hey b82ta, just thinking that if you were to paint the acrylic with spray on glass tint paint, the stuff car tuners use on their taillights, before you cut and etch it. Then you could paint the redline numbers and ticks and then not use the velum. Use thinned red model paint so it illuminates nicely. Window tint film might work too.
As well if you paint the 'cups' white or silver or red or whatever anything but black, the light would reflect up to your needles well (just as the original green reflected light up to the top of the face).