Just wondering because i do no have an eye for that kind of thing, why would you say that this box looks better than some of the prefabs out there? What do you see thats better?
generally a lot of the prefab stuff will not be exactly as advertised, many using 5/8's mdf or 1/2" and all around mass produced inperfections and compromises on airspace and tuning, not tuned to what they say and so forth and so on.
i wouldn't worry about the front panel being cut from 1 in. board. if you use the .75 in. board it will work fine. i put the enclosure in winisd and the tunning frequency doesn't change much. put it this way your ears won't hear the difference. if you're worried about the front panel flexing then just put 2 braces.