Light Gels

Neb · Post by **Neb** » Tue Nov 28, 2006 12:10 am

I'm about to start building Rel's 1/650 Sovereign class Starship. I've decided to use White LED's exclusively for the entire ship and use colored light gels for the warp nacelles. I used this filter material waaaaay back in high school when I did lighting for plays in drama club. I went to Roscolux's web site and found that you can get a "swatchbook" for the asking. Thought you guys might be interested:

http://www.rosco.com/us/filters/roscolux.asp

It's a different approach, but what the heck.

Floyd Walker · Post by **Floyd Walker** » Tue Nov 28, 2006 9:57 am

To add to what Neb said -
If you find out what color(s) you need, a 21"x24" sheet of the stuff only costs about $7US... and that's enough material for a lifetime or two of kits

You can find it in theater supply stores, btw.

Neb · Post by **Neb** » Tue Nov 28, 2006 10:32 am

Thanks Floyd---I hadn't shopped it yet, but I remember it used to be quite inexpensive.

Neb · Post by **Neb** » Tue Nov 28, 2006 11:42 pm

Here's a good place. Cheap!

http://www.northernsound.net/Sales/Filt ... colux.html

Floyd Walker · Post by **Floyd Walker** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 1:45 am

Yeah, Neb- I remember seeing that site when I was searching for gels to make an IR-pass filter for a floodlight (don't ask

).
I found a source locally, so the cost basically balanced out - cost here vs. their cost + S&H.
Gotta tell ya - that stuff is EASY to work with... thin, soft, and durable. And any color one could possibly need.

Neb · Post by **Neb** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 8:52 am

That's very encouraging---the choice of colors they have is amazing. They're the "Pantone" of light gels!

Thomas E. Johnson · Post by **Thomas E. Johnson** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 12:06 pm

I used colored gels for the impulse engines and deflector dish on REL's Ent-E, with LEDs lighting up the interior of the hulls. For the warp engines, I wanted to use LEDs but wasn't happy with the light distribution I was getting, so I went with blue CCFLs from Vibelights, and random blinking red LEDs for the ramscoops. It looks dam nice. I'm in the "prepping for painting" stage now on mine.

Neb · Post by **Neb** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 12:59 pm

Was the light distribution uneven, or not bright enough Thomas?

Thomas E. Johnson · Post by **Thomas E. Johnson** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 1:44 pm

Neb wrote:Was the light distribution uneven, or not bright enough Thomas?

Not even enough, even with several layers of wax paper layered on top of 12 superbright blue LEDs. I found that for lighting large warp engines, CCFLs give the best result.

Scott Hasty · Post by **Scott Hasty** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 4:58 pm

Thomas E. Johnson wrote:
Neb wrote:Was the light distribution uneven, or not bright enough Thomas?
Not even enough, even with several layers of wax paper layered on top of 12 superbright blue LEDs. I found that for lighting large warp engines, CCFLs give the best result.

Try using Fiberfill (pillow stuffing). A one-pound bag usually goes for around $1.00 at any fabric/large retailer. It diffuses light quite nicely.

Scottie

Thomas E. Johnson · Post by **Thomas E. Johnson** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 6:34 pm

Scott Hasty wrote:
Thomas E. Johnson wrote:
Neb wrote:Was the light distribution uneven, or not bright enough Thomas?
Not even enough, even with several layers of wax paper layered on top of 12 superbright blue LEDs. I found that for lighting large warp engines, CCFLs give the best result.
Try using Fiberfill (pillow stuffing). A one-pound bag usually goes for around $1.00 at any fabric/large retailer. It diffuses light quite nicely.

Scottie

To late now, she's all sealed up!

Neb · Post by **Neb** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 7:32 pm

Thomas---are you using batteries, or a wall wart? I'm trying to make up my mind.....

Thomas E. Johnson · Post by **Thomas E. Johnson** » Wed Nov 29, 2006 10:37 pm

Neb wrote:Thomas---are you using batteries, or a wall wart? I'm trying to make up my mind.....

I'm using a plug in transformer.

Kun2112 · Post by **Kun2112** » Tue Mar 06, 2007 11:52 pm

Scott Hasty wrote:
Thomas E. Johnson wrote:
Neb wrote:Was the light distribution uneven, or not bright enough Thomas?
Not even enough, even with several layers of wax paper layered on top of 12 superbright blue LEDs. I found that for lighting large warp engines, CCFLs give the best result.
Try using Fiberfill (pillow stuffing). A one-pound bag usually goes for around $1.00 at any fabric/large retailer. It diffuses light quite nicely.

Scottie

I was just re-reading this thread and went to the other room where I noticed a used dryer sheet laying on the floor (yep, I'm single). Well I tried it folded over a couple of times and I have to admit, it did a fair job on my mini-mag in candle mode and a 1100mCd LED I had on my bread board.

Pat Amaral · Post by **Pat Amaral** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 2:37 am

Kun2112 wrote:
Scott Hasty wrote:
Thomas E. Johnson wrote: Not even enough, even with several layers of wax paper layered on top of 12 superbright blue LEDs. I found that for lighting large warp engines, CCFLs give the best result.
Try using Fiberfill (pillow stuffing). A one-pound bag usually goes for around $1.00 at any fabric/large retailer. It diffuses light quite nicely.

Scottie
I was just re-reading this thread and went to the other room where I noticed a used dryer sheet laying on the floor (yep, I'm single). Well I tried it folded over a couple of times and I have to admit, it did a fair job on my mini-mag in candle mode and a 1100mCd LED I had on my bread board.

And it'll keep your model fresh as a morning breeze.

Sorry, I just couldn't resist. Besides, we all know somebody woulda said something eventually.

Neb · Post by **Neb** » Wed Mar 07, 2007 6:41 pm

MillenniumFalsehood · Thu Mar 08, 2007 11:20 pm

A useful source of filters is a local theatre. They go through the stuff all the time and even though the centers are faded the edges where they are clamped onto the lamp are not. I found a huge stack of them in the trash after strike during the last play at my college.