All,
I started skinning the fuselage and it turned out OK but could be better.
First, to locate the mid wing which has some critical alignment cutouts, I cut my spar, sanded it a bit (needs to be 0.5mm thick) and inlaid a wire for strength along it's length...then I slipped in in temporarily which helped the first skin attachment. I then added a piece that goes on the underside and all fit extremely well.
Then the excitement started. It was a struggle putting the rest of the skins on mostly due to me not looking at the parts carefully enough. I like using paper tabs to help slide sections together and I simply looked at the instructions showing the finished skins in place and began adding them. It was tough to edge join things and all was not right with the world. Only THEN did I see that the kit includes those tabs and I would have had a better time had I used them. So I started adding them from the rear cockpit to the tail.
It was still hard to add the skins to a frame and make them look nice (for me). It seems easier to cut the skins out, connect them so you have a tube/sleeve and then add a carefully fitted and cut former on one end with tabs to facilitate sliding successive parts together. On the other hand, having a nice, strong keel with solid formers as on this kit ensures a straight fuselage with little chance of twisting. I guess it's just another method and I need practice.
Don't assume it doesn't fit! The parts as designed match up really well. Things like the serials on the fuselage etc. look sweet. So I think any issues I had are really my own doing. May even be using the thicker balsa and being incrementally off on thickness. This magnifies things as you go along manifesting as ill-fitting areas.
Anyway, more to come and it's starting to look like an airplane now!
Dan
