Trev, Donnie, that's for the words of encouragement. A good night's sleep and I'm ready to go again. Much as I liked to just make a solid core rudder (with fake ribs) I suppose for the sake of future models I'll give the balsa strip technique another try. I don't think I soaked the wood long enough -- and this particular balsa might have been more on the hard side. Unfortunately, I don't get to go through piles here in Japan but just buy the balsa in plastic packages (like buying a KILO of eggs in Mexico).

Anyway, I'll try again and post my finished product on my "build" thread.