Brian,

I do modeling for 45 years and never was limited in availability of materials.

I use anything I can get and if you like bipes, look at my picture, not a bipe, that was the DVII, this is the DVIII, first Fokker with fully sheeted wing. Whole fuselage structure is spruce from a do–it-yourself shop, only there is one or two sheet of (normal) balsa in the tail feathers.

For sheeting of the wing I will use cheap (Hobby) balsa plywood, 3 sheet and I remove one sheet.

Creativity is very important if you are not a kit builder, sometimes I run more projects in one period.

Also look at my solution of the turtle deck of the Oldest Taurus on Earth, Ed probably did use massive balsa, I the cheap 2 sheets of 3 sheet balsa plywood, could not get the original material.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8044060

See also posts 45 49 and 76

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=8081461

Cees