Someone else mentioned the "hidden" costs of kit building. They are correct, but there are actually many many more costs if you are a first time builder. You will need glue (not cheap), an iron to apply the monocoat, gas tanks, fuel lines, building boards, pins, lots of misc. tools like small saws, x-acto knives, small bits, maybe tap sets, clamps, sandpaper, etc. etc. etc. This doesn't even count the "cool to have" tools like a dremmel, hinge slotter, or incadence meter. I bet I have bought a couple hundred dollars worth of odds and ends needed to assemble a kit, and I know I've still got a "beginners" tool set.

I think the people who build kits do it for the satisfaction of building, and definitally not to save money. Sometimes they don't tell you this at the hobby store. My $63 kit ended up closer to $300 by the time it was finished, even without the radio. Then again, I found out that I really enjoyed building, and you may too.

Oh, and yes, they are hard to build. Like anything, it gets easier with experience when you start learning little tricks here and there. I think a lot of the real experienced guys forget that a beginner doesn't know when thin CA would be better than thick CA in certain applications. These are nothing like the plastic kits you may have built as a kid. You take a box of square sticks and create a curved, aerodynamic object.

I'm not talking anyone out of kit building. It's fun and rewarding, but I could see how someone new could be very discouraged to see a kit on the wall of the hobby shop, with the great photos of the finished product, and have it in their mind that the pieces in that kit would go together in a few evenings. Most don't have an "estimated hours to complete" label.

Good luck! I think a warbird would be a blast to build and fly.