Planking the hull, I mean fuselage

This weekend I started on the fuselage and fin.  There is only one way to cover this beast, and that's with patience, strip balsa, glue, and a hot iron.  Just like with the gull wing, I used the hot iron method to strip plank the fuselage.  

I had to remove some of the crutches to get to the under side of the fuselage for the first strip.  I used a couple of large strips of balsa where they could handle the compound curves, but I had to gradually reduce my strip width down to about 1/4" towards the top.

I also got the fin covered including using some filler balsa at the base near the fuselage joint.  

The whole mess looks a bit ugly right now, but that's OK.  It will get a good sanding then I will remove it from the remaining crutches and finish the bottom side.  At that point the entire fuselage will get a coat of 3/4 oz glass and finishing resin.