At the end of the instruction video: "as I stated before, hopefully you are watching this video in its entirety before you are put it together so you know the nuances"..... was that the part which I skipped because I wanted to start? :beers::beers::beers: @RiceMaiden
You know that, if you want balsa to have a smooth finish, you need to seal it with a dope of some kind before painting. It is very porous, and the surface will not be smooth until sealed.