First, Build a Shed

[Cherrybark]

With the tail feathers and wings complete, I expected covering the fuselage would be a snap. But things didn't work according to plan. The idea was to use the straight factory edge of the fabric to overlap the existing fabric on the fuselage bottom. The technique of masking tape, two coats of glue, then quickly removing the tape, left a neat line of glue. Then I started test fitting the large piece of fabric along the line - using 1" green masking tape to hold things in place. The plan quickly fell apart with the fabric naturally bunched in places and too tight in others because of the nice curves of the fuselage. Being slow to catch on, I doggedly stuck to the plan and spent an entire evening not making any progress.

When things aren't working, walking away from the project usually helps. The next day I used the trick described in applying the top wing fabric. The part of the fuselage fabric that overlapped the bottom fabric had a larger than necessary area of glue. The side fabric was laid with a generous overlap of the bottom and rested neatly along the fuselage. A small iron tacked the fabric in place, followed by a hot air gun and pressure felt along the entire length. Overnight wait for the glue to bond, followed by air gun and hot iron to tighten.

Finally, the excess bottom overlap fabric was peeled back and creased along the clean, straight glue line on the fuselage bottom. Since glue was only on one piece of fabric, there wasn't the strong, glue-to-glue bond. It would take a lot of strength to separate the properly bonded fabric pieces and you will be able to create a straight crease. A sharp, short pair of scissors was run along the crease followed by the iron the secure the edge of the fabric. Finishing tape will complete the job.