Fiber optic lights- not too good
 

I was playing around with a fiberoptic set that I got for models, and realized that they are not really well suited to make lights on these small cars. The problem is that they make a pin-point of light, so you have to run several to each location to get them to really light up. Plus, they don't bend too well.
I did figure out a few light bulb and LED sources tho- There are mag light replacement bulbs available for their 1AAA light, and it gives really good bright white light.
If you can't find LED's at rat-shack, you can use those keychain flashlights.
If the LED is too big, you can dremel them to shape/size you want, as long as you don't get to the little metal thing inside them... let's just say that's where the magic is, and you don't want to free it. The resin that they are made of kind of stinks, but once you get it to the right shape, you can wet-sand it and polish it to get a nice finish. You can also paint the backs and sides with silver paint, to keep the light from bleeding into unwanted areas.

painting the back and sides is a good idea, i can imagine alot of light bleed in a small car with a few LEDs installed!

A good way to get the light from the end of a fiberoptic line is to mushroom the end. Hold the end to a candle or a lighter flame for a couple of seconds. It will cause the end to melt and form a bubble shape, thus spreading the light a little more. I've seen seen some great models with fiber worked into them.

Check out this site for Fiber Optic stuffs, and tips.

http://www.thefiberopticstore.com/FOS-mainpage.htm

Once I find the fiber I purchased from them, misplaced it in a move, I will be adding some lights to a couple of my bits.


-Jeremy386

Those cheesy fibre optic christmas trees the're selling now should be a cheap source of fiber optics. I've a feeling they have some led's in the base too.

Example:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...item=734883460