RE: TWIN FEVER !!!
Hi Andrew...yep, try to find real light balsa block anymore. I haven't seen real light stuff in quite awhile. The only trouble with foam is putting a hardshell finish on it.
Ye olde Mustang is still good to fly, you just have to remind yourself to breathe every 5 minutes or so. That plane has a foam upper fuselage and it is getting a little bit lumpy, but it has served its' purpose pretty well. The original HS 55s just got changed out for 65s. Imagine all the G-forces those HS 55s withstood?
RLF, I tried WBPU on cloth but didn't think the sanding of the seam edges went very well, it got fuzzy. Epoxy isn't any picnic either, it seems to take forever before it is set up enough to sand without being gummy. I like polyester because it gives the hardest shell, but can't touch foam with it. Foam will soak up epoxy resin like a sponge on the first filler coat. Laying up cloth without filling the pores of the foam first is asking for incomplete adhesion. Is there something that you can lightly spray onto the foam [like maybe WBPU] to seal the foam without gaining a lot of weight?
KE, when I was a kid we built those plastic model cars and one of the tips for a glossy paint job was to use a hairdryer for curing. Our model planes can't be painted "hot and heavy" like you would a show car or they would gain too much weight. The secret to a light and shiny job is to wet sand between light coats until you get a nice result. I think white primer followed by silver will give the top color coat a vivid look. If you are shooting out of a spray can, one tip is to warm the cans up to get the paint to flow out and give a fine mist.