I've finally come up with a trim scheme I like for my new AW 29% Edge, but have a problem: the side of the fuselage has four large lightening holes over which a seam would run (two colors meet) as well as a 3rd colored stripe above the seam. I don't like layering Monokote especially over open areas (I use 1/8" overlaps) b/c it's too easy to get lots of bubbles and wrinkles between the layers, and I'd rather not "fill up" the holes with balsa to provide a surface to iron to b/c it adds weight. Any suggestions? Thanks!

Matlok, I have done this before by doing the joint before you ever touch the fuselage. Pre cut your pieces of monokote and do a 3/8" overlap on a large piece of glass with your iron.
The monokote really doesn't stick well to the glass.
Jim

I second the jks approach. I use a door mirror from Walmart to cut my covering on and lay up "skins" of monokote multi-color schemes on the surface of the mirror. Get everything laid down and stuck together on the mirror, then transfer the whole piece to the plane and iron it down.

The Walmart mirror is not made of glass exactly; I'm not sure what it is, but it's thin, lightweight and semi-flexible, makes it very easy to handle around the shop. Inexpensive too.

Overlaps of at least 1/4" or jks' 3/8" will stand up well over open structure. Just make sure you have a bubble-free bond along the length of the overlap. It's a heck of a lot easier to get your stripes straight and constant width when you're working on a flat surface; then when you transfer to a curved surface, they look sharp. Use an aluminum yardstick and single edge razor blade to cut your covering on the mirror surface.

Thanks guys - I'll give it a shot!

Acetone or trim solvent will also work instead of using the iron. I usually use a 3/8" to 1/2" overlap to make sure the seam won't pull apart when you shrink the monokote. Remember to layer your dark colors over your light colors.