|
Community Links |
Social Groups |
Pictures & Albums |
Members List |
Search Forums |
Advanced Search |
Go to Page... |
|
Thread Tools |
02-24-2010, 01:04 PM | #1 |
MCC Recruiter
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Asteroid M
Posts: 9,872
|
Ok.. So I posted this in the Flagg thread for a project I'm doing to add lights to all the computer consoles using fiber optic strands, but this will work on almost any large joe vehicle. Would welcome any mod's & thoughts on this as well.
Would look neat to add lighting to the computer terminals on the MCC, The General, or Joe HQ Here's the concept: Fiber optic strands transfer light, so you can have a light source on one end, run the strands to anywhere on a joe base / vehicle. Drill through using small holes & clip the strand to have surface mounted 1/18 scale lighting on any computer console. Replace computer screens w/ opaque precision cut plastic & place several strands behind the screen to have colored screens. To get started, you need a drill & a strong resolve, since you'll be putting tiny holes in your joe product. A good drill bit & strong torque will help make the holes more precise. -A stream of fiber optic cable on ebay runs around $10 for a handful (link below).. You can run these through the any joe vehicle or base by drilling precision holes. For the conduit casing, I'm using drinking straws for the straight pieces, bendable drinking straws for where I need a joint. I'm spray painting them all black to stop light transfer through the conduit, so their is only light at the point of exit where I want a lit console. -I'm cutting the fiber to deposit on the back side of each computer console, than drilling small holes so that they light through the console as tiny lights, 1 strand per hole. A drinking straw fits around 30 fiber optic strands, so you'll have 30 individual lights at different consoles. -I'm running the piping / conduit / fiber to the underside of my base, so the guts of the lighting are unexposed. On the far end of the fiber, you need a light source. Anything will work; a laser pointer, a flash light. If you use several different light sources, with different color bulbs, and thread the strands so that they touch different bulbs, you'll have randomly colored different lighting on your computer terminals. This is something I picked up from HO train scale model builders; pretty neat trick. The wiring for the lighting is pretty simple; setup a double AA battery pack (use any, you can salvage from a small toy and take the housing), run the +/- to a small on/off switch (about $2.00 at radio shack, or again salvage from an old JvC or VvV toy), than run the far end connection of the switch to the bulbs in a series. Three is usually all you need, blue, red, yellow. Make sure all the series are in parallel, I.E. all (-) are linked to (-), and (+) to (+). Really basic closed circuit. LED's work better than bulbs and are safer, generate less heat, and last longer. Should be able to pickup a variety pack @ radio shack for under $5. -Run the strands through the painted straws, and bend the straws (mount in your base / vehicle; they look like proper piping that would actually be there!) to get to the terminals. Looks surprisingly realistic. Drill holes where needed to get piping through floors / walls. Just be careful w. your drilling, and be safe! -All told you can do the wiring to light your computer consoles for under $30including shipping for the fiber on Ebay, the radio shack components if needed, black matte spray paint for the straw tubing, and batteries. -Would use a tiny drill bit for the holes where you want the fiber to come through and make the wire flush against the outside of the console, don't clip the wire until you are completely done the full install, in case you need slack or tension in other areas. Resources: Ebay link to fiber auctions: Fiber Optic Lighting Filament ~ Unique (75 ft of.50mm) - eBay (item 270276882419 end time Mar-10-10 15:43:14 PST) Thoughts? EDIT: ADDITIONAL RADIO SHACK PART #'s LED, battery holder, and slider switches: -Part # 276-0272 is a standard orange LED w. built in resistor (has a screw mount on the end which is PERFECT for flush mounting in a computer module if you want to go sans fiber and pure LED. They come in several colors. SKU number is 040293113452) -Battery holder mount is part # 270-0398 SKU number 040293111052 . -Small slider switch is Part # 275-0407 SKU number 040293104559.
__________________
Last edited by JoeMama; 02-26-2010 at 12:45 AM.. |
02-24-2010, 01:19 PM | #2 |
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: THE GARDEN STATE OF EDEN!
Posts: 25,591
|
got pics of the results joe?
|
Unclassified |
View Public Profile |
Find More Posts by Unclassified |
02-24-2010, 01:26 PM | #3 |
"The Mayor"
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Central SD
Posts: 4,022
|
This is a really cool idea. Thanks!
__________________
Gunzlingr's BST Thread: http://www.hisstank.com/forum/g-i-jo...ml#post1742979 |
02-24-2010, 01:26 PM | #4 |
MCC Recruiter
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Asteroid M
Posts: 9,872
|
will post soon! need to finish the install on my USS Flagg..
Will take a time lapse & a blackened room shot to show off the lighting. Sorta looks like a star destroyer w. all the pinpoints of lighting. Totally rad.
__________________
|
02-24-2010, 01:41 PM | #5 |
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: THE GARDEN STATE OF EDEN!
Posts: 25,591
|
|
Unclassified |
View Public Profile |
Find More Posts by Unclassified |
02-24-2010, 02:03 PM | #6 |
Banned
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Liverpool, Pennsylvania
Posts: 12,546
|
That is some evil genius sh!t right there couple with a money shot of pure Win.
|
02-24-2010, 02:18 PM | #7 |
Christian Soldier
Join Date: May 2009
Location: Florida
Posts: 6,245
|
A few months back, I went to radio shack and asked them what i needed to buy to make this work (I actually wasn't doing the fiber optic but just the LED's). Spent about $30 for a pack of LED's, wire, battery pack, batteries, switches. I knew there were issues with compatibility between the LED's and the battery size and number. They picked out what i needed and assured me it was compatible. It was not. Would not work. Went back, didn't even ask for my money back or anything, just what I needed to buy to get it to work. Finally, the guy said he couldn't tell me, and printed me off a sheet off the net that didn't even explain it, and told me to read it and come back when I knew what i wanted. Tutorials online never explain how to match compatibility. They usually gloss over that with comments about getting the battery and bulbs from a toy (so then they came compatible), but I don't have any light up toys laying around I want to smash. The "pack" of LED's I bought, the guy couldn't even tell me (nor did the package explain) what the size was, so even with a compatibility chart, they were of no use. Anybody got a solution?
__________________
I submit to You, Lord. I lay it at your feet. Turner's Customs Sell Thread Feedback |
02-24-2010, 02:40 PM | #8 |
No strings on me
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: MS
Posts: 11,603
|
I have a suggestion. Go back to Radio Shack and b*tch slap the idiot that told you it would work. Then get at least part of your money back.
|
02-24-2010, 03:18 PM | #9 |
Cobra Soldier
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Illinois
Posts: 82
|
post your led package. It should definitely tell you the voltage of the led on the packaging.
There's voltage calculators that you can use to design an led circuit. a typical layout consist of batterypack, ohm resistor, led. |
02-24-2010, 06:42 PM | #10 |
Crimson Guard
Join Date: May 2007
Location: England
Posts: 1,230
|
Also check you attach the LED to the battery the right way round - one way it will light up, the other way it will do nothing.
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
What's up with the RoC Vehicles and no display bases? | Mint Condition | G.I. Joe Toys Modern & General Discussion | 12 | 01-14-2010 11:37 AM |
Improvised Bases and Vehicles | DreakNokVipZ | G.I. Joe Toys Modern & General Discussion | 24 | 11-09-2009 12:50 AM |
Help w/lighting while shooting pics... | Outbackk | G.I. Joe Customs Finished Projects | 5 | 03-27-2009 02:55 PM |
Can anyone tell me what font is used on the bases? | MSG Duke | G.I. Joe Customs Finished Projects | 5 | 01-02-2009 05:36 AM |
Cobras many bases | HissCommander | G.I. Joe General Discussion | 12 | 08-29-2008 08:42 AM |
|
|