G'day Ozzie, been wondering what you have been up to.

The natural coloured one has the better bridge design but 4 pots? For the headstock are you planning to carve it down? A sneaky cheats way would be to to an all black coloured transfer decal done on a laser printer and then trim to where you want the black edge to stop.

Nice kit, and yes I too have been tempted but resisted as I figure these shapes are just a more rounded off Explorer anyways.

You will get a shock as to how long it will be when fully set up. My EX-5 is about 130cm -133cm from memory and very neck droopy when played standing up which is mainly due to where the top strap button is located plus a lot of neck protruding out of the oversized body.

Good luck buddy and will be keeping a keen eye on this build thread.