LEDs inside the model w/o fiber optic

kerick · Post by **kerick** » Thu Aug 04, 2011 12:37 am

I'm hoping someone here has tried this before. I'm thinking of lighting some windows by having super bright LEDs inside the model shining towards the windows instead of running FO. The plastic is thick and I sprayed inside with silver paint to block light from escasping. The windows will be small and be filled with clear window glue after painting. Nothing to see on the inside.
Anybody try this before? Good or bad results?

Joseph Osborn · Post by **Joseph Osborn** » Thu Aug 04, 2011 8:11 am

Yeah, this is fairly common. It's called "flooding" the interior. The LEDs don't necessarily have to be super-bright and you don't necessarily have to aim them at the window openings. You can also use white paint on the inside to evenly illuminate the interior.

modelnutz · Post by **modelnutz** » Thu Aug 04, 2011 9:17 am

Polyfil ( pillow stuffing material ) will act as a light diffuser as well...lightly pack the interior to remove hot spots ( bright areas near the LED's )

The LED's make the polyfil glow quite evenly

kerick · Post by **kerick** » Thu Aug 04, 2011 3:18 pm

modelnutz wrote:Polyfil ( pillow stuffing material ) will act as a light diffuser as well...lightly pack the interior to remove hot spots ( bright areas near the LED's )

The LED's make the polyfil glow quite evenly

Thanks for the replies. I will find some polyfill and try that, sounds like a good trick.

MillenniumFalsehood · Post by **MillenniumFalsehood** » Tue Aug 09, 2011 4:09 pm

Another recommendation here for Polyfil. It's great stuff for diffusing light.

kerick · Post by **kerick** » Sun Aug 14, 2011 6:45 pm

Sacrificed a stuffed toy for the polyfill. Works great. (No, I didn't steal the toy from my kids, it was forgotten in the basement.)

MillenniumFalsehood · Post by **MillenniumFalsehood** » Mon Aug 15, 2011 2:45 pm

Did you pray before you sacrificed it? The Model Gods don't like it when you don't pray . . .

TREKKRIFFIC · Post by **TREKKRIFFIC** » Mon Aug 15, 2011 3:53 pm

I've done this on my latest build using a "lamp shade" technique. I sprayed the interior of my AMT Romulan BOP black followed by a coat of gloss white. Then I slip the empty spool off a pack of Glide dental floss over the top of my LED. The spool is translucent white plastic and fits perfectly over a 3MM LED:
http://www.groceriesdowntown.com/catalo ... 20Mint.jpg

When in place it looks like this:
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r259 ... G_0569.jpg

All I can compare it to is a lampshade. Make sure the open end of the LED isn't pointed directly at any windows if you can and the white spool will give off a nice even 360 degree glow without hot spots:
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r259 ... G_0769.jpg

kerick · Post by **kerick** » Sat Aug 20, 2011 8:21 am

When purchasing more LEDs from superbriteLEDs.com I found 360 degree LEDs. Of course that's after I had installed the regular ones I bought months ago. I'll try your idea with the lampshade although I'll have to find a different shade as I used 8mm instead of 3mm. The polyfill is an option also.

Styrofoam_Guy · Post by **Styrofoam_Guy** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 8:36 am

I also sand the tip of the LED to help diffuse the light a bit.

TREKKRIFFIC · Post by **TREKKRIFFIC** » Mon Aug 22, 2011 6:25 pm

I've also coated an LED with white fluorescent acrylic paint.
The LED will ight up like an incandescent bulb (but without the heat) for a full 360 degrees of illumination.

kerick · Post by **kerick** » Tue Aug 30, 2011 3:49 pm

Well I just lined the lighted area with mirror tiles. They really bounce the light around. Situation is much improved. Will also use some polyfill. Thanks for the tips!