Guillow’s is the brand name most associated with those little foam planes that come in an envelope. You slide the wings into the notch on the plane’s body and it’s ready to throw. Guillow’s also makes rubber band-powered balsa models. This is the only site in our lineup that focuses on inexpensive toy models rather than collectors’ or RC models.
Guillow’s unique products have earned it a spot on our list of the best model airplane stores.
This site mostly sells simple model kits manufactured by Guillow’s themselves, but there are a few RTF (Ready-to-Fly) RC kits. The kits here are less involved and of more modest quality than the kits on Sig, our top choice for collectible flying model kits. Guillow’s has more of a toy focus than a collectors’ focus, so many of the kits require only light construction before flying. Most of the kits are rubber band-powered or can simply be thrown through the air. A number of the balsa kits are flyable either with a small motor or a rubber band, depending on your preference.
Guillow’s is the only site in our lineup selling flyable model airplanes that are not RC-powered. The kits on this site are manufactured like the ones on ModelPlanes.com, not handmade like the ones on Sig.
For our model airplane stores that sell model kits (as opposed to pre-assembled models), we expect better product descriptions that include information about the skill level and contents of each kit, like what we saw on Hobby Lobby. The product descriptions on Guillow’s are very general and contain only very basic information about each kit. There is a feature for seeing a large box shot of each kit, but even in the enlarged photos you can’t make out the kit contents or any other helpful information. A lot of the boxes look antique and these models have probably been produced and sold, unchanged, for a long time.
The Guillow’s website has main categories along the top of the page. When you click on a category, the subcategories appear below the menu on the main page area. You have to click on a product from one of the subcategory lists to see details. For each subcategory, a paragraph of text appears on the right side to describe the models. Unfortunately, each product’s photo and description only appears when you are on that product’s page, so you can’t compare a bunch of products side-by-side.
Guillow’s has a user forum for model builders to share information and ask/answer questions. Other than that, there are no resources except an email address for questions and order problems. We sent a test email to Guillow’s with some general questions and it was never answered.
The Guillow’s History link at the bottom of the page contains interesting historical information about the longstanding company and how they got started 75 years ago, as well as some information about the types of models the company makes.
Guillow’s is a great choice for toy model planes, and kits that involve very little detail work and much less time than the collectors’ kits we found on Hobby Lobby and Sig. If you’re throwing an airplane-themed birthday party and need party favors, Guillow’s is the best choice. For collector-quality flyable model planes, see one of our other model airplane stores like Hobby Lobby.
Check out our entire lineup of the best model airplane stores, including Hobby Lobby and ModelPlanes.com.
