Making the face of one body conform to the curve of another

[mythicarmoury]

This model has been a learning experience if nothing else. This is what I've been scratching my head on today, perhaps someone can throw a suggestion at me.

I have found a couple of ways this could probably be done on a regular plane with a smooth face but nothing as of yet on how to go about on a curved body with more complex geometry/

The grip on the main body has some complex curves. I want to model the grip covers on each side so that the visible face of the grip covers conform to the curvature of the main body about 1.25mm to 1.5mm above the surface of the main body. thoughts anyone?

[TrippyLighting]

Yep. Offset the surface of the grip by 0 mm, essentially creating a copy. Trim away fro the surface what you don't need/want and then thicken. Done!