Lock Class Frigate

I rarely if ever use balsa. It is grainy and difficult to fill. All the model shops I've worked at use jelutong almost exclusively. Once you carve jelutong, you'll never go back to balsa. It is very easy to carve, holds lines quite well and does not require a ton of finishing work to remove those hideous pores as you do with balsa. The blue filler you see on the model is Piranha Putty. It is just like Bondo, only it sands very easily. It comes in a quart size tube and you mix it with a hardener the same as Bondo. The problem with Bondo is that it is harder than the wood you are filling. Piranha putty and gelutong are very compatable when you are sanding. Piranha Putty is available at most auto body supply stores. It is about $20/tube and goes a long way with small models.