I really appreciate the comments and the welcoming attitude.
To reply to some of them, the accents are in fact pickguard material, which turns like a dream.
The Trustone on this pencil is not my first attempt, which came out "wavy," for lack of a better description. I only use a scraper for pens, having the usual willies about the skew, which I intend to master on scrap wood. (Any opinions on oval v. straight skews? I have oval.) For Trustone and all synthetics, I take VERY light passes once the blank is within 1/16 (smidge) of the bushings and use just the corners of the scraper, held at the farthest possible lateral angle right and left, to shear to final fit.
I didn't realize until I looked at the pix again that the barrels do look quite proud of the fittings. That's the fault of my photography and I'm working on fixing the lighting. The true fit is hidden in shaddows. I take great pride in precision fits and can tell you that both pieces fit very well.
Before posting the first time, I happily plowed through the forums and learned tons from you folks. I'm really pleased to be a part of this community and proudly include the IAP logo (legal version) on my materials.
To be able to exchange views, techniques and critiques with penturners all over the world is a real privilege and pleasure.
Thanks, all y'all.
Ric