I decided that it was wrong to retire old #1 and decided to not only resurrect it but also to try out a new covering technique I had been playing with.  Newsprint or Kraft paper covering is not new but it is new to me and when I tried it on a repair of C-FIUU (my second  Beaver build) I knew I had to cover a complete plane.  While doing the repair to C-FIUU after a less than graceful landing, I found that the paper was not only very strong but it also sanded nicely and could be layered  and still sanded smooth.  One side benefit is that the paper does cover minor imperfections in the foam surface such as sanding marks.  I quickly took my orbital sander to old #1 and stripped her down to bare foam.  On a side note:  An orbital sander makes fast work of removing the paint but it also makes fast work of removing foam too.... Once the sanding was complete and all dings, divots and craters were filled with light weight spackle I was ready to start covering. Things you need: -Roll of newsprint (you may be able to use old newspapers but it would probably be messy with the ink) -Hobby Knife / scissors -White glue -Spray bottle full of wet water (water with a drop or two of dish detergent) -Paint Brush -Old credit card or similar piece of plastic to smooth the paper -WBPU (Water Based PolyUrethane 1.  The Basic process is simple:  smooth any significant rough spots and divots with light weigh spackle and sand smooth just like you would to cover with fiberglass.  The interesting thing with newsprint covering is that it seems to cover small imperfections quite nicely which reduces build time somewhat. 2.  Once the surface is smooth coat it with white glue diluted with some wet water (water with a drop of dish detergent to help it flow).  I generally drizzle glue on the surface right from the bottle, spritz it with wet water from a spray bottle and spread it with a paint brush. 3.  Cut a piece of newsprint to fit with some overhand and lay it in place.  give it a quick smooth with your fingers and then spray the newsprint down with your wet water. 4.  Take your credit card and use it as a squeegie working out from the center of the part and smooth it out just like you would wall paper (NOTE:  this will get messy so dont do this on your new carpet, over the laundry basket or on the couch.... unless you are single) 5.  I like to cut off the excess paper at this point  and then set the item aside to dry. Things to consider:  flat thin foam such as control surfaces tend to warp as the glue / water dries so its a good idea to weight them.  I have had some luck with doing both sides of a thing piece at the same time then laying it between 2 pieces of waxed paper to dry over night. Once dry you will see that the foam is now much more rigid and resistant to dings... but wait there is more! 6.  Now lightly sand the item and use the sand paper to take off any excess that you were unable to cut from the edges of the item... give it a quick dust off and coat it with water based PU.  Again if the item is thin it may want to warp so you may need to weight it as it dries.  Simply continue the process until your model is covered.  I generally coat the items with at least 3 coat of WBPU to seal them completely. I overlap any area where I must cover with 2 pieces and simply sand things smooth before hitting it with the WBPU NOTE OF CAUTION:  I made the mistake of only using one coat of WBPU on some tail feather for a pico tiger moth and then painted them.... it then warped from sitting in the sun.  The solution I found was to coat the item with at least 3 coat to stabilize and fully seal it. Thats it!  paint your model and fly it!

GWS Beaver modified build continued:

Technique #2 for covering:  Newsprint / white glue / water based PU

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Here are some shots of old #1's refit using the newsprint technique

For the tailsurfaces, especially the rudder I wanted more strength for 2 reasons:  first is that for the elevator I cut in the balancing tabs just like the real thing and was concerned about the tips breaking off.  Second was the top of the rudder which is prone to snap off if you nose over in tall grass.  The solution was two part; obviously I added the paper covering but I also trimmed the surfaces with 1/8 balsa that I then sanded to shape.  I allowed for the extra 1/8th inch by removing 1/8 inch from the edges of all the surfaces.  As you can see from the pictures at left the balsa combined with the paper covering makes the surfaces much more rigid

Here is the rudder and vertical stab. with and without paper covering.  You will notice a 2.73 gram increase in weight  which is less than 0.01 ounces

one of the key details on a real Beaver is the corrugations on the rudder and elevator.  I decided to model this by adding thing strips of 1/32 balsa and then sanding them to shape.  The balsa was laid down using regular white glue and once set the entire surface was given a couple of coats of WBPU to seal everything up.

And this is where I am to date.  All surfaces are covered and have been coated with 3 coats of WBPU.  I still need to add corrugations to the elevator but once that is complete I will begin final assembly and start painting.  You will notice that this Beaver did not get the significant nose modifications; this is becasuse I am using my original Beaver fuse that has the reinforced landing gear slot.  To modify the nose would have meant tearing out the reinforced slot which would have done significant damage to the fuselage.

coated

uncoated

Here is the semi-final result of my efforts.  I decided to assemble the plane and test fly before final finish.... just in case.  Landing gear was something I has laying around and it will be replaced with proper gear once tested and confirmed as flight ready.

One last parting shot:  my old #1 ready for test flight and baby brother C-GTLT from one of my previous builds.  C-GTLT was glassed, has a custom cowl and of course the carved foam pants and aluminum wing struts.