OK, here's how I *should* have done the rear fins:
1) Observe that they don't fit well (not surprising really, given opportunity for small errors to accumulate throughout the construction)
2) Cut four brand new fins and sand them until they fit exactly
3) Paper the fins and mount them.
But of course I did not do that. Instead, I did this:
1) Paper the fins when I had some time, long before the rear transition was even installed (so I couldn't really test fit)
2) Observe the poor fit: glue on some shims to enlarge them, and then sand them down to size
3) Glue them in and observe the poor fit yet again
As I posted before, here are the papered parts with extra wood glued on:
I sanded them to fit as well as I could and then glued them in. Aligning them was easy, since they fit between a line on the BT and the outer fin (no jigs or fancy eyeballing necessary), and covering the shroud seam with a fin worked out perfectly. Everything looks great from this angle:
The fit, however, is nothing to write home about (unless to complain, or ask for money):
See what I mean about "should have just cut some new fins"?
I then filled every nook and cranny and crevice with fillet glue, and it certainly looked *better*:
I may need to add some more fillet glue in a few areas where the glue shrank back a bit; we'll see how it looks when it's all finished. Fortunately the rear fins are not so prominently visible, so I can live with the result. But definitely not my finest work, if there is such a thing.
But hey! 5 centering rings, 32 pieces of balsa and basswood, 26 pieces of label paper, and an uncountable number of shrouds later, exterior work is basically finished, and I can preview the completed model:
I honestly wasn't sure if I'd ever get to this point, so I am happy. And this design still looks just as beautiful to me as when I started. It may fly like a brick, but it'll look damned fine on the pad.
I'm now ready to apply primer at the first available opportunity (though who knows when that will be). In the meantime I'll finish the interior work as time permits.