Vintage Guillow's Supermarine Spitfire Restoration

This build took more than 35 years to finish, but because of the memories it brought back it was well worth it.

[@scottmccloud9029]

As a dad myself, I can guarantee you that your dad is extremely proud of you. Great job too.

[@kitchentablebalsabuilds]

Thank you very much. I appreciate your comments!

[@nigel_white]

My dad and I built this kit together when I was a kid. It turned out remarkably well and was such a great learning experience!

[@kenkingsflyingmachines2382]

Dad built Guillows kits his whole life. I have a 1/2 dozen of them. He was always so proud of them.

[@yoda5565]

When I see all those RC drones in blister packs at the store, this reminds me of all we had to go through, Construccion, gluing and cutting for days just to get a rubber band powered glider. However, we learned aerodynamics, history and detailed craft skills, along with bragging rights for building it ourselves. Now sit here and build one just like that, while grandpa goes and plays with his new drone.

[@kitchentablebalsabuilds]

Ha! That's so true! I've been tempted by the blister packs, but so far I've resisted.

[@patrickmullane30]

I still have a bunch of these including this one ❤

[@dholbert3266]

Nice job! I bet he’s proudly smiling!!

[@BHARGAV_GAJJAR]

What a wonderful activity to do for father and son ! Maybe I should entice my 83 year old artist father into it

[@Neutercane]

After having attempted to assemble other model maker's balsa wood model aircraft, finally trying a Guillow's kit was such a relief. The directions were great, it was easy to assemble and it looked good when finished.

[@kitchentablebalsabuilds]

I agree, Guillows are great to build. When they started offering laser-cut kits, they got even better! Laser-cut kits have been a life-changing experience for me! 😃Thanks for your comment!

[@Beykus_cz]

Does it fly well? I have heard about how nice those kits are to build but I have also heard they require a lot of changes to fly well.

[@kitchentablebalsabuilds]

@@Beykus_cz You heard right. This kit turned out pretty heavy and required a lot of nose weight to balance. With the additional weight it needed a bigger prop and more power. If you build one for rubber power flight, I recommend keeping it as light as possible. Thanks for your question and thanks for watching!

[@Beykus_cz]

@@kitchentablebalsabuilds Thanks a lot for your answer. I am able to lighten the rudder and elevator by 50 % and also I will shift the rear peg forward a bit. I am also planning to cut some parts from thiner balsa or sand down the existing parts. Of course the stock propeller is small anyway so bigger one will be used for sure.

[@Neutercane]

@@Beykus_cz I didn't try to fly mine much because of the flight characteristics. I would wind up the rubber band and gently toss them so they'd fly across the yard, but they'd sort of porpoise, slip off to the left and then nose in and start to cartwheel or just stall and then dive into the grass. Once the landing gear broke, holes got poked in the wings, etc., I'd hang them from the ceiling for display like my other models.

[@iansampson2492]

Neat video...I have same kit not started but planned....and not executed....same situ...bought back in the 80's....

[@kitchentablebalsabuilds]

Even though mine didn't fly very well, I had a blast working on it. I forgot how much I enjoyed this hobby. Thanks for your comment.

[@PecosNM]

Wow, really nice story and completion of your Spitfire!

[@kitchentablebalsabuilds]

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for watching!

[@ieatoutoften872]

Inspirational: At 3:37 "This kit took 35 years to build."

[@georgehiotis]

I sad to see that small channels like this that bring quality content to the internet only have 165 subscribers (at the time of writing this comment). Well done sir!

[@kitchentablebalsabuilds]

Many thanks for your kind words! Glad you're enjoying my channel! Thanks for watching!

[@lrg3834]

Nice story. Better late than never.

[@ericjohnson9468]

NICE!… BRAVO!!!

[@kitchentablebalsabuilds]

Thank you sir!

[@whhsfordian]

Great job. I enjoy restoring old model builds and you did great with this one.

[@kitchentablebalsabuilds]

Thank you, I appreciate your comments.

[@funscalemodels9782]

Great restoration!

[@kitchentablebalsabuilds]

Thanks! She may not fly very well, but she looks great hanging from the ceiling!

[@patrickh9226]

Nice job! Yes, your dad is proud.

[@kitchentablebalsabuilds]

Thanks! He's always been on my wing.

[@sabrekai8706]

I still have a dozen or so plan sets from Guillow's kits I built as a kid. Some Sterling models too. The Aeronca C-3, was a really good flier, put my first RC set into it.

[@kitchentablebalsabuilds]

I saved several plans and box tops from my childhood kits, too! I kept them in a scrapbook. When I look at them now, I can almost relive building them again! I never built the Aeronca, but I may attempt it one of these days. Thanks for watching!

[@sabrekai8706]

@@kitchentablebalsabuilds It's a pretty simple design, straight wings, like a cub. About the only thing that would be difficult to trick up would be a dummy engine. 2 cylindar horizontally opposed like half a VW bettle engine.

[@collinmccallum]

excellent work! thumbs up!

[@derekblake9385]

Good job

[@HobRob148]

Looks great! And yes he would be proud.

[@kitchentablebalsabuilds]

Thank you, I think he would be, too. He always wanted me to fly it as well, but I'm still working on that part!

[@abbush2921]

God I love Guillow's models . I'd give you a dozen thumbs up , but KZbin won't let me .

[@kitchentablebalsabuilds]

Wow--Thanks! That's the best response I've ever received! Glad you liked it!

[@rc-fannl7364]

Glad that you managed to complete this. Better late than never, is what they say after all, right?

[@kitchentablebalsabuilds]

That's right! And, finally going through this build process so many years later was very cathartic. Thanks for watching!

[@stephengould9385]

yes he would be!

[@Robutube1]

Beautiful - not just the finished model (which is stunning) but the story behind it. I'm sure your Dad would be beaming at how well his boy had finished your project.

[@kitchentablebalsabuilds]

Very kind words. Thank you very much.

[@americafirst6408]

What are silverfish,ive heard of them once before.

[@GRAHAMAUS]

At 3:50, the uncovered model shows that the main central wing spar is in place, but earlier, when showing you covering it, it's missing. Did you remove it? If so, why? Also, do you intend to fly it? Would like to see how that goes!

[@kitchentablebalsabuilds]

Good eye! The piece you are referring to is the 1/16" plywood center spar and landing gear support. This was never permanently mounted, so I removed it along with the landing gear to save weight. I thought this would result in better flying characteristics, but so far it hasn't performed very well. I'm still trying to make adjustments and will post more videos soon.Thanks for your comments.

[@thewaltbrownellchannel9318]

Did you fly it?

[@kitchentablebalsabuilds]

I tried, but it was too heavy and under powered. Looks great hanging from my ceiling, though!

[@HotAsHellSeedCo]

Your Dad WOULD BE very proud. As a Dad with one son, I would be if he had finished something we both began decades ago. ❤

[@kitchentablebalsabuilds]

Thanks for your thoughts. My Dad was always very encouraging and I was hearing his guiding voice throughout this build. My son and I will attempt to fly it soon. Stay tuned!

[@vady64]

Супер набор.

[@johnjozifek7910]

Great video ... I just completed a wood plank-on-frame ship model I started , then shelved in a closet over 15 years ago ... like your Spitfire , I think it finished up looking really nice ... I wonder if the satisfaction over completing it would have been as rewarding if I had finished when started so many years ago

[@kitchentablebalsabuilds]

Thanks for your comments. I've wondered the same thing. I built a lot of models as a kid and still have some of them. They're not the most carefully constructed, but when I see them now, I'm reminded of little challenges or extra effort I put in and I'm still proud of them. Guess that's the beauty of our hobbies...they can provide rewards long past completion. I still feel that satisfaction, but the difference is now I'm more careful and can really appreciate the time and effort it requires. Congratulations on finishing your ship! Would love to see how it turned out. Can you share a pic?

[@atomicbonds6790]

Weird! Reminds me of the time I saw grandma go to the bathroom naked one night. I even saw the poo fall out her butt! This reminds me of that!

[@markbeale7390]

Weirdo.

[@red7fifty]

Awesome Story!

[@kitchentablebalsabuilds]

Thank you for your comment. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@williamrobinson7435]

I'm sure your dad would have been proud and delighted with this. One thing that's great about this is someone admitting that it's damned tricky doing the wing fillets on an elliptical wing warbird. Heartwarming! I'm very much afraid that folks over here (some of whom, now sadly passed on, who were at Biggin Hill &c and saw the show for real) referred to the TV series on The Battle Of Britain as "A Piece Of Fake".. 🤣But YOUR Spitfire is beautiful, and I'd love to see the thing in flight.. Thank you so much for sharing! 🌟👍

[@kitchentablebalsabuilds]

"A Piece of Fake"? That's hilarious! Thanks for watching and thanks for your comments! My Spit didn't do too well on initial test flights, but I'm making some adjustments and will try flying again soon. Stay tuned for more updates.

[@cosmiccharlie8294]

Very nice indeed! My all time favorite balsa flying model was a Sterling Sopwith Camel, tissue and dope covered free flight powered by a Cox 0.20 engine. Too bad Cox no longer exists.

[@kitchentablebalsabuilds]

Thanks for your comment. I always liked Sterling kits, but I never made the Sopwith Camel. Could be a fun future project!

[@cosmiccharlie8294]

@@kitchentablebalsabuilds Was thinking of a Guillows SE5a with a small, timed electric motor.