Re: Classic MPC C-3PO and R2-D2 uber detail build

Today I spent on the fiber optic panels.  I've finally come to a realization that after drilling hundreds of little holes with absolutely no satisfactory look to them, I decided to use just plain old card stock paper.  Why you may ask?  Well... the holes are tiny.  Matter of fact, the rear logic panel measures 16mm wide x 5mm high, and the front panel (which is two different panels) measures 8mm wide x 11mm high.  Now in that area, I created a template that I printed in black and white:

You can use it for your project as well... I had to figure this out by myself thru trial and error.  That's the actual size I printed.  And when I printed it I used the default setting of my printer at the best possible resolution I could get (at 72 dpi) at 100% scale without any special features turned on.  I ended up printing it 4 times on 1 piece of card stock paper (That way if I messed up I had 3 more backups).  Once I had it all printed up I took a needle and put it into one of my hobby knife handles and using a magnifying glass, I proceeded to poke the needle thru every single white dot methodically. 

I would pause now and then to check my work to make sure they all lined up properly, and there were times I would mess up and have to go to the next printed area and try again.

Finally after several hours and many hand cramps later, I finally had all the holes necessary for the fibers.  The "poked holes" method seemed to work pretty well because each fiber fit thru the hole perfectly.  So now it's time to thread the fibers.  I took a small votive candle and lit it and kept it over to the side of my workbench.  Not for ambience, but for each fiber I need to mushroom the end.  How you do that is you hold the end of the fiber close to the flame, but not so close as to catch it on fire.  What happens is the end of the fiber will mushroom at the end.  This will prevent the fiber from going all the way thru the hole when you pull it thru.  But, as I mushroom each fiber I make sure it is not damaged.  If you get the flame too close it will char the end the light won't pass thru it, and if that happens you just cut it off and mushroom the end again and check once more.  Once you know its clear, you can thread the fiber into the hole.  This was almost as difficult as drilling holes!

So a couple hours later and lots of eye strain and hand cramps, I finally got all the fibers in place on the front logic panels.  I flipped it over and used some Elmers Glue to hold the fibers in place.  You don't want to use any other type of glue because it will damage the fibers themselves.  Elmers works extremely well for holding and gluing the fibers in place.

 

 

Now you know I couldn't just end this chapter without testing out the lights.  So here's what it looks like and I gotta say, it looks absolutely fantastic!

 

 

Now I just gotta thread the rear panels and I'll be ready to cut these out and glue them in the dome!   Hope you all enjoy.  Lemme know what you think so far.

 

SIDE NOTE: I think this card stock paper will be awesome for a diffuser for the front and rear mood lights as well.