Hi Joe,,, your gonna like the Superstar. The cardboard tube is just a guide for the alum wing tube. Should never wear out. But you could wrap it in a vinyl tape for added support. CA would make the paper tube brittle.
The CA hinges work well. 10 flights so far on mine without a problem. And my 3/D throws are set at 100%.
I'm using the stock motor mount with a Saito 150. Works like a charm. Simply spread the adjustable mount arms apart a bit when you drop the motor in. I did replace all the mounting bolts with better quality allen head bolts and locknuts. I also used thread locker.
The carbon pushrods are high quality and work very well. Be sure to measure your distances before CA'ing them to the threaded pieces. You'll need to trim them a bit for a good fit. I used a cutoff wheel on my Dremel .

Here's my Seagull Superstar thread over in the 3/D section for a review of the build.
[link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_3617436/tm.htm]Seagull Superstar Build[/link]