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MPC Imperial Shuttle - Lighting


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Hi,

 

I Picked up an old MPC shuttle Tydirium at a toy fair this weekend and have already made a start.  I have always wanted this kit and couldn't wait to get it out of the box.  I am adding a few lights, so far I have sorted a rudimentary lighting system to include cockpit lights (fibre optic) dorsal wing lights (fibre Optic) and landing lights (LED's).  I have seen some fantastic builds which light up the rear ion Engines with a bluish glow.  Before I start chopping the kit any more I wanted to know what can be used to produce a good effect.  Does anyone have any ideas of how to go about this? 

 

The cheapest option will always be near the top of the list lol.

 

I thought about acrylic rod with LED's drilled into each end and lit that way.  Or maybe see if I can get my hands on one of those three in one torches that has a strip light in it.  I'm not sure though how to wire that up.  My electrical knowledge is really only what I need to know right now and Google fills in any other gaps.

 

Any help would be appreciated and if this has been done by anyone I would love to see pics and wip's.

 

CHRIS.

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Chris,

 

A simple way to do the engines would be to buy some blue flickering 3mm LEDs and create a light box round the engines with plasicard and drill 3mm holes for the LEDs.  For the engine cover drill out the kit part and replace with some very thin white plasticard as this will help diffuse the light.  4 LEDs should be enough to give you a good effect.

 

IMG_6429_zps77qxiwul.jpg

 

The expensive way is to buy the replacement engine covers from shapeways!

 

https://www.shapeways.com/product/JABR43TSN/amt-shuttle-engine-inserts?optionId=40854715

 

Cheers,

 

Warren 

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You might also try simply thinning the plastic from behind the part, masking off the area where the light will shine through, and then applying black to the piece and then your final surface colour to block the light. Put a light source (LED) behind each engine port and then apply a light blue or clear blue to the area you masked off.

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10 minutes ago, iSteve said:

You might also try simply thinning the plastic from behind the part, masking off the area where the light will shine through, and then applying black to the piece and then your final surface colour to block the light. Put a light source (LED) behind each engine port and then apply a light blue or clear blue to the area you masked off.

That could work too.  Thanks for the advice I'm busy sorting the cockpit lighting out at the moment so will have a think. It seems like the same idea but without all the cutting, which I'm not a big fan of. I wanted to detail the engine ports so this would help by giving a good base to work on

Edited by Tommygunn1972
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