Reviews : Estes Mini Mosquito Model Rocket Kit

The Mosquito was historically the cheapest rocket kit in the Estes catalog. This is a relief to many a rocketeer as the model has a nasty tendency to disappear into oblivion when flown. If this happens to you, simply look under your couch cushions or car seats and you’ll probably find enough loose change to buy another one. As other reviewers have mentioned, fluorescent orange is by far the best color to paint this rocket for any hopes of getting it back after a launch. Use a white under-coat first, and the fluorescent paint will be nice and bright. I’d suggest adding a coat of glossy lacquer on top of this to make it shine. Three coats of paint sounds like a lot, but even with the extra weight, this lightweight still gets up there. Fly it in the morning or late afternoon (low sun) with a clear, blue sky and you can track it all the way to apogee (if your eyes are good) even on an A10 motor. I’ve caught mine in my hand a few times at the conclusion of such a blue-sky flight, so it is definitely possible to track this aptly-named pipsqueak under the right conditions. Throw in some clouds and all bets are off. Sure, it’s a no-brainer to build and fly but taking it home after the launch is the challenge. You can’t go wrong with this classic.

When my neighborhood got interested in rocketry in 1977, three of the eight rockets that we took to NKU as first time fliers were Mosquitos. As I remember, all were recovered, but 1977 was a long time ago. Thirty-six years later, after buying countless Mosquito kits to be used as belly tanks for my fleet of Centuri Mach 10 clones, I finally built a Mosquito as it was intended to be built, and I'm looking forward to my first flight. The Mosquito has a reputation as a fire and forget rocket, but I think a lot of that comes from A3 and A10 flights. This is a perfect rocket for the 1/4A3-3T engine on a small field. Paint it using bright colors just to make it that much more visible and pay attention to the launch and you should have no trouble running through a pack of four motors with the same rocket.

I have an Estes Mini Mosquito and it launches like a bat on steroids. My Micro Fat Boy is the same length as a Mini Mosquito 96mm, even though I tried to design and build it smaller, it cannot be done, tying Estes for the shortest flying rocket. To make your Mini Mosquito easier to track in flight, cant the fins to induce roll, at about 3 degrees, but no more than 5 degrees, with all fins canted in the same direction and assemble with C/A, or epoxy adhesive. It will look more like mosquito, as it twirls in flight. I wrapped my Mini Mosquito with reflective duct tape and it really shines at altitude, all the way back down, for a simple recovery. Upscaling the Mini Mosquito is simple and is a must for any serious model builder.

Back into rocketry after a 20 year absence. I have always seen others loose their mosquitos on their first flight. Instructions for this kit is very basic. It basically has a exploded view with instructions to glue everything together. Filling the slim balsa fins made them stronger and made them easier to paint. No engine retention, it just blows out the back leaving the little bug to tumble down. With a 1/4A-3 it landed about 40 feet from the launcher. Launched it twice and recovered it both times. Don't think I'll use a A10, as I want to keep it for a while Nice classic basic kit which belongs in everyone's collection

THESE PUPPIES ARE A BLAST! I've had , must say, a few of these when I was younger. But no that I am all growed up I figgured it out ;) The thing to do .... paint it orange and cover it in glitter. Go out to the middle of a lake in January, launch .... search .... recover????? If not , go out on the ice at night with a flashlight. Provided it has not snown the glitter will , well, glitter. I haave lauched mine at least a dozen times with only minnor CA glue needed for a few cracked fins.

I really like this rocket. I've lost many over the years. This year I tried something new. When constructing the rocket I added an engine stop using a piece of 1/2 A spent motor casing. I attached a piece of Kevlar thread to it and attached the other end to the nose cone with super glue and paper. The result was an easily recovered rocket! It tumbled out of the sky, easily seen by all, rather than searching the ground for a lawn dart. No more eye strain..... joe

Goes out of site on 1/2A3. Very fast drawing a lot wow comments. Can't imagine where it would go on an A10. Launched it 4 times last weekend and was only able to see the descent from one of them. The other three were found scanning the ground about 20 or so yards away. I think I will buy another and attach the nose cone with kevlar cord for more of a tumble recovery.

I've built 3 of these - they are sometimes hard to find when they land. I recommend using Day-Glo orange paint to help it stand out from the grass when it lands. PROS: Cheap, easy to build, tumble recovery means it doesn't travel far from where you launch it. CONS: It's so small it is hard to track when it is flying and find after it lands.

Very easy and quick build. This is a fun little rocket to launch. Small and simple, you don't have to pack a chute or use wadding. Part of the fun is trying to keep an eye on it going up, and then finding it when it comes down.... Recommend painting it a fluorescent or other very bright color, helps finding it after it hits the ground.

I have owned a number of these over the years and I will say the new laser cut fins makes it easier to build. Now going back to my title of easy to lose is very true. This little rocket can get high and fast, which if you lose track of it for one second you might be walking around the field for awhile until you give up. Great classic!

This little guy earns it name. Make sure you paint it a very bright color because it rips off of the rod and is basically gone at that point. I did mine on a fairly flat day so they didn't droft.too far and I found them again

Buy a bunch of 'em...easy to lose. Chances are good that you'll go home with more engines than Mosquitos. Not the easiest build....small parts, big hands. Regardless, a fun flier.

This rocket is hard to find and almost certain to break.(especially with the larger engines). It goes very high and looks impressive but it is basically one use only.

This rocket may be little but it's an excellent starter rocket. The assembly is simple and the point of apogee is always exciting.

They are a pain to find when they land. But then they are cheap so that helps.