Your question details a lot of what I went through with an original design a year ago. I had the drawings done and ready for the build and woke in the night thinking... most planes I've built require nose weight - seemed it would be better to error on the side of needing tail weight and likely far less of it.

Like yours, the engine would be a light weight 35cc and typical planform ratios concerned me so an appendage was taped to the plan adding two inches to the nose. Viola... it worked out perfectly. Batteries are right behind the firewall, and rudder servo is in the wing cavity using pull/pull with elevator servos aft and NO ballast weight was needed fore or aft.

Truss structure was used for aft empanage and stabs and elevator/rudder.

If the nose had not been lengthened, I may have been where you are with a pound of nose ballast.

Looks.... also like you, I was concerned with how a longer front section would look but as it was not a scale design, there was latitude. In the end, I chose to disguise the longer front section by using a wrap around large check pattern up front.

http://pages.suddenlink.net/arlyn/finished.html