Wouldn't ya know, just my luck. Oh well, Again not bashing GP. I have had other planes from them and they have been OK.
This is from another RCU'er

goirish ,I can relate to the wood in the GP Ultimate , it was the worst kit I have ever built as far as wood quality . I ended up cutting most the parts by hand . The rest of the GP kits have been really nice, must have been a bad run . Contact GP to see if they well replace the wood for you.