Lets build those control fins. Small parts, large effort.

As shown in picture 1, each control fin has a bulge at the bottom where they mount to the actuator fairings. I was determined to capture that in the model, even though it wouldn't be practical to reproduce the geometry precisely.

Picture 2 shows all parts cut and ready to go. The fin cores at the bottom are 1/16" basswood (subsequently coated with TBII to provide a sanding barrier) while the contour pieces are 1/16" balsa.

Picture 3 shows the balsa contour pieces stacked and applied to one side of each fin.

Next comes lots and lots of careful sanding. The contour pieces provided a visual guide of what I was trying to do. Picture 4 shows the result of sanding the first piece.

The big challenge here was trying to create 2 sides each of 4 fins consistently. I think I succeeded pretty well; they're not 100% identical but close enough that you won't see the differences on the finished model. See picture 5.

These were the only components constructed off the rocket, so these are the only ones that will be getting filler/primer on this build. After spraying I could really see what the finished contours looked like, which is to say pretty good. See picture 6.

And finally, picture 7 shows the completed set after sanding off the primer (I really hate that step). I am very happy with the results here. It was a lot of work, and I discarded a lot of experimental pieces until I got exactly what I was after.

Gluing them on should be *mostly* straightforward. That'll be next.

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