Thanks for all the ideas! I'll see how this one pulls out of the box weight wise. Larger belly/arm carve outs may be the go. Also on the hardware side I'm going to avoid using a high mass bridge / large clover tuners and opt for a lighter vintage bridge with brass saddles and some type of lighter machine head

I suspect the weight to some extent will come down to how 'select' the timber is. My 90's Flender P-Bass is Alder body and super fly-weight

Chuck - we are indeed almost living next door to each other! We'll have to catch up at some point and your more than welcome to borrow any tools (from my limited selection) if you need. I've got a good set of fret crowning files etc.