Nice grain on both kits. Almost a shame to hide them under dark colours.

With the height difference where neck is slightly lower....DO NOT SAND THE VENEERS....they are thinner than paper and it wouldn't take much to sand right through as many forum members have discovered the hard way. Best to wait until final setup to see how things are as once you put some coats of finish on the neck heel that may just solve height issues perhaps. If not a shim under the neck may be required but you may also discover the issue could be cosmetic and that fretboard height is more important in relation to bridge saddle heights and thus achieving a decent low action. Changing one thing because it doesn't look right can often have ripple effects and best to check all those things out on the final assembly and setup stage. Likewise, neck bow, as a fiver does generate a lot of tension and best to make any truss rod adjustments under tension and at proper pitch.

2 on the go at once is lots of fun which is how most of mine were done. Ensures you always have a build to work on.

Good luck and will be keenly watching how things progress.

Cheers, Waz