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JamJar's light up Solardon

JamJar
Temple Guard

JamJar

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Alrighty, so a while back I saw a post or two here with light up Solardons.

Looking over at some optical fibres from an old light up Birthday card, I've decided to take on a light up model.

Now that we can upload pics onto the forum, this makes it a littler easier (I was about to get an external image sharing account - luckily I saw the update ;))

Looking at the current GW model - I didn't like the set out (I know I'm fussy). I wanted to use more of the bits that come with it.

Spoiler (highlight this line): I've already done most of the model so I'll gradually release the pics because I'm evil.

Ideas:
My first thoughts were "I could push some optical fibres through the Arc of Sotek thingy". Essentially, with that in mind and the Basty glued together I could blu tack other things to it:
Photo0370.jpg​
As you can see, the Arc basically hangs off the end to help shoot the beams of light out:) Sorry for bad quality.
A view from the front:
Photo0371.jpg​
So yeah, something like that.
 
Being fussy part 2: The main plate that holds the support for the crystal - I like the underside better:
Photo0376.jpg​
Wow that's some quality pic. OK so I'll try and draw some meaning from this... The main large circle above represents the Bastiladon; the tiny circle inside is the Solar Engine; the lines are the beams shooting out; and the right most circle is the sun.
Cool, I little too meaningful, but I had some painting ideas.
 
Good inspiration! I'm looking forward to seeing your progress!
 
The big circle, then, is the Initiative boosting aura? Can't wait to see the end reault!
 
Metallic silver paint on the insides of the square tubes might be your friend here. Or bright yellow for Sotek, is it? If the insides are still accessible. How do you plan to make the big crystal glow?

BTW, giant gems like the one on the beasty's back are a real deal.
 
Had a thought about your idea and I came up with 2 things (which I might try)

1. You could replace the plastic crystal with a clear one painted so the light glows through it.

2. Drill small holes all over the existing plastic crystal which would allow light to shine through in beams.

Just some ideas but really liking the concept.
 
Thanks for the comments & ideas guys :)
Caprasauridae said:
The big circle, then, is the Initiative boosting aura? Can't wait to see the end reault!
Click to expand...
My goodness, I like that, it works much better
pendrake said:
Metallic silver paint on the insides of the square tubes might be your friend here. Or bright yellow for Sotek, is it? If the insides are still accessible. How do you plan to make the big crystal glow?

BTW, giant gems like the one on the beasty's back are a real deal.
Click to expand...
Crowsfoot said:
Had a thought about your idea and I came up with 2 things (which I might try)

1. You could replace the plastic crystal with a clear one painted so the light glows through it.

2. Drill small holes all over the existing plastic crystal which would allow light to shine through in beams.

Just some ideas but really liking the concept.
Click to expand...
n810 said:
I was thinking of doing something like that. I did some research and
found that acrylic chandelier prisms (or beads) seem to be a good match,
that is if you can find one the right size and shape.
:bookworm:
Click to expand...
All the ideas sound great, really what I was thinking. I wanted a large glowing crystal (whether I take a mould of the model one and use PVA to set, or other to get the shape); same with the smaller crystal.
I could then place an LED in or next to each crystal to make it glow - plus I have to use an LED for the fibre optics.
I'm just wondering if I were to paint the crystal, I would need to apply a really uneven coat otherwise it might come out patchy when light shines through it?
I have actually wondered into 'cheap' jewelry shops to try and find some suitable plastic/acrylic crystals, quickly looking through rings and necklaces before someone sees me in there. My mission was unsuccessful.
 
JamJar said:
I'm just wondering if I were to paint the crystal, I would need to apply a really uneven coat otherwise it might come out patchy when light shines through it?
Click to expand...
There is a Tamiya Translucent Acrylic Paint or maybe Ink that might be really useful.

The links below go to a couple of threads on Reapers Miniatures Forum. Reaper has been experimenting with translucent minis within their Bones plastics line. Some of the painters on their forums have been enhancing the translucent plastic with these Inks. Check it out:

http://forum.reapermini.com/index.p...-crystal-golem-77309-ice-wall-77312-bones-ii/

http://forum.reapermini.com/index.php?/topic/60535-77310-water-weird/#entry1097419
 
Ooo wow they look nice, especially the second link. It would make the crystal very subtle when the LEDs aren't on
 
These are the optical fibres. I drilled through the 4 'tubes' of the Arc to find how many fibres I can fit through.
Photo0378.jpg​
The two pieces assembled but not glued. An LED will be connected to where all fibres meet. The tricky part too was figuring out how to tackle this:
- I could paint the Arc-thing and figure how to fit the fibre and electrical bits
- I could make sure everything fits, works, then paint the model. I would have to cover everything else up then
Photo0380.jpg​
Here's the main plate. I've cut off the 4 end bits, turned them around and glued them back on as straight as I could (I won't worry about cutting off the underside because it won't exactly be visiblt. I also glued on those two mechanical bits that also hold the crystal.
Photo0379.jpg​
At this point only this^ has been glued, and the two separated Arc pieces. Everything else concerning the Solar Engine is still undecided with the exact details.

I've also tested the left over optical fibres and whether I can glue them, bend them, and paint on them without damaging them or stopping them lighting up.
 
Woah that is looking complicated but good ;)

Once you have it working you should do a walk through on using the fibre optics.
 
Are (I mean were) the square tubes mostly solid hunks of plastic before you drilled them?
 
Not sure at all if it would work or even fit, but the Necron Monolith from 40k has a crystal on top of it. It's green and translucent. I think you can find different coloured crystals from eBay specifically designed to replace the original green one. Just a thought.
 
I'm looking forward to seeing what this looks like when it's done! Great idea, I think it would be really cool to see that big gem light up on the back of your Bastilodon.
 
I'm not too sure about the size or color, but I know that there are several Lego crystals that might work. Might give you options.
 
Crowsfoot said:
Woah that is looking complicated but good ;)

Once you have it working you should do a walk through on using the fibre optics.
Click to expand...

I agree, I would love to be able to do things like this with my models in the future.
 
Crowsfoot said:
Woah that is looking complicated but good ;)

Once you have it working you should do a walk through on using the fibre optics.
Click to expand...
Will do Crowsfoot, I'll start writing up something.

pendrake said:
Are (I mean were) the square tubes mostly solid hunks of plastic before you drilled them?
Click to expand...
For the actual Arc of Sotek pieces, the 4 square tubes are hollow, but are closed at the ends (you can look inside them and see) and where they all converge. I simply drilled through all those closed parts so I could push some fibres through - regarding the area they all converge, that was a bit tedious to drill through. However I'm able to push about 10 fibres through each of the 4 tubes, which counts most.

Caprasauridae said:
Not sure at all if it would work or even fit, but the Necron Monolith from 40k has a crystal on top of it. It's green and translucent. I think you can find different coloured crystals from eBay specifically designed to replace the original green one. Just a thought.
Click to expand...
Chicken Lips said:
I'm not too sure about the size or color, but I know that there are several Lego crystals that might work. Might give you options.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the ideas :) Yeah that monolith crystal looks pretty big, also I'd probably have to buy the whole thing. It's funny there's nothing around here that's crystal shaped that I can buy just by itself. There was one point I looked over at piece of quartz I have (about the size of a thumb), wondering if I could use that - nope.
 
Maybe something like this could help you if you still need a gem that can look good while lit up.

It says they're mixed sizes so maybe you can find one that's a nice shape and size to fit well. I'm sure one of the larger rectangular shaped ones would go best.

Here's another possible solution if you're having issues with the fiber-optics. Granted it won't look as cool cuz just the gem would be lighting up, but still something to consider.
 
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