Guillow's Messerschmitt Laser Cut Model Kit

I have been building Guillow's kits for a long, long, time. We use to call them die crushed because the cutting blade was not sharp after stamping out many kits. The pieces of wood next to the notches for the stringers often broke off. The wood we called iron wood because it was heavy and tough.The new laser cut kits are wonderful, clean cut and the wood is much better quality. I still would recommend using bass wood for the stringers as the balsa doesn't hold up well to handling, but they can be acquired at almost any craft store. I sheet my models with 1/32 inch balsa sheet, as I modify them for electric radio controlled flight and the sheeting adds a bit of overall toughness, as well as looking more scale. The finished model weighs less than the 8.8 ounce limit for requiring a license from the FAA which in my mind is another bonus.

I loved putting this together! Yes, these kits tend to be on the heavy side, but the amount of detail is great and it was great just to be able to put a balsa kit together again after all these years! One suggestion would be to put in about 3 degrees negative incidence in the rear horse stab and keep everything in the tail as light as possible as it is very tail heavy.

I'm fairly satisfied with the outcome, but it wasn't the easiest build: the piece for the instrument panel did not line up properly with the rest of the cockpit; the balsa wood sometimes was quite soft and fragile; and the plans did not show how to glue the balsa strips along the bottom of the fuselage, so I had to figure it out for myself. The kit includes white tissue paper. I used my own colored paper. The kit also comes with landing gear, but since I hang these planes from the ceiling I like to leave the gear off.

This is a terrific kit because it's a laser cut kit and the builder don't have to fight with the die cut pieces or struggle to cut out the stringer notches as the balsa wood crumbles. With laser, it's easy as pie and the kit comes together without a fight.Not all Guillows kits are laser cut but some are, so look for the box that says laser cut, if not, then you are looking at crushed balsa parts and irregular and inaccurate stringer notches. I enjoyed building this kit but wished it was a bit larger (wingspan) to make a bolder visual statement.

Classic balsa wood kit. Love the balsa construction, not so hot on covering or painting. The laser cut balsa was of good quality, I did buy Midwest 1/16 stringers. Used EZ Dope, worked well. Sprayed Vallejo acrylics. Decals wrinkled a bit although I tried to seal the paper with Pledge acrylic spray. All in all, a fun project. Did the 109 and the P-51, that is enough.

First time building a wood model. I am really enjoying it.

A nice model but needs less plastic

Always a good kit to build. Guillows are top kits. I use guillows kits to teach people to build.

Very happy with product

Bon produits et bon prix