Hi Roger,
I think changing the shapes of the escutcheons around the pins as you move toward the muzzle is a great idea because the shape of the forestock changes. You can tailor the shapes to be in proportion to the stock. I've seen a number of longrifles on which that was done and it looks very good. Actually, it almost always looks a lot better than keeping the inlays the same. I also think mixing metals is very attractive. I realize that 18th and 19th century gunmakers generally were restrained when creating color in their work, but mixing colors can really add visual appeal. I was being a little impish posting those pictures because it is a 17th century gun, a time when multiple media were commonly used on guns and colors were sometimes extravagant. It also has a lot of curly little inlays that were, not surprisingly, challenges of the pucker the sphincter and hold tight variety.
Anyway, happy Thanksgiving Rodger and good luck,
dave
