Here's a progress report.
The fuselage has been covered with silkspan and white glue. It worked out pretty well for a first attempt. If weight permits, I might put a 2nd layer on the belly [that was made from blue foam].

The cowl is under developement. I started with a blue foam plug, then undercut the plug and surrounding area where the cowl overlaps the nose of the plane. This was done so that a strong buildup of cloth over the plug would come out "flush" with the rest of the plane. It is painstaking to cut out swatches of 6 oz cloth, then mist them with 3M77, then rub medium CA into each piece...one at a time...then knock down the fuzz and repeat...but eventually you get there without using any epoxy.

The foam plug gets covered with clear packing tape before the cloth is applied.

Right now I'm blending the edges of the cowl to the rest of the plane with Bondo..so there are still some hours left before this thing is ready for paint.