cheers for the feedback and suggestions everyone !
I'm in 2 minds now to use a fingerboard or not. I started cutting fret slots for white cable ties yesterday and got about 7 of 28 frets done, it's not that easy as I don't have a saw wide enough for the width of a cable tie.
I might look into putting some marker on the laminate and drilling the fret dots into that.

@ Simon, in hindsight it would have been easier to shape the tuner slots before gluing but in the end I got there, used a dremel with a guide to clean up the edges.