Hi everyone...

As you may know, I work primarily on plastic scale model designs for a few companies, independently. In the same model I posted about before, I'm having issues replicating and evenly cutting a part. Below are 2 images that show the feature on the original model, and then the feature on my model. The problem with this feature is that the lines you see surrounding it were scribed by hand after the styrene was formed, and then the section was cut away to put the feature on, which was cut and detailed in a separate processed and cemented in. I'm trying to avoid putting in the long lines separately around the feature, because they're rather painstaking to line up properly due to the way they end at the back of the model.

Here's an image showing the feature itself:

You can see how there is a cutout around the sides that is narrower but deeper than the grooved lines, but at the top and the bottom, the feature is flush with the groove. You can tell how the grooves were done by hand as the distance between them is uneven and the width of the cuts themselves aren't consistent. On to photo 2:

You can see that the feature also sticks out from the surface, and is not curved along with the surface, and is, in fact flat (I know this much from having the opportunity to examine the original once or twice). So I have 2 problems. I have to cut the part in such a way that I can build this feature out so I end up with a planar surface within the model wall, which you'll remember from my last post, tapers in and down and is circular, and this cut is then extruded offset from the surface a little bit, and the features on it are created. Again, you can see how the grooves are flush with the top/bottom, and the vertical cutaway is thin but stops the set of 5 grooves around the center of the feature.

I've tried everything, and in my frustration, kinda stopped at the moment with a horrible cut, which you'll see in the attached model, since I had to get some renders out and the bad cut doesn't show up in the final render. Help! I'm really not sure what to do next...

Thanks!