Guillow's Giant Scale Balsa F4U-4 Corsair ⭐ Build Slideshow 

My dad built models for me to hang from my ceiling when i was a kid.joined the Navy and became an airplane mechanic on E-2 Hawkeyes. All becaues of something as simple as building a model airplane. Love airplanes! Miss my Dad.

This kind of model build is really a dying art. It takes a lot of work and concentration to get them right. Built a P-51C once, with my dad's help. I'll always remember that. We connected...

I purchased this very model from my local hobby shop about 20 years ago and just decided today that I should get at it. It's been some time since I have attempted a balsa kit and went on line to see if there was any info on this kit, and lo-and-behold there to my surprise was a 16 minute video that you had put out which I thank you for. I'm sure I will be referencing your video for the improvements and tips you suggested so, I thank you again.

As a kid I doped all my model airplanes. I just turned 72 so doping a model is survivable. Lol

My late wife surprised me the first week we were married . She found not one but two guillows balsa wood kits of a 1/32nd scale B - 29 Bombers . At that time these kits were out of production . I'm sorry to say that I have not gotten a chance to get these built they have almost a 4 ft wing span . Our plan was to build one as the Enola Gay for her and mine is to be modified in the Bombay for the Bell X - 1 Glamorous Glennis a 1/32 nd scale Revell kit . Glamorous " Glennis " was the name of Chuck Yeager's wife and also the first aircraft to break the sound barrier at Mac . 1 I plan to cover both with 1:32 of an inch sheet Balsa wood for extra strength , then seal it with sanding sealer dope then cover them ( with all do care ) aluminum foil for that metallic look . As with all of the Guillows kits they have cardboard Interiors . I'm hoping to find parts to build up the cockpit for both planes .

That is the COOLEST thing a Dad could ever do for his son! My Dad built Guillows models with me when I was about 7 and I've built airplanes ever since. I'm an aerospace engineer because of Dad's Guillows kits. He was a golfer and used to practice out at the Fort Sill Parade field which happened to be the gathering of the model airplane crowd. I got a eyeful of early RC and some awesome UKIE action as a very young boy. I was hooked!

i built many guillows planes when i was a kid. one of them was an avenger torpedo bomber about that size that i made into control line flyer with cox 049 motor, eventually crashed it. but i used to like to hang them also such as spad xiii, nieuprt 11, fokker d7, triplane, japanese zero, and others. thnx for the trip back.

It takes the patience of a saint to assemble one of these kits . I know that I never could do it . You did such a nice job with this gullows kit . I salute you .

That is a great build, your son must have loved it..

I'm 45 and still have the Hurricane that my Dad and I made when I was 6 or 7 years old. It never flew properly and was repaired so many times, but it inspired me to take up the hobby and all these years later I still love it. Miss you Dad.

In the 1950's when I was around ten years old the corner store a block away from my house had a few of the Guillows plane kits. They cost me fifty cents each. These were a much smaller scale. I spent hours building them. So much fun. The hardest problem I had was cutting out the small balsa parts. Used to crack a lot of them, but it n the end they came together quite well. So many great memories. You did a super job on your kit.

Amo esses aviões da ww2 gostaria demais te ter uma replica dessas mais infelizmente moro no interio do Brasil e sou muito pobre então seria pra mim quase impossivel .

I wouldn't be surprised if your kit sat next to the 1st one I bought in the 60's. I've learned since, spray can lacquer gives better results. After a few coats are applied you can fine sand for a polished finish. Plus lacquer can be applied in thin coats and is always better than one thick coat. Anyway you do it you have a very nice build.

Should have used Monokote.

if you build another you might consider MonoKote covering . comes in many colors and is stronger and stretches' with heat gun.

This is the best stick and tissue build I have seen--wow! F4U is one of my favorite planes and your build is superb Sir! Well Done! Cheers JP

Impressive. I have one which I partially built and lost during my move. I regret not having completed it. Takes lots of patience to build a Guillows kit. I built a few myself. I recently bought a Hawker Hurricane Guillows kit I am hoping to build as an rc plane.

I think this is the same scale F4-U Corsair back in 1969. I put a FOX two cycle engine in it an flew it by hand tether.

you did a great job building it! Those larger Guillows kits are great. They do require a lot of hand finishing and burnishing though to get them looking perfect. Its hit or miss with those old decals that come with the kit. I usually end up making my own as well.

wow you shure have a lot of patience, i love your model, years ago y built one, its was a very decent flyer :)

Built many model airplanes growing up. Thus began my interest in aviation. Just retired from a major airline flying the Boeing 777. Who knows what a " hobby" will inspire?

Next time you have a problem with the Decals use only one at a time then if you see that it's not going to work do this use the others as a Template , cut out what you need such as the star and bars that is basically what they did during construction . It will save you wear and tear and of course gas .

The AB placement you use signifies the carrier airwing (group) that the plane belongs to. I was in an aircraft squadron attached to carrier airwing 13 (AK) back in my military days. I’m not sure if there was an AB but I get why you used it.

I had this kit years ago.. took a long long time..But looking back I would've used monocoat covering instead..lots easier. My next kit I will use monocoat or ultracoat.

My experience with Guillow's decals hasn't been good. You get them wet and try to apply them but they fall apart. Then the broken parts fall apart. What worked for me was making a color copy of the decals on my printer using plain white paper. I then used rubber cement to glue them in place. It might sound crude but a well built balsa and tissue model will always look a bit crude when it is finished. These balsa models don't have the fine detail of a plastic model. They make up for that with their very large scale.

That is Murphy's Law for modelers. 😄 Had that happen to me just last week. The entire rack of Evergreen styrene products was full except for the 1/2 inch tube stock that I drove across town for. MURPHY!!!😡

I literally just got done building this plane I saved the kit wood and built it from scratch it's an amazing rc flying plane I love it flies amazing and nice and straight and level just make sure everything stays square and sand the wood smooth before you wrap it and make sure it's straight take your time to sand and square everything up

What a great Dad ! Your building good qualities into your son and a plane at the same time . Beautiful .

I'm 56 and I still have a J-3 cub that my dad an I helped build when I was 12. Still in one piece. Very special still and Dad is still with me at 82.

Built this one years ago , it looked good but it had mistakes , but to build it again I would fill all sections with Wall insulation foam board sand it then Pva the tissue , the Guillows Kits were for their time but modern day you need a diffrent approach..good vid.

Very nice.

388♡♡♡♡ Good morning. I drew the F4U Corsair, and you make it nice. ♡♡♡ Awesome ♡ It's the best.

Great build! Happy birthday Andy!! (PS, Decals usually adhere to gloss coat not dull -- lay a coat of gloss first, apply decals and seal with a clear dull coat).

I used to build airplane models to hang from the ceiling of my room. The Corsair is without a doubt, one of the most beautiful and sexy airplanes ever built.

You're a good dad!

Very nice and I enjoyed the story as well. Getting ready to start this kit but converting it to full RC with retracts. It'll be a challenge.

My Dad and I built a Spitfire when I was 5 to hang in my room. My favorite thing was waking up and checking out what we'd built the day before. Pulling out the pins and lifting the assembly from the wax paper was so cool.

Very nice ! I just built a a 1/72 model of a B-17 F for my 3 yr old grandson's bedroom (aka, airplane port ) He's made his room a hangar just like grandpas ! Gotta love them !

I would have used some of the parts from Tamiya's new 1/24 scale F-4U-1D Corsair;such as the cockpit,pilot figure,the 2,000 hp P&W 18 cyl. double wasp R2800,the white metal landing gear,the highly detailed landing gear bays,doors,rockets and bombs,and the photoetched parts set,to complete this model.This balsa kit,is close in size and scale to the 1/24 scale plastic kits;of this historic,war bird.some modifications,will have to be done on the 1/24 scale kit parts;to get them to fit properly,but the kit bashing;for a much more accurate, scale balsa model;of the F-U-1D Corsair,are worth the effort.

Built this kit with my father some 40+ years ago and it hung from my bedroom ceiling. The box art has it taking off from CV-15, the USS Randolph. The same carrier my father served on in the '50s. Wish i still had it.

Really nice job, well done!

Nice engine detail. I tried building a Guillow's large scale P-51. Boy did I make a kybosh out of that model. I was still in my teens, so I was impatient,. Nice job overall.

I think you did your best with a pretty crappy version of this kit. Greatplanes make a great ARF model of this plane, failing that, many manufacturers have plastic non-flying models your son would appreciate just as much. The fuse alone is pretty damn ordinary. Guillow's don't make a good kit under any circumstances.

Very nice build!

Nice job! You built the f4u-4 version, which is the Korea war version, and which my Uncle flew off of a carrier. Would you believer he have me his flight manual! Love that plane. 🙂

I am so happy to see this video. What a great dad.

You just rambled on & on…. Just stick to the topics shown on the video. Regards to covering, you did a great job & the clear Krylon seems to dive most shrinking & wrinkle problems. Your model turned out great. There’s a special technique on the use of Guillow’s decals. Just keep them soaking in water until they’re literally floating off the carrier paper. Good show.

Congratulations. Beautiful job of a fantastic kit made by traditional Guillow. The only issue I miss is some nice radio control flying. I know Guillow models do fly very well indeed. Perhaps the next one?

thats one cool airplane. checkout my video of my trixter beam build. getting ready to start a bellanca cruisemaster!

Just came across this, have the same model in a box up on the shelf, just haven’t gotten around to it yet. Picked it up rather cheap. Already built the P-51 and ME-109, really great kits, nice displays for anyone’s hobby room. Used Aerogloss dope on the silkspan first then paint, turned out awesome.

The plane looks great.

say hi to your son , this is from Toronto, Canada 🇨🇦

I was working on this model around 1986 when the Challenger disaster happened. I still have it but never completed it.

i built this model and spent a lot of time on the details,The plane really comes alive when you use all the componets

I built stick and tissue models as a kid, then what to my surprise, my daughter got me this very model (now 58) I have completely taken over the dining room table, lol. I came here looking for tips on covering, Wet vs dry. I did the tail (Dry) and now I am nervous to do the rest.

This kit arrived at my doorstep yesterday, and i am very happy. You will help me through the build with this video. Thanks.

Maybe next time consider 1/32 sheeting. It works best when u replace the 1/16 stringers with 8th x 16th and convex them a bit with water and some heat so the sheeting doesn't concave between the formers.

Beautiful! Just beautiful!

Guy, I admire you for introducing your kids in this very physical, tangible way to aeronautics, art, design, build processes, craft traditions, history, etc. Me, I am very fortunate to have a father who did the same for me in his own ways. Every day of my life I feel grateful for it.

Having made this plane myself great job ihve made several balsa and I use school glue watered down it works great for me to get the tissue tight also used craft paint water based and brushed my model it has worked great for me very good job 👍

Very nice work Guy - your little guy will treasure this model forever!

Guess it’s alright but do you not know how to use small fingernail files to shake add detail to motor sanding down prop gun adding bolt heads I guess I’m just so anal for perfection other just settle for get by, the pilot for instance. Sucks come it down for detail, I dunno looks thrown together if ask me I dunno had to rip apart another mans treasure

Nice that you did for your son... well done sir!!!

letadlo je to moc pěkné,ale po modelářské stránce není čistě provedené,to ale nic nemění na faktu k radosti malého syna😊

Personally, I would cover the whole airframe and wings with the thinnest balsa sheet available on the market.

A beautiful job,very well done,and very exact.

If you want model paints go to hobby lobby they have every paint you need for model cars they have Tamiya and model master and a few other brands of modeling paints. But don't use modeling paints guys on any foam rc planes but looks like it would look good to do tissue and paint it instead of the see through ultra lite uktracote or monokote if you make this a rc plane I like the paint better I'm gonna do same thing instead of the monokote wrap would look way better with a airbrush

Beautiful build!!! And what a great gift from father to son! I hope it inspires him for many years to come. God Bless.

Good job. Looks very nice :)

Forgot to add...i think you taking all the time and effort to make these for each of your kids is just awesome. First it will probally sustain a lifelong love of aviation because it will now have a bucnch of subconcious ties to you..also in these days highly unusual as its a selfish now world so even all the more awesome and i know your kids will treasure it for tge rest of their lives and possibly pass it down to theor kids as well as doing the same for their birthdays... So so cool.

It's amazing, I'm building an A6M but this one shoot down 20 in one day

Grandfather worked at Eastern air lines also built balsa models and ended up on the flight Deck uss forestall navy aviation

Your DEKELS are great!

That's a labor of love. Bon travail!

I almost had one built when i was 14.... my brother broke it :/

Nicely done! I love seeing story's like this. My wife and I once remodeled our sons room with an aviation motif. We used a wallpaper trim at the top of the wall that had several military aircraft types and put in a ceiling fan that was a replica of the P-40 nose with the shark mouth.

I remember the smell of that modeling dope

The only chance of survival of this hobby is if for his next Birthday you buy a kit and build it with him.

I enjoyed your video. The Guillow's have always been a challenge for me. You executed a great build my estimation. Thank you so much for your time and expertise.

Considering the inferior kit you had, you did a great job, my friend.

13:10 Ma gomme a effacer Steadtler que je cherche depuis des semaines !

There's just something about balsa. :)

Horrible model pilot, motor, fuselage looks horrible

Looks great. Super job!

Of Course, There's a great father. .... It is great to raise a son. Fun4U

Great job!I was thinking of making the big P-47!

Kids get into a pillow fight and obliterates 100 hours work.

There are fumes in Krylon spray paint as well as the dope.

Beautifully done and well presented! Thank you.

I always wanted to build a big model. But yours is awesome.

Go to the hardware store and get hold of a roll of alumn refrigerator tape. It works amazing for detail work.

Fantastic video..thanks for posting it.

I cut my hand on that same model when I was 10 years old, I still have the scar.

To much story telling and not enough building.

I USED DOPE ON A LOT OF PLANES,A FEW 3 times the size of this,also used dope on my Dads J3 When we repaired the Irish Linnen Fabric on the tail and wing surfaces! Still going at 77 !

Beautiful, muchacho, Beautiful....👽👍

Decals DEFINITELY do NOT age well.

Wow! I remember the unboxing, now it's done and you did a Fantastic job on that Corsair, thanks for sharing.

Well done! Nice preasent! Cheers