All righty! I've been assembling products for a while, and think I'm ready to tackle a set of CF scales.
Here's my plan, PLEASE jump in and correct any craziness.

I've cut and shaped a set of dummy scales out of maple. I'm going to finish them with CA and use them to make a mold. I thought that using Plaster of Paris would be a good cheap way to make a one-off mold. I figured I'd sticky tape the scales to the bottom of a tupperware container and pour the PofP over that. Any thoughts as to a mold release? Or plaster of paris as a mold? Or better alternatives?

Then I plan to use Canadian Tire brand fiber-glass general purpose epoxy, and lay up the CF cloth, but I've only ever worked with this stuff to repair my broken canoe 15 years ago. The boat didn't sink, but it sure ain't pretty! I imagine I may use fiber glass in the middle for bulk, and try to top the top most layer with CF. Would balsa be a better choice? I'm leaning toward balsa, the more I think about it.
Should I try to glom the whole thing together in one go? Or would working in layers with drying time between be a better way to do it?
Do I need to put pressure to the mold/ scale/CF/epoxy glom? No vacuum chamber, unfortunately.
Realistically, I'm thinking to paint the mold with a fairly thick layer of epoxy before i lay up the CF, and working in layers.

What about finishing the end product? Will the epoxy polish up? Can the epoxy be used and brushed on as a top coat or are there other, better ways to finish them? I imagine there's going to be some rough areas, like where the edge gets trimmed that will need additional protection.

I've tried to map this out but it's new territory for me, any guidance would be appreciated.