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so id like to take a stab at paneling something but of course a flat piece of plasticard looks out of place. how do you carve designs or just lines into plasticard? i can see using a scribing pen but then i just have a thin line...what if i want a small 1/8th inch square gouge or something? how do you go about adding detail besides rivets?

I'm not sure how others do it but when I build up stuff with plasticard I use a sheet for the structure that's slightly thinner than the finished panel then cut a thinner sheet to the same size but cut the details out aswell like your recessed square and the glue the two pieces together

Some things that i would do to etch lines in plastic is :

Using a metal straight edge drag the spine of an exatco knife (so you are using the backside not the actual blade)
this will actually remove material instead of cutting. (i do this to cut from sheets also because the control is much better)

To open it up a bit i will drag the blade from the side (once per side) this will bevel the edges and make them apear bigger.

I also have some type of scribing tool that was given to me that will carve a wider line (about 1-2mm) thats a squared cut (sorry dont know what its called or were to get one)

To have a recessed area i would place a backing piece behind the panel and just cut out what you need

Both those ideas are good.

On Imperial structures you can use "rivet heads" made by punching thin card with a hole punch.

If you want to get really fancy, the kind of photoetched detailing parts used by high end plastic modellers offer lots of things like grilles, rivets, brackets, handrails and the like, though they are fairly delicate for table top use.

cutting the ends off this plasticard rod works incredibly well for rivets
a few rivets (and a lick of paint) is often all it takes to blend it in

Thin lines are, as you assume, scribed or engraved. For thicker lines, removing an even layer of material without breaking through the sheet is impractical, so recessed areas are formed by building up around them. Thin sheets, like .010" and .020" are ideal when you want a visible line without changing the thickness of the piece, much. If you want an actual lip, use thicker stock, like .040" and up.

you could try this (btw it's great for cutting plasticard) -
http://www.tamiya.com/english/products/74091scriber2/index.htm

thanks so much everyone, some great ideas here.