thanks, I could definitely try that. I had another thought... I could always recess the plate into the mdf from the top, to a depth of its own thickness (such that the plateis flush to the top of the MDF), and then use my control panel overlay graphic and perspex to cover over that. So the joystick itself sits about 1mm lower than it would, and all i see are the bolts through the CPO. I might even try this with the trackball top plate... will look into it.