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I got this model plane kit off ebay a while back and have only recently opened the box and started trying to put it together, little realizing what I'd let myself in for...

Ok, the topside and the underside of the plane fit together perfectly, a nice join. The problem is the panelling. Instead of the panels being recessed(creating a smooth surface, they have been cast raised.. Now when I say raised I mean RAISED. They are not even level, the left side panels of the plane are noticably squint and also bigger than the right side. Then when you put the plane body together none of the lines match up, you notice this the most when you look at the nose of the plane, they are not just out a little but a whopping great amount!

Now I've seriously considered giving up but somewhere underneath all the crap is a good model, so I will try to proceed.

This is where I need someone's help. The only solution I can see is to get rid of all these ridges and try to reapply them. There is a tool I'm aware of called a scriber which works by removing a sliver of plastic at a time, and you just keep scribing til you reach the required depth. Now I'm not very good at cutting things in general, even with the aid of a steel ruler, so I can see myself running into a few problems with this scriber.

So if anyone has used this tool can I ask you a few questions?
1) Is it easy to use?
2) How do you manage to keep scribing straight when following contours such as curves?
3) Chicken and the egg question; what's the best way to mark up the areas to be redrawn?Afterall, if I cut away all the guidelines how do I redraw them?
Any help greatly appreciated. Please Help!!!

Er any pics mate?

Scribing a straight line across a curved surface is a bit of a trick. You can use masking tape to provide a somewhat soft guide edge, or card or plasticard. Personally I prefer plasticard.

Use VERY little pressure on the tool - many passes, lightly done are the order of the day. Too much pressure and you'll slip away from your guide edge.

Sorry at this point in time I've not got any batteries for my camera but I will give some information. The plane is a Sukhoi su27 by a company called Lee(made in China but I read somewhere that it is really an Italeri kit made under licence.
Ok, if you look top down at the plane (I've got a photographic book of this plane and have looked at the pictures just to make sure that I'm not crazy!). There are outlines of shapes which on the real plane are flat in the panels(I think they are just to indicate where avionics/electronics are located?) . On the model, these are located by bleeding great lines of plastic! So if you can imagine a plane which should have a totally smooth(I've got the pics!) body is now fully textured. The small gaps where the body is joined together are now more than prominent; they actually look like the plastic runners that you get on the doors of cars.
The nose has these 2 whacking great parallel lines at the begining of the radar dome. In reality, there should only be a small gap showing the join between the dome and the nose of the plane(i.e the white dome joining the blue body of the sukhoi).

Aeromodellers normally dry fit parts for test, bend them a little while hot (boiling water does it) if necessary. Or just cement them and hold them forcibly in position while it sets.

Filling putty can be used to cover a lot of sins.

If the parts are completely mismoulded, perhaps you should turn it into an Ork bomma?!?

My best suggestion here is to carefully remove the raised panel lines, sand it down really smooth. For re-scribing the lines, I would suggest using pinstripe tape to place the lines where you want them. The pinstripe tape is flexible and will take to the curved surfaces well and you can also bend the pinstripe tape where regular masking tape is pretty much only good for straight lines. The pinstripe tape provides a nice smooth edge that you can scribe against and you can re-position it once tacked down if you need to make adjustments. Also if you do not have an actual scriber tool, the reverse edge of your basic number 11 exacto blade works very well (the spine of the blade faces towards the model). Take it lightly and do not rush it.