[Prowler901]

OK, I'm in the planning stages for my PL Refit. I've got several ideas for lighting the nacelles and I thought I'd bounce them off ya'll here to see what the consensus is.

1.) CCFLs - seems like one of the best solutions. But, I don't like the fact that they don't seem to come in an 8" length. 6" seems too short, and 12" is almost too long. Is the 6" ccfl long enough? Also, it seems the driver has to be put into the secondary hull. Therefore, the wires need to be lengthened. And, that may cause problems with the light output.

2.) LED's - Several would need to be placed in a line to fit the length of the grill. But, won't that create funky "hot spots" on the grill?

3.) Light sheet - one piece placed against the back side of the grill. But, is light sheet bright enough? From what I've read, no.

4.) EL Wire - Possibly use 5 strands with one behind each lit portion of the grill. Or, I thought about making an 8" long parabolic trough mirror. Then run the EL Wire down the focus of the mirror. That would spread the light from the wire out across the entire height of the grill. Then there is the question of light output from the EL Wire. Is it bright enough?

Ya'll have more experience than I do, and I'd appreciate everyones input on this. Thanks for your time.

Regards,
Todd

 

[Raist3001]

Prowler, I created a light box with 4 LEDS aimed at one another. More than sufficient for lighting the nacelles. The aim is not to be blinded by the lights

 

[thrakkorzog]

The 12" CCFT will fit and you can even fit an inverter in each nacelle - like so -

 

[Raist3001]

1.) CCFLs - seems like one of the best solutions. But, I don't like the fact that they don't seem to come in an 8" length. 6" seems too short, and 12" is almost too long. Is the 6" ccfl long enough? Also, it seems the driver has to be put into the secondary hull. Therefore, the wires need to be lengthened. And, that may cause problems with the light output.

If you lengthen the wires to the CCFL's, you will dramatically reduce their output. I purchased CCFL's from vibelights before I began my 1/350 project. The drivers are too big to sit in the nacelle, and the wires are too short to place in the secondary hull. I tried to lengthen the wires but that only served to cause the lamps to flicker and the light output was horrible.

LED's are probably the best way to go.

 

[Raist3001]

thrakkorzog, may I ask where you purchased your CCFL's? The drivers from vibelights are too large to sit in the nacelle.

 

[thrakkorzog]

thrakkorzog, may I ask where you purchased your CCFL's? The drivers from vibelights are too large to sit in the nacelle.

I got the CCFL's at Fry's Electronics - then I bought the two little drivers also from Fry's - I think you can also get the drivers from www.digikey.com - They will work with any 12V CCFL

 

[John F]

I put 6 5mm blue led's in each nacelle, 3 on the left and three on the right, all laying flat, pointing towards the center. I painted the clear grills transparent blue and glued a piece of printer paper behind it to diffuse the light.

The light was too harsh without the paper, plus you could see the led's through the clear grill.
The effect worked out good, there is a nice even glow across the whole grill area.

 

[PixelMagic]

I put 6 5mm blue led's in each nacelle, 3 on the left and three on the right, all laying flat, pointing towards the center. I painted the clear grills transparent blue and glued a piece of printer paper behind it to diffuse the light.

The light was too harsh without the paper, plus you could see the led's through the clear grill.
The effect worked out good, there is a nice even glow across the whole grill area.

Do you have pictures we could look at?

 

[Prowler901]

Thanks everyone for your input. This is very informative.

Raist, I've gone back and looked at your photos again. The grills on your nacelles do look very nice.

John, do you have any pictures of yours during assembly? Light test pictures?

Regards,
Todd

 

[irishtrek]

I have never done anything with LEDs, but it is my understanding they give off NO HEAT.

 

[Prowler901]

Sorry, by "hot spots" I meant bright areas around the LED locations. Sort of what happens on the deflector dish in some of the photos here. Folks have worked very hard to tone down the bright spots.

Regards,
Todd

I have never done anything with LEDs, but it is my understanding they give off NO HEAT.

 

[John F]

sorry, no pics

 

[Prowler901]

sorry, no pics

Drat!!

What type of LED's have you folks used in the nacelles? Colored LEDs, or just the white with colored grills?

Thanks,
Todd

 

[Raist3001]

Drat!!

What type of LED's have you folks used in the nacelles? Colored LEDs, or just the white with colored grills?

Thanks,
Todd

I airbrushed my grills with food coloring to give them a purplish color. I still lit them with blue LED's.

 

[Prowler901]

Yeah, I've read your description for the food coloring. Very creative, and the color looks spot on. :thumbsup: Thanks for sharing your work.

Regards,
Todd

 

[Raist3001]

Yeah, I've read your description for the food coloring. Very creative, and the color looks spot on. :thumbsup: Thanks for sharing your work.

Regards,
Todd

Thanks Todd, but I can not take credit for the food coloring, that idea came directly from Krako.

 

[Opus Penguin]

Thanks Todd, but I can not take credit for the food coloring, that idea came directly from Krako.

If I remember correctly it was a mixture of food coloring with Future floor polish, right? I ask because I plan to do the same on mine.

 

[Krako]

Yep. Good ol' red and blue food coloring mixed in with Future...

http://www.fourmadmen.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-939

 

[fiercegaming]

wow, what a good idea, the color is spot on. Great thinking Krako!

 

[Prowler901]

Thanks Todd, but I can not take credit for the food coloring, that idea came directly from Krako.

Ooops, Sorry about that. Your's looks great And, KUDOS to Krako for a wonderful idea. :thumbsup:

Regards,
Todd