my last Guillow"s kit

[icepick]

I just started the Guillow's B-25 kit. This kit is CRAP! I can't believe a company would allow this to be sold! I tried to cut out the slots for the stingers, and the formers fell apart, (yes I used a new blade), then I made a sanding stick to try to sand the slots, same results.
I am so pissed! When I have built other Guillows kits in the past, I gave them the benefit of the doubt, but as a model builder building for display,(Guillow's won"t fly) I would like to think the company would want to put out a decent product.
This is my last Guillow's kit, there are plenty of other kit manufactures out there that have a quality product. Dumas, Herr,etc...

[cliffm]

When you find the kit with perfect wood,flawless plans and instructions, that's an outstanding flier,which also is an accurate display of a vintage aircraft with a price tag affordable to a newspaper boy who can construct it with $5 or less worth of building supplies there are a lot of us waiting for one.

[SteveM]

Ironically, if you look at some of the posts within that past few weeks you'll see people complaining of Dumas wood and also people saying they have yet to find kits better than Guillow's. One of Guillow's weaknesses is their die cut wood, but a great strength is their directions which are simply the best most of us have ever seen. Dumas really gave me a dud on the directions that came in my F4U kit, see this list of errors.

Cliffm is right, you can't have it all so you have to decide for yourself which area to compromise on. I for one find it easy to replace the wood if need be, but have not been able to find an easy fix to a bad set of instructions.

My suggestions:
- Call Guillow's and explain the problem, they will probably send you new wood for free (which may or may not solve your problem).
- Post a picture or two and explain your problem and get feedback from experienced builders.
- Photocopy the plans and use the templates on them to cut new wood that has the qualities that you desire.
- Try one of the laser cut kits of the 200 series, the stringer notches are already cut out by a laser.

[icepick]

I agree the plans are very good, I will try replacing the wood, and using the template option, I'd hate to stop the tradition I have of every time I go to Branson,Mo. I get a Guillows kit at Dick's five and dime.
What I need is my own laser!

[cliffm]

A remedy you might try on a bad sheet of parts is to sand the back of the sheet slightly and give it a 50% white glue mix coating,on the back side only,let it dry thoroughly,then try cutting out your parts." Do not" coat the printed side as the glue gets in the print cuts and it's a real pain to get your parts out. I did this on my catalina and it seemed to help considerably. Just make sure you do a light coat and let it dry completely,you can even do additional coats for added strength. The secret is to let it dry between coats as soggy balsa is a real nightmare to cut. But you will find wood quality problems in the laser cut kits as well,so,you will find fixing broken parts is part of the journey.

[TJH]

Over the years I have built balsa planes from five different manufacturers, primarily Guillow's. I have to agree that Guillow's plans are easy to follow, and the overall strength and design of the kits are very good. I don't think there are any "perfect" kits out there as they all require some extra effort.

[scigs30]

I enjoy buying Guillows and supporting the hobby. Yes the wood is pretty bad, so most of the time I will not use it. For a couple of more bucks, I buy replacement wood and cut our my own parts. I just finished my Guillows Aeronca right out of the box with no mods, you can see my post here. I can honestly say that it is quicker for me to cut out my own parts than trying to repair the die crunched parts. Also you will get a cleaner, straighter build. I have all the laser cut 200 series kits and they are great. The wood is still too heavy for rubber, but for electric or static they are the best out there IMO. I am not a big fan of laser cut, but I would be so happy if Guillows just used quality printed wood, and that shouldn't drive up the price.