Lighting nacelles evenly

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grim_marmazet
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Lighting nacelles evenly

Post by grim_marmazet »

Hi,
I'm new to lighting sci-fi model kits and am building a Revell 1/677 U.S.S. Voyager kit.

The question I have is what is the best way to get an even blue glow on the warp nacelles with LED's?

Also is it best to paint the inside white, or use foil to reflect the light? This applies to the whole kit.

Cheers,
Rik
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robiwon
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Post by robiwon »

Try this, take two blue 5mm LEDs and put one in each end of a plastic tube the length of the clear part so they are facing each other. You can get the right size from your hobby shop made by Evergreen or Plastruct. When lit it should provide a nice even glow behind it, almost like a flourescent tube. Paint the inside of the ship white. It actually reflects light better than silver paint or foil.
grim_marmazet
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Post by grim_marmazet »

Thanks for the tip, is that a clear tube or a white one? How bright does the effect come out?

Should I paint the white in gloss, or matt?

Cheers,
Rik
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robiwon
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Post by robiwon »

grim_marmazet wrote:Thanks for the tip, is that a clear tube or a white one? How bright does the effect come out?

Should I paint the white in gloss, or matt?

Cheers,
Rik
White plastic. I'm not sure you can get clear plastic tube from Plastruct or Evergreen. If you can I would give it a sanding to "diffuse" the light so it spreads out more. You could also try drinking straws as well. Just don't use the ones with red stripes! This is how I am lighting my Galaxy Quest Protector.

I would do flat white for the enterior. :8)
grim_marmazet
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Post by grim_marmazet »

Thank you for the advice.

Just one more question, do you think it'll be worth painting the inside of the warp grill blue as well?

After painting, should I still use blue LED's? Or White ones?

Cheers,
Rik
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robiwon
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Post by robiwon »

I would paint the inside of the grill with Tamiya transparent blue. Use blue LEDs. But experiment first to see if your happy with the effect.
grim_marmazet
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Post by grim_marmazet »

Thank you again robiwon, your advice is invaluable.

I'll tinker about when I get to setting up the lighting. I'm looking at how to do the deflector dish as well. I've read on here that fibrefill can work quite well. Also frosting the back of the clear part can work as well.

Cheers,
Rik
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Delorean Man
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Post by Delorean Man »

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Last edited by Delorean Man on Mon Feb 20, 2012 5:47 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Delorean Man
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Post by Delorean Man »

...
grim_marmazet
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Post by grim_marmazet »

Thank you Delorean man. Did you do this on a Voyager kit? How many LED's did you use? Do you have any pictures at all?

Would this work to get an even glow on the deflector as well?

Cheers,
Rik
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Delorean Man
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Post by Delorean Man »

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Last edited by Delorean Man on Mon Feb 20, 2012 5:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.
RickP
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Post by RickP »

I always use 6 inch cold cathode lights for the nacelles. For the voyager you have to break away the casing. They're cheap, very bright and fit perfectly. Only downside is that you need 12 volts. The driver board fits nicely in the hull.

EDIT: Here's a photo of my voyager with cathode nacelles: http://i42.tinypic.com/r034ag.jpg
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Nakira2ca
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Post by Nakira2ca »

robiwon wrote:Try this, take two blue 5mm LEDs and put one in each end of a plastic tube the length of the clear part so they are facing each other. You can get the right size from your hobby shop made by Evergreen or Plastruct. When lit it should provide a nice even glow behind it, almost like a flourescent tube. Paint the inside of the ship white. It actually reflects light better than silver paint or foil.
You can also use white drinking straws. They are cheap and very thin so light can penetrate easiy.
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