Soften Light through clear parts?

[joey_d1119]

Im building the Enterprise C. In order to save money Id like to get your views on how to do this.

I have the clear plastic parts for the warp engines and deflector dish for the Enterprise C kit.

I have found that even with the aftermarket resin parts you get a significant amount of light coming through especially at the point where the LED's are placed.

Id like to soften this down so I get more of a soft glow, rather then a bright blues and reds from the warp engines which over power the windows on the hull.

I was thinking I could use Blue translucent spray paint for the respective parts, and red translucent for the bussard collectors.

Then I can spray a thin layer of white paint on the back side of these piece that can help soften the amount of the light that shines through.

Anyone have any suggestions?

[Kenny]

what about increasing the resistance in the LED circuit? or directly painting the leds, probally easier to undo if it doesn't work

[Kylwell]

White would work, or perhaps repeated coats of matte spray.

[joey_d1119]

What is matte spray?

[Kylwell]

Flat clear cloat?

[Lt. Z0mBe]

What about white acrylic in Future painted over the LED's?

Kenny

[Pat Amaral]

My suggestion is to go with the additional resistance for the Bussard Collectors but use light sheet or E.L. tape or wire for the blue areas. Of course, this is more expensive than paint but the overall look will be very effective.

[Digger1]

you could use a diffuser for the bussards. Use something like styrene in the same shape and size as the bussards but with really thin sheet styrene. Something like the thickness of a coffee cup lid.

I do like the idea of a flat clear coat from the inside, though.