Guillow model company, a brief history

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Paul K. Aguilla was born in 1893 and was destined to become a United States Naval Aviator in the First World War. When he returned from Europe he brought with him an interest in aviation-related toys. He later went to Worcester Polytechnic Institute and yes it is pronounced Worcester. He founded a company called Newcraft in 1926 in the family barn in Wakefield, Massachusetts. They made a line of display models. Following Charles Lindbergh's successful solo flight across the Atlantic the public was mad for anything aviation. Paul's company capitalized on this with one of its earliest products a card game called the Lindy flying game which was introduced in 1927 and the next year they put out an aviation board game called Crash. But the real hit which was thought to be a fad at the time was a line of balsa wood model kits. The first line of Gillow's balsa non-flying shelf model kits. Each kit contained a three-view plan, balsa wood cement, two bottles of colored dope, a strip of bamboo for wing and landing gear struts. And this was considered a relatively good value for such toys at the time. In 1933 demand for the kits were high enough to enable Paul to move out of the family barn where it had started and into its present day location in Wakefield. The initial line of model kits sold all over the country and during this time many more were added including a line of 50 inch wingspan stick and tissue models that sold for a dollar fifty. By this point, Paul Gwillow was a recognized authority on aviation history and supplemented the production of his model airplanes with the publication of four aviation books. His first book in 1941 was Tom's book of flying models. This was followed by flying models how to build them in 1942 and in 1943 he put out building an airplane. Flying model airplane plans was published in 1944. During World War II the supply of balsa wood was cut off as it was needed to manufacture rafts and lifejackets. This did not deter Paul from supplying his customers with model kits. Anxious to build any of the new aircraft that were coming out, Hellcats, Avengers, Stearmans, Corsairs. Builders were forced to switch to paper, cardboard, cardboard, and pine although not always very successfully. Gwillows supported the war effort by supplying the armed forces with a number of drone aircraft to help U.S. gunners sharpen their skills. The 1950s saw a resurgent demand in stick and tissue models which was a boon to Gwillows but unfortunately Paul was not able to see it to maturity. He passed away in 1951. His wife Gertrude incorporated the company and became both president and treasurer. With the help of Paul's brother Roscoe and the company officers they were able to keep Paul's dream alive. The Jetfire glider was introduced as the first glider to be mass produced and packaged on high-speed package machines. Gwillows was not being idle. They were modernizing their facility and keeping up with the demand. Gwillows ability to manufacture these kits at a high rate of speed due to the modernization of their factory came at just the right time as they were starting to be carried in chain stores as well as mom-and-pop stores. As the baby boomers started to become parents themselves and their children started to grow, Gwillows saw yet another boom in the popularity of their stick and tissue kits. As the 60s approached, Gwillows furthered their marketing by introducing many different counter and floor display stands. These carried a vast assortment of hand-launched and rubber-powered toy planes. Mrs. Gertrude Gwillow retired as president in 1980 and was succeeded by Earl Smith. Retiring in 1983, Earl passed the gavel to Vice President William Colwell. In the mid-1980s, Gwillows diversified its business and entered into the promotional products industry by custom printing messages on the wings of its inexpensive hand-launched colliders. William Colwell retired in 1989, promoting Allison Smith to President. Gwillows bought out Tiger Incorporated, a company that specialized in promotionals and acquired foam products to enhance this division of its business. In 1994, Gwillows bought out its chief competitor, Comet Models. This purchase transformed Paul K. Gwillow Incorporated into one of the world's largest toy and model aircraft manufacturers and created one of the most complete lines of flying toys available. In recent years, the company has converted to laser cutting of balsa parts, resulting in increased accuracy and making assembly easier. In 2009, Allison Smith returned to his former position as National Sales Manager and promoted Thomas Barker to the position of President. In 2011, the sales of Gwillows were estimated between five and six million dollars per year. Gwillows has at least 69 stick and tissue kits in its catalog and several dozen slide together flying toys. Many of the designs are unchanged from over 50 years ago, save for laser cutting upgrades and some other small tweaks. Paul Gwillow's dream lives on in the company today. I personally have built at least a dozen of their kits, many of which were converted into radio control aircraft. Although none of them ever survived their maiden flights. The joy was in the building and the flying and well, perhaps even what followed. Have you built a Gwillow's kit? What did you think? Do you like sticking tissue? I know I do. I hope you enjoyed this little presentation and we'll see you next time. [00:05:56] Speaker ?: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. [00:07:02] Speaker 1: for wing and landing gear struts. My oh my, how sophisticated. You like that. Oh, I think it's perfect. Oh my. Okay, let me do that. You know, I left your voice in last time you did that in the outtakes. It was a riot. Everybody loved it. Yes, I did. I put it in the outtakes at the end. Oh yeah.