MR Sting Questions

[bh1138]

Hey everybody, I just had a quick question about the light up Sting replicas from Master Replicas and the Noble Collection. Have any of you opened up the blade or seen the interior of one? If so, how is it set up? I understand the blade itself is polycarbonate with a metallic paint-job/coating, but is the lighting something along the lines of a Force FX saber with LEDs or EL wire inside of some sort of foam or are the light sources the only thing inside of the polycarbonate blade? And one final question, is anything special done to allow the light to shine through the seemingly opaque exterior, or is that just how the material works? Thanks in advance for any help you can provide!

 

[DoctorEight]

I have owned the one from LOTR. I have since sold it, but I remember it working similar to a Force FX saber.

 

[Darth Lars]

I have not opened one up. I remember it being described on this forum as being EL film.
Don't quote me on it, but I think the MR blade is clear plastic with Mylar film on the inside. The blade is transparent at the edges where there isn't any reflective layer. If you have ever handled a Mylar anti-static bag for electronics, you can see that it is silvery but that light shines through it.

Electroluminescent film is the same technology as EL wire, only flat and very thin. It is sometimes used for backlighting LCD displays. MR used a tube of EL film in their first Force FX lightsabers before they started to use strings of LEDs.
It has been used for a few prop replicas on this forum, for lighting models and for Tron costumes. You can cut it to shape, as long as you don't cut the soldering terminals. I have only played with it, trying to make a glowing One Ring, but it was a bit too fiddly for me at that small scale.

 

[DoctorEight]

I have not opened one up. I remember it being described on this forum as being EL film.
Don't quote me on it, but I think the MR blade is clear plastic with Mylar film on the inside. The blade is transparent at the edges where there isn't any reflective layer. If you have ever handled a Mylar anti-static bag for electronics, you can see that it is silvery but that light shines through it.

Electroluminescent film is the same technology as EL wire, only flat and very thin. It is sometimes used for backlighting LCD displays. MR used a tube of EL film in their first Force FX lightsabers before they started to use strings of LEDs.
It has been used for a few prop replicas on this forum, for lighting models and for Tron costumes. You can cut it to shape, as long as you don't cut the soldering terminals. I have only played with it, trying to make a glowing One Ring, but it was a bit too fiddly for me at that small scale.

That's it. It was the same material that was used in the early Force FX lightsabers.

 

[bh1138]

Thanks, that's exactly what I was looking for! It seems like a useful technique for some projects I have in mind. So do you have any recommendations on where to buy EL film? So far I've only found websites that describe it but don't sell it and Spanish movie reviews...

 

[DoctorEight]

Sorry, can't help there.

 

[Cenobyte]

Here are some sites..

EL Flat Panels at Thatscoolwire.com

Amazon.com: electroluminescent panel

Go to google and do a search for electroluminescent film. You will find more sites there