Hey, check out the Dave West Mig 7 plans for some ideas on making a Hellcat from Coroplast.

The formers are easy: Simply use the formers on the balsa plan.

The difficult part will be lofting a surface over the formers to get the shape of the Coroplast. Watching American Chopper, though, I think I might have a way.... Yet another use for duct tape.

You need to position a set of formers on a stiff central "crutch" in their intended final positions. Glue 'em on, maybe adding some of the stringers on the plan. This will be a throw-away part once you have the shape of the skin. "Sheet" the structure with the duct tape. As on the Mig 7, make the turtledeck, and perhaps the bottom, separate pieces as you cut the tape and remove it from the frame.

Get yourself a big piece of Kraft paper (brown paper on rolls, about 36" wide) and smooth the pieces out on this paper. Alternatively, you could stick the tape down directly on some coroplast, cut it out, and use it as your pattern.

Please note that I haven't tried this technique yet, but it does reflect what I watched Paul Jr. do on American Chopper, and it seems like it would work.

The Dave West Mig 7 is the toughest plane I have ever seen. Mine has not yet seen a midair, but I've pancaked it at full speed, and lawn-darted it at full speed, and both times, the plane had little or no damage.