I have most of the wood together and have come to the struts that are to be made of 1/8" wire.
Looking for an option on the struts. i don't like the wire struts and would like to fabricate them out of wood or something. Anybody have ideas or done this before? Also engine options. I had intended to install a 91 saito but i really like the 5 cyl radial engines. Can they work on this model? Yes i am a first time builder.

Building one now (the "90" version). I plan on wiping them with acetone and then sandwiching the struts between 1/32" sheeting with 1/8" square stock in front and behind, then sanded to a streamlined profile. I haven't decided whether the 1/32 will be ply or just balsa. I'm going to try some mock-ups to see what works best. For the 5/32" cabanes just up the square stock size.

I'll be doing the same with the landing gear strut to make it look "scaler".

Your Saito .91 4-stroke is at the upper end of the recommended power band for this particular kit. A 5-cylinder radial engine would add so much weight to the front end of your Phaeton II that it would likely make the plane almost impossible to balance properly.

A Saito 5-cylinder radial engine weighs 84 ounces, your Saito .91 weighs about 19.5 ounces.

If you built the Phaeton 90 kit, you might be able to try a 3-cylinder radial motor on the nose, but you'd need an airframe at least that heavy (10 to 11lbs. instead of 6 to 6.5lbs.) to have any hope of balancing the plane.

Good luck, and let us know how your Phaeton II turns out!