Bob,
I did not realize the core is balsa, I thought it was made out of pvc bricks linked with a net.
sometimes ago I tried to build the cowling mould using pvc bricks, but it's not as easy as one could think.
when you lay down the bricks on a curved surface they separate creating a lot of empty spaces to fill with micro.
putting the micro in the voids is not that easy: if the micro is too thick it doesn't fill the voids completely because it's not able to go down where the voids are narrow, if it's too fluid it drips somewhere else and at the end the voids are never 100% full.
on the other hand the quantity of micro used is very very big.
again, when you lay down the bricks on a curved surface some voids are created under the bricks also, as the fuselage curvature is smooth and the curvature created by the bricks is not, so you have to put a bed of micro before to put the bricks.
again the quantity of micro is very big.
another problem: the bricks want to be curved in one direction only, now I see that you used small pieces of bricks-net instead of just a big one and put it diagonally, is it the secret to do a good job?.
do you have any idea about the quantity of micro used for the whole fuselage?
and how long did it take to do the job?I guess really a lot....
but it has turned out as a great job!!