Hi
I'm new here, and the list of things that I want to make just got one item longer.
With regards to the servos Modelman might be right that you might find a servo that is smaller, that would not stick out, but I got another idea that might solve the problem, let me see if I can describe it in text.
If you took the servos and moved them to the back og the plastic that holds the "wire" and lay them down on top of each other, (if there is room) then they can stick out on each side, and you could make a pulley that goes from the servo to each cable drum. Te system could be made of string, and a positive side effect would be, that when you reach the very end, the string would just slip on the pulley setup, not damaging your servo.
Might work
image.jpg
Good luck with your build, looking forward to see the end result
Mario