Fibre-optics by the dozen Pt.II

Today, I am going to test the fibre-optics again, this time with a more 'common' lightsource. In the first test, the lights were normal three LEDs and because of that, the effect was well, a bit different. Each LED has their own 'place' in the container and so, because of the characteristics of a LED's angle of viewing, there are three sweet spots shining on the bunched-up end of the fibre-optic bundle. So, in the end, you have red, green and blue lights on the fibre-optic tree.

Anyway, the two light sources for today comes from torch lights; one being the traditional yello bulb and the other, a 3watt pure white LED. Before we begin, you must realise that this experiment is just brief test on how they perform. I was hoping for near 100% efficiency but then again, this is cheap 'fibre-optic'. Note how I used the word 'cheap' and quoted the fibre-optic words? I am preparing you for the disappointing moments that is to come.....

I am using a bulb filament torchlight here and
for the effect, it looks good despite my not
masking all the light leaks and also create a
proper connection between the lens and the
fibre-optic ends. Looks prmosing, right?
Also, this was shot in the morning light.

Note that in most of the strands, there are about
3cm lighted strands which is, on closer look, were
scored ti give that effect. A normal virgin fibre-
optic would just have a bright dot instead.

Here, I am using a 3watt LED torch light. Maybe
its the light spectrum but somehow, it does not
look that bright to me. Maybe I should have set
up a MR16 warm-white LED spotlight.

So, the verdict is, that these so-called fibre-optics should be able to do the job for any plastic models considering how difficult it is to get the actual ones locally. Then you might also have to face the problem of incorrect diameter, and most importantly, pricing. So, sad to say, these are as good as it can get.

This is because to get a better effect, you would need a brighter light source and when it comes to a brighter light source, be it light bulbs or LEDs, the heat generated could be worrying when there is no ventilation or other means of heat dissipation. In the long run, not only would it melt the plastic, it would also damaged these fibre-optics. Yes, even if you had the real firbre-optics, they are now mostly made from plastic as they're easier to work with and also have a better bending angle unlike glass.

So, the next step is to get the MR16 LED spotllight before I start making 'holes' in a model or plastic.