First and foremost we are carvers,secondly we are sculptors.

[Balsabasher]

A good model evolves from sound carving and sanding techniques acquired by practise,however no matter how good we are at making joints there is a need to sculpt the shapes that cannot be easily carved,those final shapes can make or break a model and a solution has to be found to get that particular shape we want,so what is the answer ? well I have found that the best approach is to work within the limitations of the wood we use,there becomes a point where that last sharp edge will not hold and the wood breaks,yes the problem is all too common,no matter how good the wood is there becomes a time when we need to resort to another way,that is where a good sound filler and putty comes in handy to arrive at that final precise shape we need to build upon the wood,it takes patience and care but the end result is all worth that extra effort,so the secret is to build with wood until it becomes impossible to retain the shape needed then do what you can with a decent putty finishing off with filler.
I am saying this because do not have any hangups on the use of filler,somtimes it is necessary.
Barry.

[lastvautour]

So true. I use wood filler and would be lost without it.

Lou

[Peter]

I find being a novice one of my biggest hold backs is being afraid of carving or sanding away to much material. Becoming accomplished at using fillers is a good way to get over this fear, I hope!

Peter

[Balsabasher]

Peter have no fear we have all undercut at some stage and learned the hard way,the secret is to take a little off at a time working away until the shape evolves,it all comes with practise,but if you do happen to dig a bit too deep then it is an easy task to insert a block to build things up again,and also work on the princple of cutting the blanks a little over sized then working down to the line as you sand.

I often think of when I carved my first model aeroplane propeller many years ago,I made the error of carving two blades the same pitch,it never happened again as every time now that I carve one I remember that occasion,the old adage of check twice cut once is a good one to go by.

Barry.