More fun with fiberoptics - lighting a Star Destroyer - FIN!
- Thread starter rayra
- Start date
Here's a post I made in another thread in the Prop forum -
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just recently got my small shipment from thefiberopticstore.com -
Got 5' of the 64-strand (.264mm), in a timely fashion, with good communication.
Added bennie, they threw in a nice sample pack -
Wiped out by the camera flash, top to bottom -
32-strand (.50mm)
64-strand (.264mm)
3mm
2mm
1.5mm
1mm
.75mm
.50mm
.25mm
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The fiber with the SD kit is a quarter-millimeter in size (.264mm), that's about 1/96th of an inch. My hobby store had a couple-score sizes of micro-bits, and I chose several from the smallest end of the selection. Avoid the micro-bit kits from the chain-hobby stores, if you can, they are vastly overpriced, and only contain 1 of each size. I managed to break 6 of these bits while hand-drilling ~400 holes.
The kit comes with a battery powered drill, but its plastic-mounted bit broke very early on, and I couldn't jury-rig a new bit onto motor. So I used a micro-drill 'pin vise' -
As for a wiring diagram, well, the inital diagram was scribbled out, and wound up wrong in the first place. I'll have to actually transcribe the final diagram and psot it shortly.
</SPAN><TABLE BORDER=0 ALIGN=CENTER WIDTH=85%><TR><TD CLASS=$row_color>Quote:<HR></TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS=$row_color>
just recently got my small shipment from thefiberopticstore.com -
Got 5' of the 64-strand (.264mm), in a timely fashion, with good communication.
Added bennie, they threw in a nice sample pack -
Wiped out by the camera flash, top to bottom -
32-strand (.50mm)
64-strand (.264mm)
3mm
2mm
1.5mm
1mm
.75mm
.50mm
.25mm
</TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE><SPAN CLASS=$row_color>
The fiber with the SD kit is a quarter-millimeter in size (.264mm), that's about 1/96th of an inch. My hobby store had a couple-score sizes of micro-bits, and I chose several from the smallest end of the selection. Avoid the micro-bit kits from the chain-hobby stores, if you can, they are vastly overpriced, and only contain 1 of each size. I managed to break 6 of these bits while hand-drilling ~400 holes.
The kit comes with a battery powered drill, but its plastic-mounted bit broke very early on, and I couldn't jury-rig a new bit onto motor. So I used a micro-drill 'pin vise' -
As for a wiring diagram, well, the inital diagram was scribbled out, and wound up wrong in the first place. I'll have to actually transcribe the final diagram and psot it shortly.
Pilot
Sr Member
Thanks for all the great info on this stuff, Rich! I'm really diggin' the asteroid base (gonna have to mooch that technique someday LOL) and I've eagerly absorbed the fiber info you've provided for us. I've always enjoyed lighting models, but it's been such a long time since I've actually done it...that Death Piñata is still staring me down from under my desk.
Here's a few more goodies -
Using a bit of bent sprue to place the LEDs right on-target for the fiber -
Did a bunch of painting on the asteroid base, 4 different blended shades, a tan wash, a black wash, and it all wound up being far too subtle. You can still make out a bit -
Hangar bay lights. Poor pic. Fiber still needs to be trimmed flush after painting, so the llight 'glow' is a bit askew -
The upper decks' fiber installs were too recessed to reach with epoxy (mentioned earlier). Settled for using Elmer's. Epoxy doesn't 'flow' well enough, and this much cyanoacrylate would have melted the fibers -
The fit of the Bridge and Neck model parts was pretty poor, and at this scale, trying to fill with putty from the exterior would have obliterated a lot of surface detail.
Elected to use gap-filling krazy glue, applied from the inner surface, and worked a bit in the gaps with a toothpick tip. That and a quick wipedown with a Q-Tip to pick up the extra seepage from the outside, and painting should hide the rest.
And a peek inside the neck. Had to be real careful not to spill the krazy glue on the ultra-fine fibers.
Using a bit of bent sprue to place the LEDs right on-target for the fiber -
Did a bunch of painting on the asteroid base, 4 different blended shades, a tan wash, a black wash, and it all wound up being far too subtle. You can still make out a bit -
Hangar bay lights. Poor pic. Fiber still needs to be trimmed flush after painting, so the llight 'glow' is a bit askew -
The upper decks' fiber installs were too recessed to reach with epoxy (mentioned earlier). Settled for using Elmer's. Epoxy doesn't 'flow' well enough, and this much cyanoacrylate would have melted the fibers -
The fit of the Bridge and Neck model parts was pretty poor, and at this scale, trying to fill with putty from the exterior would have obliterated a lot of surface detail.
Elected to use gap-filling krazy glue, applied from the inner surface, and worked a bit in the gaps with a toothpick tip. That and a quick wipedown with a Q-Tip to pick up the extra seepage from the outside, and painting should hide the rest.
And a peek inside the neck. Had to be real careful not to spill the krazy glue on the ultra-fine fibers.
watch a couple kits on ebay go to extreme price levels, ~$50ea. Ouch.
Got the last bit of upper hull structures done today. There's two flanking pieces that get added to the upper deck structure, and are wedged between it and the longitudinal gun banks. After fitting the uppers on with clamps, and running fiber, I discovered it had become a VERY tight fit to get the flank pieces in where they belonged. A little judicious trimming and fiber trimming, and prying got them in - NOT FOR NEXT TIME - fiber and mount these flanking pieces BEFORE running fiber in the rest of the upper hull.
Got a nice oval wood base fitted for the asteroid as well.
I expect to glue the hulls together and start painting in the nex 1-2 days.
Got the last bit of upper hull structures done today. There's two flanking pieces that get added to the upper deck structure, and are wedged between it and the longitudinal gun banks. After fitting the uppers on with clamps, and running fiber, I discovered it had become a VERY tight fit to get the flank pieces in where they belonged. A little judicious trimming and fiber trimming, and prying got them in - NOT FOR NEXT TIME - fiber and mount these flanking pieces BEFORE running fiber in the rest of the upper hull.
Got a nice oval wood base fitted for the asteroid as well.
I expect to glue the hulls together and start painting in the nex 1-2 days.
bunch of progress last night and today.
Got all the upper hull deck sections glued in place, and all the upper fiber tied together and glued, as well.
And a bunch of cut sand paint sand paint sand paint sand paint for the pedestal under the 'asteroid' -
Got the upper and lower hull glued together, and did a great light test. Still need to putty some of the heinous gaps in the superstructure of this kit. And do some experiments on the base to find the proper height for the clear rods.
EDIT - and I finally documented the wiring diagram (scribbled in pencil). I'll post a digital version right away.
Got all the upper hull deck sections glued in place, and all the upper fiber tied together and glued, as well.
And a bunch of cut sand paint sand paint sand paint sand paint for the pedestal under the 'asteroid' -
Got the upper and lower hull glued together, and did a great light test. Still need to putty some of the heinous gaps in the superstructure of this kit. And do some experiments on the base to find the proper height for the clear rods.
EDIT - and I finally documented the wiring diagram (scribbled in pencil). I'll post a digital version right away.
Why must I hate you? I just threw my kit out the window becuase I knew I would never be able to make it anywhere near as good as you did that one.
Very nice, very nice indeed.
Very nice, very nice indeed.
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wakeboardjedi wrote:<HR></TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS=$row_color>
Why must I hate you? I just threw my kit out the window becuase I knew I would never be able to make it anywhere near as good as you did that one.
Very nice, very nice indeed.
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Should have put it on ebay, instead
Waiting on the next coat of paint to dry.
Here's the electrical diagram I've been promising -
The resistor values are what I used, but aren't strictly accurate - the LEDs are each 2.1V, 20mAmp. Using a 9V battery, the Resistor on the White circuit ought to be 172 Ohms. And on the Blue circuit, 115-Ohms.
100s I had handy, 100s I used.
The Diode functions as a one-way gate. With it in place, turning on the blue (engine) LEDs also energizes the other circuit. Make sure you don't put it in backwards. Digging for the Diode specs, don't have'em handy, but it's basically whatever range will handle a 9V battery.
You can use whatever battery source you want, and adjust the equation accordingly for the LEDs.
(Battery Voltage - Light Voltage) divided by Light Amps (in whole Amps, and combined for a couple LEDs), = the desired Ohm rating of the Resistor you need. For a simple LED-lighting circuit, 'close' is good enough. LEDs have a current draw measured in milliAmps. 20 mAmp is typical. To plug that into the equation, move the decimal 3 places to the left, .02
It's easy
wakeboardjedi wrote:<HR></TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS=$row_color>
Why must I hate you? I just threw my kit out the window becuase I knew I would never be able to make it anywhere near as good as you did that one.
Very nice, very nice indeed.
</TD></TR><TR><TD><HR></TD></TR></TABLE><SPAN CLASS=$row_color>
Should have put it on ebay, instead
Waiting on the next coat of paint to dry.
Here's the electrical diagram I've been promising -
The resistor values are what I used, but aren't strictly accurate - the LEDs are each 2.1V, 20mAmp. Using a 9V battery, the Resistor on the White circuit ought to be 172 Ohms. And on the Blue circuit, 115-Ohms.
100s I had handy, 100s I used.
The Diode functions as a one-way gate. With it in place, turning on the blue (engine) LEDs also energizes the other circuit. Make sure you don't put it in backwards. Digging for the Diode specs, don't have'em handy, but it's basically whatever range will handle a 9V battery.
You can use whatever battery source you want, and adjust the equation accordingly for the LEDs.
(Battery Voltage - Light Voltage) divided by Light Amps (in whole Amps, and combined for a couple LEDs), = the desired Ohm rating of the Resistor you need. For a simple LED-lighting circuit, 'close' is good enough. LEDs have a current draw measured in milliAmps. 20 mAmp is typical. To plug that into the equation, move the decimal 3 places to the left, .02
It's easy
Pilot
Sr Member
I got my fiber in from the Fiber Optic Store yesterday, and then the thought hit me like a brick: the Death Star is a freakin' sphere. All I really need to do is drill holes, stick a light bulb in the center, and call it good! LMFAO
Naw, I'm still gonna fiber-ize it...as soon as I'm done with my E-11, my MG-34, my Ep1 comlink, my 2 custom sabers, my resin OB1, my Heiland to-be-ANH Vader, and my...damn, I need to finish up some projects!
Naw, I'm still gonna fiber-ize it...as soon as I'm done with my E-11, my MG-34, my Ep1 comlink, my 2 custom sabers, my resin OB1, my Heiland to-be-ANH Vader, and my...damn, I need to finish up some projects!
Matsuo
Sr Member
Awsome progress Rich and thanks for the diagram. You have inspired me to Light up a piece I'm working on, sept I just want to light the interior of an object so that theres an erie glow coming from within what you suggest for a single LED setup? How small a battery can I use?
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Pilot wrote:<HR></TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS=$row_color>
...as soon as I'm done with my E-11, my MG-34, my Ep1 comlink, my 2 custom sabers, my resin OB1, my Heiland to-be-ANH Vader, and my...damn, I need to finish up some projects!
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Heh don't worry pilot, You are in good company. This hobby has a habbit of growing past our ability to feed it...LOL I think it should be required for membership that you have several projects going on at once...preferably, perpetualy unfinished.
Matt
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Pilot wrote:<HR></TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS=$row_color>
...as soon as I'm done with my E-11, my MG-34, my Ep1 comlink, my 2 custom sabers, my resin OB1, my Heiland to-be-ANH Vader, and my...damn, I need to finish up some projects!
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Heh don't worry pilot, You are in good company. This hobby has a habbit of growing past our ability to feed it...LOL I think it should be required for membership that you have several projects going on at once...preferably, perpetualy unfinished.
Matt
That's the way it's always been. psuedo-assembly-line style.
While one project's paint is drying, I'm trimming / gluing / sanding another.
For lighting an object to glow, and if the light source will be easily accesible later, an incandescent/filament bulg will give you better all-around (360-degrees) lighting. If using an LED, be sure to at least get a 'wide-angle' light.
As for batteries, anything goes. I use the biggest I can, just for greater battery life. But I've read of small watch and even hearing-aid batteries being used. I'm considering using such in a FinalFantasy wristcomp mockup idea I'm fiddling around with.
Matsuo
Sr Member
Cool rich Thanks. I will perhaps employ the wide angle LED you spoke of and set it just out of view, just so it casts a glow from within, visible through a grate.
Heres the piece in question. Its at the bottom of the page.
http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=222616
One look and I think you will figger out where I'm trying to go there...I hope..
Matt
Heres the piece in question. Its at the bottom of the page.
http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=222616
One look and I think you will figger out where I'm trying to go there...I hope..
Matt
cool display base!
(and I like the computer floppy? drive connector on top
)
Like the cross-sectional thing going on.
And I'm guessing you want to back-light the grate so a pattern of light / shadow shines on the standing figure ?
red? green? yellow? orange?
you might want to experiment with using too much resistor to make the light dimmer / deeper.
(and I like the computer floppy? drive connector on top
Like the cross-sectional thing going on.
And I'm guessing you want to back-light the grate so a pattern of light / shadow shines on the standing figure ?
red? green? yellow? orange?
you might want to experiment with using too much resistor to make the light dimmer / deeper.
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