Nice start!
Life is good when there's free time! I moved things on just a little faster than is wise.
I placed the foam cap on the paper model and noticed it's not the same size.
View attachment 721813
So I added a tailpiece to bring the rear of the foam cap down to the line of the paper model. However, I didn't manage to recreate the SHAPE of the paper model, which has a distinct vertical drop at the rear. In fact, the foam cap does the opposite....
View attachment 721814
...and that red foam piece is measured precisely to match the amount of material to reach from one "ear" to the other. Except I made the curve a bit too tight, leaving the piece short on both sides. So when I made the first ear..
View attachment 721818
... I had to add some fill-in foam so everything lines up. When I get some time tomorrow, I'll get the other ear in place and then start thinking about the front.
View attachment 721819
I understand that the argument could be made that this build is already going as awry as the Death Trooper, but I would say that's not so. In this case I have a fairly good 3d model to compare and measure from, so my mistakes are only minor deviations. There's always a lot of corrections in the later stages, and I'm still confident that I'll have fewer errors or less serious ones to correct with this build. But I'm perfectly willing to admit it looks totally half-assed.