocket. Begad! Blimey! Begad! Blimey! T' parts are labeled with letter names, me hearties, 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, and rollin' that little nose cone is a slight challenge. Blimey! If you have never done a paper rocket before, me bucko, I would recommend startin' with somethin' a little larger. Normally, a project like this I would rate a skill level 2, arrr, 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. Blimey! All I had t' do be add a little launch lug. Aye aye! Avast! Since me MMX launch lugs are styrene and t' rocket is paper, shiver me timbers, me bucko, 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). Avast! Avast, me proud beauty! It made t' paper translucent, allowin' me t' see a lot o' t' detail inside t' rocket. Avast! At this point, matey, shiver me timbers, 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, me hearties, matey, I went outside and t' me surprise, t' rocket looked fine. Begad! T' translucence disappeared. Aye aye! So, I gave it another 2 or 3 coats. Begad! After a day o' allowin' t' lacquer t' cure, me bucko, me bucko, it was ready for launch. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! 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, 2004 at t' high school where I work. Well, blow me down! T' first launch be quite interesting. Arrr! T' motor (MMX II) fizzled, me bucko, and t' rocket jumped about a foot into t' air, enough t' clear t' launch rod. Blimey! Avast! At first, me hearties, I thought that t' rocket was too heavy, or just did nay have t' aerodynamics t' make a good flight. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Upon inspection, shiver me timbers, I noticed that t' nozzle had blown clear out t' motor. Begad! A little CATO! Well, matey, thar be no damage t' t' Diamant B, so I loaded up another MMX II. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! This time, it ripped off t' pad, me bucko, sailed into t' air, shiver me timbers, arrr, and at motor ejection (just a little puff), it streamed t' t' ground, nose first. Ahoy! Ahoy! Good flight, but remember, me bucko, I did nay put any recovery in t' rocket. Ahoy! Avast, me proud beauty! I was hopin' that it would tumble. Begad! Well, shiver me timbers, me hearties, it didn't. Arrr! T' flight be successful, but t' recovery needed a little work. Avast! Well, blow me down! When I picked up t' rocket, I noticed no damage whatsoever. Arrr! It is very light and t' lacquer treatment added some strength t' t' paper.

I took t' model home and used an X-Acto knife 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. Ahoy! Begad! I then added a Keelhaul®©™ shock cord t' both parts. Arrr! Begad! I decided that since t' rocket be so light, ya bilge rat, and yet rather large, nose-blow recovery would work fine.

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

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

So far, I have flown t' rocket 3 times. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Each flight be different, with all flights bein' average t' above average. Aye aye! Blimey! Blimey! Blimey! I am thinkin' about gettin' a longer launch rod for me MMX rockets, 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. I am interested that t' rocket performed 3 different ways. Well, blow me down! Well, blow me down! Each flight be 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. Avast! We often see American, Canadian, ya bilge rat, arrr, German and Russian scale rockets out on t' pad. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! We don't see that many French or Polish rockets for that matter. Aye aye! Perfect rocket for MMX and if one really wanted to, arrr, 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, but it should really fly high (assumin' those little fins work).

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

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5