I used a circular saw on my second set of panels, with much better results then I had achieved with a jig saw. The circular saw will make curves, but it does so in a very smooth sweeping motion, so I got fairer panels then I could get with a jig saw. However I still needed the jig saw for the more intricate work on areas like some of the braces and such.

You cannot support and move the large panels involved in a s&g effectively enough to use a band saw or a radial arm saw for cutting them out. It can be done in theory, but in practice, it doesn't work.