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

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

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

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

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

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

CONs: none, ya bilge rat, me hearties, me hearties, really. 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. Considerin' this is supposed t' be a static rocket plan, me bucko, it flies pretty well.

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5