| Image Comments |
| EvanJ | 21-Aug-08 11:22 |
| The whole fuselage. I had some trouble with some of the wood in the kit. I think it was the wrong density. I kept breaking things when I was putting together. But I soldiered on and I got it done! |
| Heinrich Dorfmann | 21-Aug-08 12:54 |
| Some people have complained about the wood in Guillows kit. I still have
my F-4U Corsair "Giant Scale" kit here (which I have to complete some day, grrrr...) and I couldn' complain. While the wood is not as good as in a Westwing kit, it is o.k.
Any other opinions? What is the Dumas wood quality like? I have nothing from Dumas.
And this is the nice thing about scratch building: You take a long look at your balsa stock and choose what suites best ... |
| John M Oshust | 21-Aug-08 13:11 |
| I have built two Guillows kits and have found the wood to be below standard. |
| SteveM | 21-Aug-08 13:25 |
| I built the Dumas F-4U and found all of the wood to be very light and very fragile. Excellent for a FF model but a pain in the butt if you were converting to R/C or building for display. Of the Guillow's kits that I have built (see my hanger for which ones) a large majority have included some wood that was of reasonable density and some sheets that were hard as a rock and just as heavy. The hard stuff is brittle and difficult to sand so I don't think anyone would find it useful. But I would say that the rest of the Guillow's wood is generally heavier and stronger than what you would find in other kits, making it poor for FF but easier to build.
By far the best wood I have seen was in the Midwest Aero-Star that DD sent me that Poppy sent him that he bought in the mid 1980's. Every piece of balsa was firm, light, strong, and of straight grain and consistent density. A real pleasure to work with. |
| David Duckett | 21-Aug-08 14:54 |
| It's why medical students learn to be doctors by working on cadavers. |
| EvanJ | 21-Aug-08 15:08 |
| I've definitely learned a lot from building the fuselage. Since this is only my second plane, I didn't think to use a ruler or something to ensure the straightness of the ribs. The place where the wing goes up front is crooked, and I'll have to figure out how to make a wedge or something to help keep the wing straight. It is true that you learn from your mistakes! |
| elevatoranj | 21-Aug-08 15:41 |
| I agree with DD, it is best to work on "dead" wood, as the live stuff squrims too much and the screams are unnerving. LOL |
| wingspanner | 21-Aug-08 16:35 |
| Evan a good way to build your planes and ensure that they are square is to use a magetic notice board and magnets.
http://www.easybuiltmodels.com/b04.htm
I purchased a board from a stationary store and bought the magnets from easy built models. |
| EvanJ | 21-Aug-08 16:53 |
| I looked at those and I think I'll have to get those. |
