Happy anniversary
It’s likely that for many of us, our first exposure to a Guillow’s kit came from one of the company’s many inexpensive gliders. Monoplanes and biplanes, wrapped in colorful plastic bags, were strategically placed near the registers at local hobby shops, enticing pilots of all ages to take part in the simple and inexpensive joy of aviation.
... upload a photo or two of your Guillow’s models to www.ModelAviation.com and we can all celebrate together.
Some of the aircraft offered included options such as catapult-launch and rubber-powered models. I built, flew—and occasionally crashed—a large number of these models. My favorites were the biplanes.
For many, these inexpensive gliders were like appetizers that led us to tackle larger and more complex models that required a box to hold all of the parts. Tucked neatly inside we would find the parts and plans, as well as the undeniable smell of balsa wood.
Moving up to these bigger Guillow’s kits provided a much larger selection of aircraft than did the gliders. In later years, many kits also included plastic parts for cowls and canopies to aid in the completion of the model.
Interestingly, this experience has been shared with several generations of modelers and is still being enjoyed today, as Guillow’s celebrates 90 years in business. So instead of raising a glass to celebrate, upload a photo or two of your Guillow’s models to www.ModelAviation.com and we can all celebrate together.
