Today I added a large hole in the upper hull section of the Revell Republic Star Destroyer I am working on. I have plans to light all of the tower and hull windows using fiber optics. I will also be lighting all of the thrusters as well, and Randy at VoodooFx is designing a board that will have those thrusters firing up, as well as one that will have the laser cannons firing randomly about the ship. Randy has done so much cool stuff for me in the past, I'm anxious to see what he comes up with for me! I'm really stoked with this build so far!
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l35/Finktim/Republic%20Star%20Destroyer/004-1.jpg
There are (20) holes in the window areas of each tower room.
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l35/Finktim/Republic%20Star%20Destroyer/005-1.jpg
After some tedious work time, the strands are all pulled thru. It looks like some whiskered animal when its done. The strands will be trimmed later on.
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l35/Finktim/Republic%20Star%20Destroyer/009-1.jpg
The bundle passes thru the cutout areas I had made previously in the tower components.
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l35/Finktim/Republic%20Star%20Destroyer/010-1.jpg
Once all the strands were in, I did a quicky test light to see if they worked properly.
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l35/Finktim/Republic%20Star%20Destroyer/014.jpg
It works! I'll keep you guys posted as this progresses.

Nice! It's gonna build real fine. :thumbsup:

I finished the fiber-optics in the Destroyer this weekend. In all, there are over 350 fibers run to all the holes I drilled, almost 135 feet in total length used, almost an entire tube of black silicone adhesive, and about 20 LED's will be used to light it all! (There's 10 in the engine bay alone!) It has been a very time-consuming process and a lot of work making everything fit together. The side walls of the hull had to be notched to accomodate all of the line, some of which changed as it was all assembled, which meant test-fitting and retest-fitting over and over again. I have tested all of the fiber zones, but it has not all been lit at one time yet. I'm looking forward to that.
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l35/Finktim/Republic%20Star%20Destroyer/IMG_0181.jpg
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l35/Finktim/Republic%20Star%20Destroyer/IMG_0183.jpg
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l35/Finktim/Republic%20Star%20Destroyer/IMG_0184.jpg
These aluminum tubes house the bundled fiber optics lines and the LED will fit in the other end to light it all up.
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l35/Finktim/Republic%20Star%20Destroyer/IMG_0185.jpg
There's lots still to do on this build, but this was a major part of the work to get done!

Genius on the al. tubes!!!

I love people smarter than me! I really like the aluminum tubes.

Carl-

P.S. The love part was not literal...just to be clear on that! But I sure do like'm alot.

"My formula for success it to rise early, work late and stricke oil" - J. P. Getty

I can't take complete credit on the aluminum tubes, although I used both plastruct and aluminum tubing on my Robby the Robot when I lit him as well. The credit goes to Randy at VoodooFx for showing me. (He is making a DVD that will be available soon with all kinds of tricks of the trade on it!)

I know that aluminum is a natural heat sink, and I use it a lot in my projects. I was an R/C racer many years ago, and aluminum heat sinks were all the rage back in the day to keep those high-end motors cooler.

I use a mini tube cutter from MicroMark Small Tools to cut the lengths I need. This is 1/4" tubing, and the large LED's fit perfect inside of it, plus it will hold a lot of strands as well.

I got back at it last night on this Destroyer build, and managed to install all of the lower hull LED's and actually light the whole thing up! It was a happy moment for me, seeing it all aglow!
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l35/Finktim/Republic%20Star%20Destroyer/042.jpg
I decided to add a little green LED to the front as a tractor beam....
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l35/Finktim/Republic%20Star%20Destroyer/045.jpg
It's starting to get pretty crowded in there!
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l35/Finktim/Republic%20Star%20Destroyer/043.jpg
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l35/Finktim/Republic%20Star%20Destroyer/046.jpg
Everything is secure and solidly affixed. I reinforced a few strands when I had the silicone out last night just to make sure, but it's all holding just great!
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l35/Finktim/Republic%20Star%20Destroyer/047.jpg
I am hoping to get the upper level solid-lit light finished, and then it will be a matter of waiting on the program boards to get finished that will control the engines and laser cannons! So far, so good! I'll keep you posted as it progresses! I am also working on an Ertl X-Wing in between time, and it's off to a good start.

Good gosh! That thing is a beauty!!! :thumbsup:

Perfect!! I want to do mine that way but I have an irrational fear of optic fiber. :eek:

Perfect!! I want to do mine that way but I have an irrational fear of optic fiber. :eek:

me too. I'm still in the dark age of LEDs.

I missed this last update. Looks fantastic! Having gone with final paint, how do you intend to treat the seams that are still ahead of you?

Guys, this stuff is too easy to get the basics down and ultra fun to play around with. Resistor numbers are a hassle at first, but if you know your power supply voltage, you can get your leds matched to free resistors on ebay. Or if you get them local, the store clerk should know what you need.

Guys, this stuff is too easy to get the basics down and ultra fun to play around with.

Oh I'll get to fiber :)
It's just right now I'm focusing on learning the electronics part. blinking/timers/flashers/chasers etc.

but all these fiber thread are getting read and saved:thumbsup:

You mean the seams where the walls junction? I'm not worrying about them. Real walls have seams, especially steel. How many real battleships have you seen lately with filled seams? There's really no bad mold seams anywhere that I can see either. I've really taken a back seat on all the little anal stuff anymore. I don't compete in contests, I build for myself and my friends to enjoy, and that's it. I've built model cars and bikes that are smooth as a baby's butt for years, I'm tired of sanding for hours!
The Star Wars and TV stuff I've built this year have been a refreshing break for me from "serious" models. I don't take myself serious anyways.....LOL. I'm having fun, and that's enough for me.....Here, you want smoother? Here's one of my one-off custom showrods....
http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l35/Finktim/Double%20Agent%20Bubbletop/052.jpg

I cannot wait to see the completed item...man what a build.
:thumbsup:

You mean the seams where the walls junction? I'm not worrying about them. Real walls have seams, especially steel. How many real battleships have you seen lately with filled seams? There's really no bad mold seams anywhere that I can see either.

I agree with you on that. Many of the larger SW ships are built with lots of great places to hide where the pieces join together. That is a huge advantage and one that should be taken advantage of.

Hey that looks really nice. I've got one of those in the works too, over here on PhotoBucket: http://i603.photobucket.com/albums/tt114/MadmanLighting/100_1494.jpg

Cant wait to see how yours comes out.

Thanks guys. I'm plugging away on it. I did some airbrush work this weekend, added highlights and exhaust burn to it and an X-Wing I have almost finished as well. Waiting on my custom boards to get done, so may be a bit. My laptop died, so not updating as much! Will post soon when I get it back!

I decided to try something a bit different lighting the upper deck,bridge and conning tower areas that feature square windows recessed into the surfaces.
Im staying with fiber optics throughout the main hull areas but alot of the superstructure areas I will recast in clear,so I can mask off the square window areas,and keep the square windows in a row look.
We'll see how it all goes,and Ill post pics for anyone who's interested. even the screwups and redos.

Any updates on this?

Rob

Tim,

What type of silicone are you using to secure your fibers? Any other techniques you use to secure the fibers?

When using the AL tubes, do you have to have the LEDs in "flush" contact with the fibers?

Thanks and great work!

Nice work, especially with all of the fiber optic strands. That shows dedication.

nice work ! you are so wise to send light by optical fiber .
what's the potting material made of ? it looks really not good .