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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

Well done Dad! Very nice job!

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?

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

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

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 !

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 .

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.

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...

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 .

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

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.

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.

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

That was one happy kid! Good job, dad! 👍

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.

Nice built and thanks for sharing. Your son’s are lucky to have a Dad like you.

I've got a lot of great memories building and flying these kits with my Dad when I was the same age. These kits are eternal. (unless you catch a bad gust of wind lol)

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

A wonderful piece of work, but one needs the hands of a surgeon for building this the right way.

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.

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

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

I had this model in 1978. I got it up to a framed state but, didn't finish it. Good for you! Beautiful job.

Je suis Francias aussi! Tres Tres bien

Very nice build!

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.

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

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 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

The laser cut stuff looks like a serious improvement over the old die crushed. I'm building a crushed 36" 172 from about 82' right now😂 so basically 80% scratch, u know how it is. Great job man

Nicely done!

Your DEKELS are great!

Beautifully done and well presented! Thank you.

What a wonder father!

Great job Dad, looks great hanging in the room.

The plane looks great.

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

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 !

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

Beautiful! Just beautiful!

There's just something about balsa. :)

Looks great! Happy Birthday Andy!

At the end the model was awsome. Very nice with all the details very neat built. A beautiful model. Very very cool. Thanks for the construction tips and the different pictures during the construction process.

That's a labor of love. Bon travail!

Nice gift to a growing boy from his father!

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

Looks great. Super job!

I remember the smell of that modeling dope

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.

I tried to build this when I was a teenager. It was way over my head at that time. That was over forty years ago!! This brought back a lot of fond memories. Thank you.

Beautiful, muchacho, Beautiful....👽👍

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.

Great story. Great video. Happy Birthday to your son!

Really nice job, well done!

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.

Looks good! Looks real, real good!

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.

Fantastic video..thanks for posting it.

Beautiful plane, great job. Don't let it be a hangar queen, fly it!

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.

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 👍

Nice review Guy! I've built a few Guillows kits and all were a joy. They fly pretty well too both as RC and control line.

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.

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).

Fun looks great

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

That was AWESOME!!!!!!

My oldest daughter bought me this kit I haven't built a balsa kit since i was a kid thanks for this video it will help me to make this kit

Good job. Looks very nice :)

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

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

You're a good dad!

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?

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. 🙂

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.

Nice job Dad!!!!

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.

Well done sir beautiful airplane sure you’re a boys proud to this day

Très bon!

Excellent travail Guy!

God, I wanted this so bad when I was a kid. Never was able to buy one. It seemed that they just kept going up in price and eventually life happened. Thank you showing this amazing build!

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

I built this model maybe 30 years ago, and I balsa sheeted it instead of going with the paper and dope.

I wish I had 10% of this guy's motivation