The BW I just finished I actually stripped the paper off completely and replaced it with tape. I didn't measure the weight difference, but I can say just the paper that was peeled off was pretty close to the finished airframe with no electronics except servos. I know the tape I added back was nowhere near that weight, so it's really light. I'm not doing any combat with it so I felt pretty safe doing it this way. For a combat bird I'd definitely leave the paper on!