ORIGINAL: CoosBayLumber
And, Sterling Models were never anything to write home about fitting together well. All that extra balsa in the box was intended to be glued to the end of certain parts in order to make them a bit longer and thus fit. However, the interlocking slots for tabs were often very wide and you may use up a sheet for gap filling purposes. If the tabs were still on the end of the part.
Worst fitting kits of the era were those by Sure-Flite. I have heard they scrapped all dies and made new ones, but I swore off them, and will never buy another of their's.
As a 12yr old kid I gave up almost in tears trying to build a CG 1/2A Viking, the die cutting and parts fit was so poor. In those days scaring up the cash for a new kit was a big deal. I don't think I ever forgave CG for that. In later years someone gave me a Sterling Waco SRE. The ply parts looked like die-crushed doorskins. It burned beautifully.