no they are not hard to put together. im going to order the traditions kentucky pistol flintlock this summer. If you want a pistol that suits your taste in color and shine, i'd go with the kit. The factory finishes arnt exactly the best. Its a shame to have a beautiful piece of wood and have a really ugly color of stain that hides the grain.

Edited and put up a pic of what i mean by factory finished hiding the wood grain. This is a pic after i redid the stock, i could hardly see all the beauty of the wood with the factory finish. I also redid a cva colonial pistol and that sucker just jumped out at you after it was done. So if you want to get a great finish and a color that you like, The kit is what you'd want.