Guillow's Guillow Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

These guys have been making kits before I got into the hobby in the 70s . They were great then and they are great now. Technology has came a long ways in the last 50 years, so I say take advantage of it. If you can spend up to $10 more buy their laser cut kits, they are a masterpiece just waiting for you to build. I highly recommend the laser cut over their die cut kits. If your new to the hobby you’ll actually have a good chance of finishing the kit with very self satisfying results.

I ordered this balsa wood Curtiss P-40 airplane model for my 86 year old Father in law.I try and order the laser cut or die cut models for him as they are easier to remove the balsa wood pieces from the balsa sheets. All pieces are clearly numbered and easy to read. This model is a die cut.He really enjoys tinkering on these type of model kits.One model usually takes him a couple of weeks to fully build. He adds his own unique touches to each airplane.The propellers really wind up with the rubber band and will move around the floor. He does not try and fly them through the air. He likes to wind them up and let his Great Grandson watch them "fly" across the kitchen floor!Fun for all ages.The white tissue airplane on the left is this model plane. I purchased this item at full price. My opinions are my own and I was not compensated in any way for my thoughts.I rely on product reviews just like others to help make my purchase decisions so I try each product very carefully before reviewing and always do my best to leave honest opinions and provide as much facts as possible based solely on my experience.

First build, P-51 Mustang, went very well and looks great. Used the now hard to find Nitrate Dope for the covering. Yeah, it can get you high and then make you sick but just treat it with some common sense (like people used to have once upon a time) and read the precautions. There is nothing better as a long lasting paint base for the silk span covering or as a sealant for the balsa in a non-hot fuel situation. And, it gives a medium shrink not pulling the covering to tight causing it to pull away from the frame in places. And it won't sag when you paint it. And you won't find it on the River. Just make sure your glue is compatible. Your can always test it on some scrap pieces first. One of the grand-kids saw the Mustang and liked it a lot and began asking for his own. But I have 4 grand kids so I bought 4 +1 more of these for myself in this series with close model nos. All with 16" - 24" wingspans. The larger ones are just stupid $$$$ for what they are. The only Con so far is the thickness of the balsa is not what it used to be. Even decades later since I built these in the 60's I can tell it is all thinner. But, the pieces all separated easily and fit well, even the non-laser die cut ones. The Mustang does actually fly some but I beefed up the landing gear structure which seemed quite flimsy as designed with the thinner wood. You don't get more than a few seconds of power out of the rubber band though. Be sure to shop around for the best prices. They vary a lot and it adds up esp if you are buying more than one. If you are really interested in flying these get one that says "Endurance" on the box.

The laser cuts are great. A challenging and enjoyable model to put together.

I built two during the days of lockdown. This one was easier, sturdier and flew much better than the other (Guillow Piper Super Cub 95). I would recommend this for beginners. Laser cut is wonderful.

Difficult to put together, not for kids.

These kits are exactly the same as they were 50 years ago - they look good and are fun to build, a great value, and just plain cool! More importantly, they foster real three-dimensional hand-eye coordination skills and family time. From my perspective, creating something tangible with your kids is far more valuable than having them sit in front of a computer screen blowing things up and killing people.

I hate having to record a 1 Star review for a kit series I have been familiar with for years. But this one had a few issues. The box was ever so slightly crushed on one end when I received it, but I didn’t see a need to replace it. So I put it away in hiding until my son’s 6th Birthday. He unwraps it and together we started building. At this point we just passed the 30 day return window.Note that this is our 3rd Guillows model build and my son was sorting through the familiar set of pieces when he said “Dad, can we fix this?”; he held up two of the plastic sheets - one of the nose cone and the other the spinner. It appears that they took the brunt of the damage resulting from the box being crushed. Each was crushed enough to have created fold creases in the plastic, creases significant enough to make hiding with paint impossible.So it is with the intention to signal to the seller, that I am rating this a 1 Star review. It is “American Made”, and I can only hope that this American seller can compete with the fantastic and infallible customer service of each and every Chinese manufacturered or item sold by a Chinese seller I have ever purchased on Amazon. While their stuff is not “made in America” as so many folks want, they have mastered customer care.Guillows, please be a little bit like those awesome Chinese merchants and reach out to me to get this fixed...