HalloweenCostumes.com "Back to the Future 2 Light Up Shoes"

MrSouthpaw said:
That brightness comment was about his GITD tape, not your paint-mix. Your paint mix brightness looks fine from what I've seen of it.

And I know about the GITD paint thickness/brightness. I said as much in my "got my mags" post on page 8. It was one of the first things I noticed after making my prototype strap, the "low spots" on the paint glowed less. I opted to not waste more paint correcting it, since it was just a demonstrator.

Glow Inc instructions calls for a 1/16th inch thickness for optimum effect.
Click to expand...

So 1/16th is about 1.5mm? Mine is not paint. It is powder (where the particles are 40 x 20 microns) which is mixed into clear rubber, degassed and allowed to set.

I do wonder how much brighter it gets in large volumes though when mixed at the same ratio. My youngest boy is crazy about TMNT right now and I am thinking I will make him a "mutagen" canister night light using the green GITD powder I have. The plan is to mix it into some cheap casting resin, vacuum and pour into a clear tube. End cap that to make the canister of green ooze that will glow all on its own. I think he will be thrilled to bits.
 
cavx said:
So 1/16th is about 1.5mm? Mine is not paint. It is powder (where the particles are 40 x 20 microns) which is mixed into clear rubber, degassed and allowed to set.

I do wonder how much brighter it gets in large volumes though when mixed at the same ratio. My youngest boy is crazy about TMNT right now and I am thinking I will make him a "mutagen" canister night light using the green GITD powder I have. The plan is to mix it into some cheap casting resin, vacuum and pour into a clear tube. End cap that to make the canister of green ooze that will glow all on its own. I think he will be thrilled to bits.
Click to expand...

It still probably follows a similar rule where the glow-powder bearing substance needs to be a particular thickness to achieve a reasonable glow effect.

For instance you could mold a cube and slice it in half, then slice a half in half, and then one of those in half...etc. And see how intense each glows until you get to a slice that is too thin to glow well. Then you will know the minimum thickness you need for your substance.

I'm sure he'll like the ooze bottle. I remember wanting one of the TGRI canisters from Secret of the Ooze, when I was a kid.
 
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It seems that everyone has given up on actually accurately modding these. Why is that?
 
Jedifyfe said:
It seems that everyone has given up on actually accurately modding these. Why is that?
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These HC shoes are only $100. It can be hard justifying the price of some of the available upgrades.

I'm debating whether or not I want to even put EL in the soles or just strengthen the existing hardware connections if they break.
 
MrSouthpaw said:
These HC shoes are only $100. It can be hard justifying the price of some of the available upgrades.

I'm debating whether or not I want to even put EL in the soles or just strengthen the existing hardware connections if they break.
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I don't really follow this rational. What you're saying is because these are cheap shoes, then it doesn't make sense to add more money into them to make them accurate? I would argue just the opposite. You already have saved yourself at least $125 from buying the more accurate V2's, so why not go all out and install the correct LEDs and EL?
 
I'm with Brad on this one. A cheaper shoe is easier to justify the cost on.

...HELL! I'd go so far as to say it's easier to justify even crazy mods on these since if you destroy them, you could buy a second pair and STILL have spent less than if you bought the V2s once.

Once these are back in stock I may grab a pair just to try some crazy things on.

-Nick
 
TheNickFox said:
I'm with Brad on this one. A cheaper shoe is easier to justify the cost on.

...HELL! I'd go so far as to say it's easier to justify even crazy mods on these since if you destroy them, you could buy a second pair and STILL have spent less than if you bought the V2s once.

Once these are back in stock I may grab a pair just to try some crazy things on.

-Nick
Click to expand...

I got my shoes in less than 1 month from ordering, and that was in the middle of December.

If you order now, probably have them before the end of the month.
 
MrSouthpaw said:
It still probably follows a similar rule where the glow-powder bearing substance needs to be a particular thickness to achieve a reasonable glow effect.
Click to expand...

Lets run with the 1.5mm as a minimum. Any thinner and the rubber would tear too easy anyway. Most of my sheets are 3mm. Given I want a white background, I might see if I can layer up the GITD mix on some white vinyl rather than mix a separate batch of white to add to the back. The rubber will bite into the cloth side of the vinyl (it will peel away from the smooth side) and the idea being that there is a now not only a white back ground, but there is also a border around the logo to glue it in to the strap with.


Jedifyfe said:
It seems that everyone has given up on actually accurately modding these. Why is that?
Click to expand...

LOL. probably because these HCs are not close to accurate to start with. It is clearly a money thing there though.

MrSouthpaw said:
These HC shoes are only $100. It can be hard justifying the price of some of the available upgrades.

I'm debating whether or not I want to even put EL in the soles or just strengthen the existing hardware connections if they break.
Click to expand...

Jedifyfe said:
I don't really follow this rational.
Click to expand...

I agree with Jedifyfe here.

Lets say you set out with a $500 budget to own MAGs. If you go the V2 route, half the budget is blown before you even begin. With the HCs, you still have $400 left to buy other things you need to make them better. If your upgrade kits costs you about $250, you still have coin left over for beer :)

Another thing to consider, if you go to the trouble of removing (or at least peeling back) the sole to upgrade the wiring, why would you NOT change out the crappy LEDs?
 
cavx said:
Lets run with the 1.5mm as a minimum. Any thinner and the rubber would tear too easy anyway. Most of my sheets are 3mm. Given I want a white background, I might see if I can layer up the GITD mix on some white vinyl rather than mix a separate batch of white to add to the back. The rubber will bite into the cloth side of the vinyl (it will peel away from the smooth side) and the idea being that there is a now not only a white back ground, but there is also a border around the logo to glue it in to the strap with.
Click to expand...

I painted the cloth side of the vinyl, glued the logo to the side with the cutout, and had space to glue the thin borders together.

Uncharged the paint looks white enough to make it look like white lettering, especially from head-high when it's on your foot.
 
MrSouthpaw said:
I painted the cloth side of the vinyl, glued the logo to the side with the cutout, and had space to glue the thin borders together.

Uncharged the paint looks white enough to make it look like white lettering, especially from head-high when it's on your foot.
Click to expand...
Which GITD paint are you using? Might try a set of straps with the GITD paint to see how it looks
 
Here is finished strap with blue GITD tape on my HC Mags.

IMG_2734.JPG
 
It looks good because it is nice and uniform. Shame it is not brighter though. The funny thing I have noticed with capturing images of the GITD is that even when fully charged and what appears to be really bright, the camera image chip just doesn't pick it from time to time.
 
FreddyTV said:
Do you paint the inner of the back strap or some other fabric?
Click to expand...

The paint is right behind the logo, painted on the cloth-side of the vinyl.

However, the paint dries to a slightly gritty texture and will slowly remove the toner from the logo. So if you do this, put something between the toner-side of the logo and the paint, like piece of scotch tape or something stuck to the toner-side of the logo.
 
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