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

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

Basically, if you know t' alphabet and use common sense, it should be a piece o' cake t' make t' rocket. 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, and so on.

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

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

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

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

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

Overall Rating: 4 out o' 5