Sorry to disagree with you S.S.
Sure, they can be a bit of a pain to put together when compared to some of the modern day offerings. But they fly great.
Medium CA and accelerator fixes the balsa to plastic join problem.
My daughter put one together and learnt to fly with it about 5 years ago. She still has it, though she hasn't flown it for a while, having graduated to more advanced models.
As for the other problems you experienced. Sounds like a typical ARF to me. I haven't come across one yet, that I haven't had to change or strengthen some part. Even W.M stuff.