Cheap grain of wheat bulbs

I'm with Model Museum! I used fiber optics and a LED Cylon Knight Rider Circuit on my latest project. They generate almost no heat. I had a buddy that simulated flames coming out of his duel exhaust Impala using fiber optics. He used a small bulb for the light source. The exhaust consisted of aluminum tubing and let me tell you, those babes got SUPER hot! He had a nine volt in the trunk that overheated several times. LEDs might run you a little more in price, but for model special effects, they are definatly the SAFE way to go. Check out the "KNIGHT RODDER" thread in the "AUTO"topic to see how the LEDs were used!

I went to the local Ben Franklin craft store and found mini strings of lights for $1.49. The lights are clear or multi-colored grain of wheat bulbs and these can be set to blink or burn steady. That's $7.50 for what Micro-Mark charges $40 for and you get a flash option and a battery holder!

I also get those from time to time at the Dollar store, nice stuff.

OTOH, for most of my lighting needs I have switched to LED's as the generate less heat, come in different sizes, last bassically forever and I run them of button batteries which are easier to hide inside a Model.

Super-bright LED's plus heatshrink tubing are also used for Fiber-optics.