Hobby Glider Appraisal

Vintage Guillow's Bullseye Balsa Wood Glider

This is a vintage balsa wood hand-launched glider, specifically the 'Bullseye' model likely manufactured by Guillow's. The item is constructed from thin, lightweight balsa wood sheets with printed graphics. The color scheme features high-contrast purple ink against the natural light tan wood grain. The graphics include the 'BULLSEYE' name in a bold, stylized sans-serif font, accompanied by concentric circle target motifs at the wing tips and on the horizontal stabilizer. The aircraft features a high-wing configuration held in place by red rubber bands, which show significant age-related degradation and brittleness. The fuselage is a simple thin profile stick. Regarding the condition, there is visible wear consistent with age and use; the balsa wood shows some fraying at the wing edges and slight discoloration. The assembly appears to be original but fragile. This type of toy was extremely popular from the mid-20th century (1950s-1970s) due to its simplicity and low cost. The print quality is typical of high-volume toy manufacturing of that era, utilizing a simple stamping or screen-printing process. Next to it sits a plastic scale model of a WWII-era P-47 Thunderbolt with invasion stripes, providing a scale reference for this glider which appears to have a wingspan of approximately 12 to 18 inches.