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LOST IN SPACE DIORAMA


papasmurf

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This is the most recent project completed, a "Lost in Space" diorama, with a fully lighted and detailed Jupiter 2 Saucer, alien terrain base, and fiber optic Star background. Several hundred fiber optic strands were used in this, as well as various LED's and other lghting gadgets. The large Orange Sun rising over the Montains is Lightsheet, the Blue Planet was created with a refracting mirror, and offset lighting. Here's a few images of the finished item in the Studio.

 

The 12 inch Polar Lights Jupiter 2 kit, mounted on a custom resin base, and scratchbuilt Starfield, measured aprox. 24 inches by 20 inches.

 

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Edited by papasmurf
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Wow....now that is nice. I bet it looks even better in real life. Great job!

 

Thanks Mark, indeed, I am no photographer, and when the client got this delivered, he was quick to point that out! :smiley20:

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Simon,

Your photography was fine. Lighted subjects in a dark invironment are ALWAYS hard to photo.

 

Mark

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Simon,

Your photography was fine. Lighted subjects in a dark invironment are ALWAYS hard to photo.

 

Mark

Thanks, yep, digital camera's don't do well in dark shots, misinterpret dark areas and transfer them as black. The weather was bad that day, dark and raining, so I had less ambient light to work with.

There's some flm clips of this build, on my U Tube channel, here's a link http://www.youtube.com/user/mercs32118

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My, oh my, oh my, Simon, we have sorely missed you here on the Space & SF forum for the last ever-so-many months. I really like the interior shot showing the lighted panels with your fibre optic strands. How do you convert a round light source from a strand behind a panel into a rectangular light on the face of a panel?

 

A suggestion that might reduce the lengths of the fibre optic strands looping around behind the walls carrying light of different colors from dedicated colored bulbs (or LED's): Touch a drop of colored glass stain on the tip of each strand to the correct color for the light on the front of the panel. That way a single bright white LED can be located behind each panel or console. Bundle the strands with the various colors together and position all of them in front of the LED. Now, a single LED transmits whatever color of light you need over a relatively short length of strand, and you do not have to worry about snagging or breaking a long strand accidentally as you wind it around the cabin.

 

Anyway, welcome back!

 

Ed

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YOWZA - A fantastic piece of work and very cool, very effective pix, too - !!!

 

You mentioned use of "other light gadgets". I've seen ads for a material called a "light sheet", or some such. From their ad, looks like something that could be used to illuminate scale aircraft cockpit screens. Did you use any of that stuff here? If so, what's it like to work with? Cut custom sized patches, etc?

 

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YOWZA - A fantastic piece of work and very cool, very effective pix, too - !!!

 

You mentioned use of "other light gadgets". I've seen ads for a material called a "light sheet", or some such. From their ad, looks like something that could be used to illuminate scale aircraft cockpit screens. Did you use any of that stuff here? If so, what's it like to work with? Cut custom sized patches, etc?

 

The Orange Sun is a lightsheet panel, not very bright in comparison with LEDS, but yes, you can cut it into segments.

 

To light up a Cockpit, it may work.

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My, oh my, oh my, Simon, we have sorely missed you here on the Space & SF forum for the last ever-so-many months. I really like the interior shot showing the lighted panels with your fibre optic strands. How do you convert a round light source from a strand behind a panel into a rectangular light on the face of a panel?

 

A suggestion that might reduce the lengths of the fibre optic strands looping around behind the walls carrying light of different colors from dedicated colored bulbs (or LED's): Touch a drop of colored glass stain on the tip of each strand to the correct color for the light on the front of the panel. That way a single bright white LED can be located behind each panel or console. Bundle the strands with the various colors together and position all of them in front of the LED. Now, a single LED transmits whatever color of light you need over a relatively short length of strand, and you do not have to worry about snagging or breaking a long strand accidentally as you wind it around the cabin.

 

Anyway, welcome back!

 

Ed

 

Thanks Ed, that's a good suggestion, however I am using several different types of flashing emitters, that's how you get a "matrix" effect. If you check out the film clip of the interior, you'll see those effects can't be done with a single light source. Yes, it's more time consuming, messy, and you have dozens of strands to deal with, but the final results make it worth it.

 

Shapes of lighting, are controlled by apertures, and rear lighting techniques. And......Magic! :smiley15:

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  • 1 month later...

Fantastic! Back in the 1980 while working at a hobby shop, I was talking with a customer about about lighting up the interior of the U.S.S. United States model he purchased. I told him about an article using fiber optics for lighting, and making the model a waterline kit to hide the incandescent bulb. He brought the model in, and it was impressive.

You have to remember, fiber optics were new, as were LED's. You have taken this to a new art form! I was actually sitting here tonight looking at the 1/32 Apollo spacecraft model trying to figure out how to make a photo-realistic control panel and light it up with fiber optics for the crew overhead lights.

I have to rethink the whole whole thing after seeing your photo's of "why not individual lighted buttons?", "why not for dash lighting in car models?", "night ops on a carrier?" "cockpit lighting, and running lights on an aircraft?". ARGHHH! This is how I have to go from now on! Thank you for making me a better modeler.

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  • 2 months later...
Fantastic! Back in the 1980 while working at a hobby shop, I was talking with a customer about about lighting up the interior of the U.S.S. United States model he purchased. I told him about an article using fiber optics for lighting, and making the model a waterline kit to hide the incandescent bulb. He brought the model in, and it was impressive.

You have to remember, fiber optics were new, as were LED's. You have taken this to a new art form! I was actually sitting here tonight looking at the 1/32 Apollo spacecraft model trying to figure out how to make a photo-realistic control panel and light it up with fiber optics for the crew overhead lights.

I have to rethink the whole whole thing after seeing your photo's of "why not individual lighted buttons?", "why not for dash lighting in car models?", "night ops on a carrier?" "cockpit lighting, and running lights on an aircraft?". ARGHHH! This is how I have to go from now on! Thank you for making me a better modeler.

 

 

Your most welcome Romrod! When I began to do these lighted schemes, I struggled to get the basics under wraps, over time it started to make sense. As always, practice makes for better concepts, and taking it a bit further each time. These methods can make any kind of model more interesting to the eye. :smiley20:

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