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So now I got my holes drilled, and I gotta tell ya, it was a pain in the tuckass, but it's done.  Not many know why or what fiber optics are and what they do, so here's the skinny on it.  Fiber Optics consist of glass or plastic wires that transmit light almost 100%.  They come in a variety of sizes and some even in color.  They have basic "end glow" and "side glow" fibers (I'll get into those later).  But what it basically means is this... if you take a light and shine it at one end of a fiber, no matter what the length of that fiber, the light will come out the other end same intensity that it went in... like this...


So basically a fiber optic is an electrical wire for LIGHT!  Pretty cool right?  They use them everywhere, but you've probably seen them in those toys and lamps.



The reason its used in modeling is that you can control where your light is going much more precisely.  Without fibers none of this would be possible.  You'd have to put a light bulb or LED everywhere you wanted a little light, with fibers, you could put a whole bunch of fibers in a model and only need 1 light source to power them all.  Pretty cool right?  Well... here's how you do it.

First you drill your holes... you wanna use a drill bit the same size or slightly bigger then the diameter of the fiber you want to use.  Now what I'm using here is a #79 drill bit... its makes extremely tiny holes (as you could see from my last post!).

Let's prep our fiber...


I'm using 64 strand fiber cable. Basically what that is is a bundle of .25mm fiber strands all bundled together in a single cable (kinda like a multistrand wire) and surrounded by a dark plastic sheath coating.  With this cable I have to strip the plastic sheath coating off the cable to get to the fibers, it's a pain, but its worth it!   Now one you have a single fiber, you hold the end of it near a heat source... I don't like to use open flame, so I use a cigarette.  I move the end near the heat of the cig but don't actually touch it.  What happens is the end will melt slightly and form a mushroom type head on the end.  


This is very important.  It's tedious but it has to be done with every fiber I'm using.  Some model builders skip this step and just glue the fiber in the hole with a little bit of it hanging out.  Then they paint and snip that little end off close to the surface so that it looks like a window.  Personally I prefer mushrooming because it makes things so much easier as you progress.


Now you take the fiber and thread it thru the hole with the mushroom facing outside the model and pull it thru and glue it in place (you can save the gluing for after you get a section done).  Don't just use any old glue you find.  Superglue isn't good with fibers.  It's considered a "hot" cure and will eat the fiber itself, and then you'll lose the whole effect you were going for to begin with.  Some epoxy glues work but again they are considered "hot" glues and will melt the fibers.  The best glue I've found to use is regular old Elmer's White Glue... that same glue that you used to eat in kindergarten when you were a kid (yes you did, admit it!  We all did!).  It doesn't stick super strong to the plastic of the kit, but it will hold the fibers in place securely and won't damage them at all.  One great thing about it too is that if you make a mistake you can always soak it in water and it'll come undone without doing any damage to the model or the fibers and you can start over again!



So now that we got the fiber pulled all the way thru, here's what it looks like.  These fibers are so small that they are barely visible but, if you take a light and shine it on the other end of the fiber (I'm using a flashlight here), you'll see what happens!  


And it's just that easy... no fuss, no muss, and the effect is stunning!  This is exactly what they did in the movies for so many models and is exactly what this kit needs to make it shine like the star she is!  Hope this helps anyone who is thinking about doing something like this for themselves.  Lemme know what you think and I'll sit here and work some more on this baby!

Looking over the details I know I'm gonna be doing lighting in this thing, so it's time to prep.  Here's a list of things I needed:

- 64 strand fiber optic cable - Need about 50 feet - Best source: www.thefiberopticstore.com
- LEDs - Warm White bulbs were used in the original prop, I'm thinking 3x5mm, 4x1.8mm, and 2-3x3mm - Best source: www.modeltrainsoftware.com/ledlights1.html
- Microdrill - Over the years I've come to find that these little micro drills from the old AMT Fiber Optic kits were the best for drilling fiber holes.  The nice thing they come with a section of 64 strand fiber cable, a battery box, a plug and adapter, a switch, and a bunch of stuff you probably won't need but that will last you awhile. Best Source: Ebay - However, since AMT went bust, this same little drill is sold as a mixer on Amazon now (only without the bits but don't worry, I'll show you how to make your own drill bits) https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E39LYO/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
- #80 or #79 micro drill bits - It's been debated about which bits the micro drill comes with but I find both work well with the 64 strand fibers.  Best Source: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002T7JHOW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
- Black and White Paint - No brainer!

The Microdrill that comes in the Fiber Optic Kits usually came with 3 bits.  But these things are so fragile you'll end up breaking them all before you get the hang of using this tool.  They came in many of the AMT kits that sold with Fiber Optics but they are getting harder and harder to find.  You can find the micro drill in the following kits:


If you can't find any of those kits, you can get the drill on Amazon without the drill bits sold as a mixer now with 4 little mixing attachments (can use the metal one for mixing paints!).  Link is above but it looks like this:



How to make your own drill bits for the AMT Micro Drill:
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Using the sources I listed above you'll also need some straight bits of cut up sprue about a inch in length.  Drill a 2mm hole in the end and stick it into the end of your drill making sure it spins when you turn it on.  Then, melt the other end of the sprue and quickly insert a #80 or #79 drill bit as far into the plastic sprue piece as you can.  Try to get it as close to the center as possible.  Before it cools completely, turn on the drill and place your finger against the side of the bit until it completely centered.  Heating the bit with a lighter to soften the plastic will help. When the bit tip spins without wobble, it's completely centered and ready to be used to drill with.  You can secure the bit in the plastic with some 5 minute epoxy glue to help secure it in place for drilling.  You'll probably need more then one of these so have fun making your bits and it really is that easy!

My Method for Fiber Optic Placement
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I got my drill bits ready




I've got a few different drills... I've got the Tamiya Drill (great little hobby drill, won't hold these bits)




I even got this really cool skinny barrel end lighting precision screwdriver...




But for some reason, I always end up going back to my old AMT Micro Drill





However, the bits are hard to find for them anymore since they don't make them anymore.  So that means I would would have to make my own (see method above LOL).  First I made myself a few drill bits.  Wanting to play with my 3D printer I actually made a few bit holders that printed up awesomely!  I'm now ready to start drilling my holes!  Time to prep the model for drilling... More to come!