Best way to illuminate Falcon engines

[chewie25]

Hi,
I'm looking for the best way to illuminate the Falcon engines : neon tubes, leds, or others ... ?
I'd like to use this for various scales of the Falcon.

So, great thanks for your answers.

Bye.

Christophe

 

[HAL9000]

I'd say go for battery powered LED's because a) they
give off the right blueish white light you need for
the falcon, b) they are cool and won't melt your
model, and c) the batteries will last a long time.

I would suggest putting the LED's in an array behind some
kind of diffusing material otherwise you will just see a bunch of lights rather than the collective glow of the engine.

 

[ralphee]

EL wire maybe....if used right i guess a frosted engine panel would diffuse the glow well, leaving it bold down the middle and subdued at the outer edges? Very little heat too!

lee

 

[chewie25]

Great thanks for your answers !
The 2 ways seem good : I've to try them to see which one give the best result.

Bye.
Christophe

 

[TridCloudwalker]

It all depends on what you're comfortable with.

If you want a look that's as close as possible to how it looks on film, use a cold cathode tube. However, these take a lot of energy to run, and being glass you have to worry about breakage.

If you want absolute reliability and lifespan, go with an array of LEDs with a diffuser in front of them. I believe VoodooFX (amongst a couple others) sell these if you are unable to put it together youself.