James Chillman Posted May 12, 2004 Share Posted May 12, 2004 Ok for our schools production in the national theatre we are using a toy lightsaber wich has a little torch in it. Now for the national this torch isnt any way near as bright as it needs to be so ive been thinking about modifying it with LED's at th base of the lightsaber, has any one else got any other suggestions on how to make it light up better.The lightsaber is similar to this one although its sections are mutlicoloured:http://familyfun.go.com/Resources/Features/parties/holiday/TOY5_7_lightsaber2.jpg any suggestions would be greatfullJames Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themadhippy Posted May 12, 2004 Share Posted May 12, 2004 how about an 8 foot flourecent tube? theres a battery operated bit of kit desinged for testing florrys ,looks impresive walking around with a glowing tube in yer hand,and you can also give yer mates little electric shocks with it :( something like this thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 You might want to look at electroluminescent wire. Maplin amongst others sell a kit for about £10 meant for PCs, stock code A63AL. Or how about one of those coloured florescent tubes for making 'cars go faster'? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knut Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 Try an UV lamp or fluorescent tube over yor actors and paint the saber with flurescent color. The saber now shuld "glow" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 cold cathode. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Chillman Posted May 13, 2004 Author Share Posted May 13, 2004 looks like I forgot to mention one seriuos issue! the lightsaber retracts up section wise so its not very long in storage and it can only run of battery power! James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy_s Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 change the handle for a chunky maglite (2D would probably be more powerful than what's in it already) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robloxley Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 Birdie lamp (or the smaller 35mm diameter dichroic lamp) in the base and battery pack on the actor? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzette Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 How much money have you got ?? You could buy one of these lightsabers .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mush Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 Just run some EHT cable accross the grid ;-) http://www.zen32868.zen.co.uk/r/archive.htm Or as Rob suggested MR16`s smaller brother MR11,35mm lamp, get these in 6V flavour as well which might be easier to battery supply, common as spare lamp for fibre optic novelty lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 Depending on time constraints: Electroluminescent wire as Brian suggested would give a better effect, but you'd almost be rebuilding from scratch so you need quite a long time to get it right.The stuff is flexible, even when lit, and is the same brightness all along it's length. If you put a kink in it it tends to break though, although it doesn't destroy the whole length, just the bit from the kink to the unpowered end. I've seen the stuff in use, and it's very pretty! If you don't have much time, then a medium-sized Maglite or a 20W 12v dichroic lamp with a sealed-lead-acid battery is your best bet.However, the back of dichroic lamps get very hot, so you'll need to take account of this when designing the handle. Pricewise there isn't much difference between the two techniques. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
benweblight Posted May 13, 2004 Share Posted May 13, 2004 yeh, we used maglites and fog for rj, looks ok if you dont specicifically need a lightsaber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Chillman Posted May 13, 2004 Author Share Posted May 13, 2004 Nope we have to use the lighsaeber and it has to be the multicoloured one we have now the question is LED's or a halogen bulb? James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomo Posted May 14, 2004 Share Posted May 14, 2004 LEDs:Less bright, last longer (irrelevant), run cooler.You'll need quite a few in a cluster to light it bright enough, so it will be quite expensive. Halogen lamp:Brighter, simple electronics, runs hot, cheaper.If it's lit for more than a few seconds you'll need to test how warm the lamp gets, because it's likely that it will get hot enough to significantly soften the plastic.How much that matters depends on how soft it gets and what you are doing with it. If those are your options, then I'd suggest LEDs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Chillman Posted May 14, 2004 Author Share Posted May 14, 2004 Well tommo it is only on for around 30 seconds maximum so I doubt the heat issue will be big, and it will only be used around 3 times including the rehearsals so I think halogen will be the better option! James Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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