I bought this to replace a Stanley one in which the trigger had broken, making it very hard to use. Like most other similar glue guns, it is a plastic body (it has to be, so it doesn't get hot) but solidly built. It takes 7mm glue sticks, not 11mm ones. These are two common sizes, so the 7mm ones are easy enough to get hold of. I find it lighter and slightly easier to use than the Stanley I had, it is better for smaller detailed work. However, I imagine if you are gluing large projects or big cardboard boxes together, then you should go for an 11mm one as the glue sticks will last longer and not need replacing as often. It takes probably 4-5 minutes warm up time before you can use it.