BeeCastle 10-Frame Complete Bee Hives and Supplies Starter Kit,Beehives for Beginners with Beehive Frames and Waxed Foundations (2 Deep Bee Boxes & 1 Medium Super Bee Box)

I love this beehive. Easy to assemble and great for beginners.

This set is well made and easy to assemble. We wanted to get an unfinished set because it is easy enough to paint and repaint as necessary. We have one other set that was dipped in beeswax and the wax made it a little chunkier and more difficult to assemble. Additionally when boxes need new wax it can be a pain to reapply. This set that can simply be painted assembles with ease, the jointery is clean cut and fits together snugly, and it gives you a good supply of boxes and frames for the money. Just remember to use a bit of wood glue when assembling the frames so the nails dont pull out and fall apart when the frames are full of comb and honey.

These are certainly some of the best budget hive bodies available out there. While they're not the pinnacle of build quality, they are more than adequate for starting out. I particularly like unpainted because I put on a coat of high-quality exterior paint (which takes 2 coats plus some end-grain soaking), which seems to hold up excellently and lets me color them how I want. The frames inside are totally adequate, and the only callout is that my bees deemed them "under waxed" and built wonky comb instead of straight. I re-waxed the frames with a roller, and now the bees love it. (before and after in the photos)

The wood and fitting on this kit is as good or better than the other 3 hives I've built. I'll never build another without dovetail corners. It's just a way better construction. The foundations are very well waxed and the frames are well built. I would have liked a screened bottom board and the inner cover lacks a ventilation notch, but small details. Otherwise a great kit for a very good price.

I had one hive from another famous nation-wide company. This one is far nicer: I prefer the cedar wood, and the BeeCastle models have dovetail joints, making them far sturdier after construction. Putting together the boxes is very easy. Putting together the frames is tedious with any brand. I purchased the single hive and super. Both boxes were stained red (which is why I avoided the waxed models), and will be used as supers as you can see in the 2 second video.