Estes Mosquito ( #0801) Building Notes and Finished Model Pics

 

Initially released as part of the original introduction of the "Mini-Brute" line of rockets in the Fall 1971 catalog, the "Mosquito" was one Estes longest running kits.  At $0.49 and featuring a whopping 3 parts in the kit bag (a body tube, a tiny balsa nosecone, and a small strip of balsa), it would also perennially be Estes' smallest, simplest and least expensive kit until it was finally discontinued in 2003.

2011 Re-release as a "combo" kit with the "Mega Mosquito"

2012 Re-release as a seperate kit (#1345)

In 2011, the Mosquito re-appeared as a "combo" kit with it's much larger big brother the "Mega Mosquito".  In 2012 it was once again available as a separate kit, albeit sporting a new kit number (#1345).

 

As far as personal history with this model, the Mosquito has the distinction of being the very first model rocket I ever saw launched! (well sort of...)  Back in 1977, I was attending Lexington Jr. High School in Cypress, CA and was getting back into model rocketry with my friends: Steve Perkins, Geno Torretta(sp?)  & John Lister.  Steve's grandfather had a small cabin on a nice flat peice of land somewhere around Twentynine Palms, CA and had granted us permission to use it as a base of operations for flying.  For weeks we worked feverishly on building up several kits and prepping, testing (and re-testing) our launch equipment for our first ever rocket launch... I will never forget that day... 

 

We had the following rockets (at least that I recall):

1. Estes Alpha (from the starter kit)

2. Estes Constellation

3. Estes Avenger

4. Estes Mosquito

5. And a home built rocket that my dad made from a Christmas wrapping paper tube and spare parts.

 

Anyway, after arriving at the cabin and discussing our options, we decided to start small, so the Mosquito was first up.  We carefully loaded the motor and attached the clips.  Continuity lamp was go... 5...4...3...2...1...pffffft!  NEVER SAW IT!  It just dissappeared before our eyes like a David Copperfield magic trick.  We never saw the Mosquito again...

 

What a dissapointment!  Never having seen a launch before, I wasn't sure what to expect, but that was definately not it!  Fortunately, the other larger rockets were much easier to follow and our faith in the hobby was restored, but the Mosquito will always be a memorable rocketry momment for me and therefore is one of my sentimental favorites.

Figure 1 - Cutting out the fins

 

Construction-wise, there isn't much to the Mosquito.  As mentioned in the introduction above, this was Estes simplest kit.  Still, I wanted it to look nice so I did the usual Elmers wood filler putty treatment and sanded them all down smooth.  The only potential "gotcha" here is that due to the tiny size of the fins, care must be taken not to oversand.  Any slight differences in the fin size or shape due to sanding irregularities is going to be noticeable.

 

Figure 2 - Filling the body tube seam

 

Filling the body tube seam was no different than on any other rocket, just on a much smaller scale.  And a lot less sanding... I like that!

 

Figure 3 - Glueing on the nosecone and marking

the body tube for the fins.  

Since the nosecone is glued in place for this rocket, I wanted to eliminate the seam between the body tube and the nose cone.  This was accomplished with a slightly thicker mixture of the Elmers wood filler and some fine grit sandpaper. 

 

Figure 4 - Estes Tube Marking Guide (#302227)



As a side note, this rocket was my first opportunity to try out the new Estes Tube Marking Guide.  These consist of 2 stair-stepped circular peices with markings for a 3 or 4 fin configuration and a "combo" tool for measuring tube length, marking the lines on the body tube and a jig for holding one fin at a time for glueing (see Figure 4).  All in all I like tube marking discs but for some weird reason they don't have a guide for BT-70 tubes.  An oversight?  As far as the "combo tool", I still prefer a door jam for getting straight tube lines and the Estes Fin Alignment Guide (#02231) is a bit more useful to me since I can attach all my fins at once.  However for going to a friends house to build, or doing field repairs, it's a good functional tool set that fits easily in your range box.

 

Figure 5 - Fin attachment

Decided to go "old school" on the fin attachment due to the tiny size of the fins.  One at a time, and rotate.  Fillets were done with 5 minute epoxy.

Figure 6 - Dupli-Color Filler Primer

Good ol' Dupli-Color "High Build" filler primer followed by a nice coat of Rustoleum white "Ultra-Cover 2X Primer".  Using white primer over the grey filler primer is done for two reasons:  1.) it provides a 100% compatible base for the color coat (no risk of crackling or adverse reactions), 2.) a white undercoat is a much better base for light colors such as yellow.  The underlying white really allows the lighter color to "pop". Whit also allows lighter colors to cover with a much thinner coat than a darker undercoat will.  As far as brands go, I opted for the Rustoleum over the Krylon for this model due to the color choices available at the time.  I wanted to paint the model in the 1970s era Marigold and Black scheme and Marigold was only available in the Rustoleum.

 

Figure 7 - Completed model on display

This was fun quick build and having the Mosquito back in my collection just feels good.