Don't worry about us homie A project as unique as this is one, is rare and pioneering! Enjoy every step of it

 

Simon, you never cease to amaze my man.

 

Well the last iteration just wasn't working for me... and thankfully the idea that I had earlier did work, so here's an updated pic:



I really didn't think it was going to be possible/reasonable to mount it in the back due to how easily it was snapping left and right, but thanks to an accident in the process, I figured out a way to reinforce the back considerably to prevent it from breaking it off so easily.

Now unfortunately, due to how the top three fins are, it's not possible to have it sit neatly unless it breaks apart, so it's a compromise.

 

How bad would it look if that top fin LED strand was shorter so it didn't hang out as much? Because it's so close to the eyebrow directly above it maybe it wouldn't matter as much as when you're looking at it separated from the entire unit? Looking MUCH better! Keep it going ... Keep it going...

Did you frost your fins to help hide the LED's when the lights are off?

 

I considered that, but because the LEDs can only be cut every 5, the loss of those would be very visible.

With that said, I just took a few pics of the first three fins lit, and when lit, you actually can't tell that it's not directly behind.

Check back in a few minutes, I am uploading the pics right now.

 

I am going to wire them up after dinner. So expect a picture of all the fins lit together later tonight

With that said, here are individual pics of the first three fins lit.

 

As I mentioned, I think that when they are all lit, you wouldn't be able to tell that the parts that are sticking out is not behind the fins. Yay.

 

I was just thinking... Yes, we see the other two below the top where they hang slightly lower than their fin branches, but I wonder if you can tell once they're installed back in and "down there" as low as the headlights go... We're always looking down at them, not at eye level unless you're studying it.

Also, are they perfectly aligned at the end of the branches we don't see? Maybe those two should be placed slightly higher at those ends so that they're less hanging down at the opposite end where we see them now? A tiny bit "off" on BOTH ends so they're less noticeable overall KWIM?

And I realize you're concerned about uniformity so maybe ALL of the fin branches use this same "slightly off" angle so that the lines remain parallel?

Looking good Simon!!

 

Can't. I understand what you have in mind, but in reality, the part that actually matters the most is the middle section. If the mid-section is not as aligned as possible, the LED will be even more visible. Remember, these do not bend or flex even a quarter of a centimeter.

As for lining them parallel, truthfully, that would be rather hard to do without seriously chopping off (shortening) sections of the LEDs. With that said, the fins on the top are not really parallel anyway.

 

I am going to see if I can find my other alligator clips so I can light up two fins and take a pic before dinner.