Fair comments. In short, I don't care for papered fins. They always seem to suffer from hangar rash. Additionally, they really wouldn't work well with a hollowed fin core such as the ones used here. Finally, in this dojo final appearance is what matters.
Personally, I am not a fan of papered fins over cavernous fin frames. Those tend to result in fragile fins that get damaged by sitting on a shelf.
However, I got into just such a mess with a recent TLP build (pics below). The frame is constructed out of flimsy balsa, and even 'painting' final product with epoxy still resulted in one fin cracking while being handled during painting.
The fins overall shape, however, is awesome. There is no way I would have been able to achieve a perfect diamond shape with custom trapezoid on top by any other means. I am now wondering if replacing paper outer skins with 1/64"-thick plywood would produce a more durable result.
Thus my two questions:
1). I don't suppose there is any readily accessible method for bending 1/64" plywood, is there?
2). Assuming "no" to the question above, what's the best compound for sealing the edges between plywood sheets?
I would expect to end up applying four (4) 2x2" 1/64" plywood sheets per fin, and ideally, the transitions between them should be invisible and perfectly smooth.
I don't mind spending $12 (+ ~$3 postage) on a sheet of plywood for a project. Heck, that's about the price of the E20 motor that I'll use to fly the beast.
The price is exceedingly reasonable.
TIA,
a