It looks like you want an even glow without bright spots. This means you will need a diffuser in addition to the lighting. This could be difficult to achieve.
Just experiment to see what works best.
"Nothing to do now but drink a beer and watch the universe die."
"Basically what I do everyday."
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I'm Batman.
Don't believe everything you see on the Internet!- Abraham Lincoln
Remembering an electroluminescent product from several years ago, I think named 'Lightsheet', I played in Google and found ...
While it may not be the perfect specimen for the project it definitely is the right type of thing. https://www.adafruit.com/product/414
Electroluminescent (EL) Panel - 20cm x 15cm Aqua
PRODUCT ID: 414
$34.95
56 IN STOCK
This is a big sheet of flexible plastic coated with EL material so its like one big glowing square. It emits an even aqua glow over the entire shape, and you can even cut it into any shape you want using scissors as long as the connector is still attached (you'll probably need a few inches of the edge as well). Another option if you want to have a custom design, we suggest cutting something opaque to 'mask it' or printing onto a transparency and placing that on top. We do not suggest laser cutting it (the coating may be toxic), although a vinyl-cutter might work OK.
Measures 20 cm x 15 cm (7.9" x 5.9"), about 0.5mm thick. Its covered in what seems to be PVC, the panel is thus spill proof - but note that the connector is NOT waterproof, just a bit of heatshrink. This isn't something we would suggest leaving outdoors for extended periods.
Comes with a matching high power 12V inverter and a female DC jack so you can plug it directly into a 12V supply. The inverter is a 'potted waterproof type' and is thus very quiet (no resonating cavity!). This panel is not going to run on our pocket inverter, you really need to have 12V! The full panel draws about 210 mA from a 12V supply. For portable use, we suggest a 8xAA battery holder
Please note! EL tape, EL wire and EL panel are made with different processes and so the color and brightness will not be consistant between the two: aqua tape, aqua wire and aqua panels will not necessarily match!
"There are a thousand things that can happen when you go light a rocket engine, and only one of them is good."
Tom Mueller of SpaceX, in Air and Space, Jan. 2011
"I'd just like to say that building large smooth-skinned models should be avoided at all costs. I now see why people want to stick kit-parts all over their designs as it covers up a lot of problems." - David Sisson
southwestforests wrote: ↑Sun Mar 21, 2021 3:29 pm
Remembering an electroluminescent product from several years ago, I think named 'Lightsheet', I played in Google and found ...
While it may not be the perfect specimen for the project it definitely is the right type of thing. https://www.adafruit.com/product/414
Electroluminescent (EL) Panel - 20cm x 15cm Aqua
PRODUCT ID: 414
$34.95
56 IN STOCK
This is a big sheet of flexible plastic coated with EL material so its like one big glowing square. It emits an even aqua glow over the entire shape, and you can even cut it into any shape you want using scissors as long as the connector is still attached (you'll probably need a few inches of the edge as well). Another option if you want to have a custom design, we suggest cutting something opaque to 'mask it' or printing onto a transparency and placing that on top. We do not suggest laser cutting it (the coating may be toxic), although a vinyl-cutter might work OK.
Measures 20 cm x 15 cm (7.9" x 5.9"), about 0.5mm thick. Its covered in what seems to be PVC, the panel is thus spill proof - but note that the connector is NOT waterproof, just a bit of heatshrink. This isn't something we would suggest leaving outdoors for extended periods.
Comes with a matching high power 12V inverter and a female DC jack so you can plug it directly into a 12V supply. The inverter is a 'potted waterproof type' and is thus very quiet (no resonating cavity!). This panel is not going to run on our pocket inverter, you really need to have 12V! The full panel draws about 210 mA from a 12V supply. For portable use, we suggest a 8xAA battery holder
Please note! EL tape, EL wire and EL panel are made with different processes and so the color and brightness will not be consistant between the two: aqua tape, aqua wire and aqua panels will not necessarily match!
EL Tape and EL wire look great at night or darkened room, but daylight (or in a lit room) you might find them disappointing.
perhaps a small fluorescent lamp (e.g. around 6" length) might work? https://www.amazon.com/Atron-Portable-F ... B07FP3QHG9
I do remember back in the day (e.g. back in the day when ST:TNG was running) some folks used small fluorescent lamps to light up warp nacelles (they needed to be taken apart and rewired because there barely enough room for the fluorescent tube within the nacelles -- the rest of electronic 'guts" needed to be located outside. Since that involved working with mains-level [and higher] voltages, you really needed to know what you were doing).
Work lights with that wand shape, typically have a handle and an elongated emitter, which, to me, kinda suggests they could be handily inserted down the barrel of that weapon.
If you do go down to the hardware store to shop for lights, I'm thinking there's lots of screw together PVC fittings that can enclose a work light wand, maybe with some polyethylene foam. I've started hoarding black polyethylene foam that I get in packages; I gleefully got a lot when I bought an e-bike. It's so useful for MacGuyvering and holding things to fit in oddly shaped places.
