U.S.S. Voyager with Fiber Optic Lighting

Photos and text submitted by Mark Lovett
   
 
"This is my first project using fiber optics.  I sincerely wish I had found this web site (The Fiber Optic Store.com) before I began this venture.  The end result might have been more to my liking but, the next one will be better!"   Mark L.
  

 
After painting the exterior of all the sections I put a coat of primer on the inside of the parts to prevent light leaks.  I then lined areas with aluminum foil to reflect the light inside.  After this was done I then performed the task of drilling all the windows in all the parts.  This took quite some time I might add.  I used a special drill which came from an AMT/Ertl Fiber Optic Lighting kit.  I believe it is a .250 diameter bit (very fragile, I broke 3).  After all my holes were drilled I began installing the fibers.  I installed them in groups of 20, glued them from the inside then when dried combed them back to the rear of the saucer section where the light source would be housed.   (NOTE: At the Fiber Optic Store you'll find several different diameters of fibers that may work for your project)
     

The secondary hull was constructed in much the same manner as the saucer section.  Keeping all the fibers neat and orderly was a job in itself.
       
Next came the aft section of the ship where the warp nacelles are mounted.  Since the finished assembly was hinged to simulate either impulse or warp flight I encountered the problem of how to run the wire for the light sources in each warp nacelle.

I opted for cutting a quarter inch off the length of the hinge pin and filing away the first hinge lock on each side.  I ran my wires through and out a one half inch hole drilled through the upper half of this assembly. 
The anti collision lights shown here were created using the red and green glass beads with an optic fiber run up and glued under the bead.  The flashing effect for these lights is provided by an ordinary flashing bulb from a Christmas tree light set.  All the navigation lights for the ship are powered by the same bulb. There are 16 total.

After all three major assemblies were complete and all the fibers and light sources were tested it was finally time to decide how and where to install the power source.  I had thought about a hidden source inside the secondary hull but after all the fibers where installed that did not seem like a good idea.
  

I finally decided to make my own display stand/power supply using the battery box provided with the kit (including male and female power jacks) and an old brass tube from a discarded ceiling light fixture.  The result was quite nice. 

 

 
I plan on modifying this to a wall plug-in power supply. Right now however she is powered by 4 “C” batteries or 6V DC.  There are 4 incandescent bulbs in the saucer section 2 bulbs in the secondary hull and of course one each in the warp nacelles. 

Over all I suppose it didn’t turn out to bad but maybe one of these days I will rework it to include LED’s and light sheets.
The Fiber Optic Store.com features a very bright LED illuminator that is powered by a 9 volt battery that could be built into the model. (The 1000M illuminator).  I did not use the 1000M in this model, because I did not know about The Fiber Optic Store.com.  I have since purchased nine units and they are going into my next project, The U.S.S. Defiant.  The 1000M is an excellent light source.  With the items purchased from your store it is turning out to be even better than Voyager.. Check out the 1000M model illuminator.

(The final photos of this project do not do it justice.  The Fiber Optic Lighting is very impressive)

 
 
Thanks Mark.... Great Project!
 
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