Resurrecting the Skull's Eye Part 2: Dealing With The Exclusive Pieces

Alright, I have reached the first major challenge of all resurrection projects: how to deal with the exclusive pieces. 

In terms of figuring out how to deal with exclusive pieces You have the following options:

1. Bite the bullet and pay the arm and a leg it will take to get them (that is going to be rough for me as I am trying to do this for less than the original MSRP and am cheap as it is).
2. Omit them (this sacrifices authenticity but can be a good option if the part is not essential).
3. Substitue another piece (this can be a great option if you are willing to sacrifice authenticity and the piece is "buried" within the set).  
4. Modify a less rare piece (this can be done by modifying the color, creating stickers, etc.).
5. Make your own (this is a great option if you have the skills and equipment on parts like sails and ropes).

In my case I am trying to be as accurate as possible but have already made the decision to go with option 1 on the minifigures and just not get them (I have plenty of extra pirates) so I am not going to be perfectly authentic as it is.  After checking prices on Bricklink and eBay I come to the following conclusions.

On the Hull and the Masts (two exclusive pieces I forgot to mention in my last post) I have no choice but to do option 1 and bite the bullet, there is no way to do this project without them. 

For the Compass I am going to do a combination of option 3 and 4.  My plan is to get get a Round 2 x 2 Tile and create my own sticker which will mimick the look of the compass.  

For the Printed Panel I am going to do option 4 by making a skull and cross bones sticker and applying it to a plain White 4 x 3 Panel.  I will trace the skull and cross bones from a picture of the actual piece so I should be able to make it indistinguishable.   

For the Green Flags and the Blue Palm Tree Pieces I am undecided.  There are some reasonable prices out there for both of these, but all the stores they were in for cheap don't have a lot of the other parts I need which means I will be paying shipping for only a few parts which may prove to be too expensive.  I am going to play this one by ear as I go and either buy them or get each of those parts in a more standard color and paint them (i.e. option 4).   

Finally on the Sails and Ropes I am fortunate enough to have married my amazing wife who coveniently graduated with a degree in textile production management from one of the top fashion schools in the world.  She has assurred me she can help me make perfect replica sails so I will be able to do option 5 on these.  Thank goodness because the price for sails on both Bricklink and eBay is outrageous! 

With those decisions made it is time to start shopping!!!