Thanks guys
ops: (sheepish)
I agonized over the "best" approach to take on this one. It's not a straightforward box unlike my other hoods (all my hoods are DIY). For this one, I decided to take a few lessons from fence building (it seems I've built a few fences over the years too), and build a frame using 1x2's and then slap on the fence boards over top.
Surprisingly, the bowfront part is not much of a complication using this approach. For the bowfront, I took some 1/2" plywood, cut the shape with a jigsaw, and glued two pieces together to get a 1" support to mount the boards onto.
The two biggest surprises or complications have been, the amount the 1x2's (used for the sides, back, and top cross bar support) bow and warp so it's been largely a pain trying to keep the whole thing square during construction, and also since this is a "sit on the top" design, the aquarium itself is not flat (the snap-track or whatever you call it has some significant upwards warping that I've had to compensate for).
I went through a lot of math (a LOT of math) trying to figure out the angle for each "fence board" should be tapered to fit the bowfront curve perfectly. It's an interesting process (I can go through it for any math geeks out there), but it's a moot point in the end. The amount a 1x4 fence board tends to curve anyways on its own seems to match the curve of the tank close enough anyways (just as long as you don't put them in backwards). Couldn't have asked for a better coincidence!
I was hoping to work on the doors after work today, but I wonder if it might not be better to take advantage of the warmer weather and spray paint the exterior instead (since I'm not allowed to do that kind of thing indoors).