[WIP] HG Unicorn Gundam [Destroy Mode] WIP 3

We're nearing the home stretch.

Continuing where I left off in the upper body, I proceed on working the chest area. Using the 0603 SMD LEDs were really helpful that now I can place LEDs in areas I was previously unable to. Now, lighting kits specially in 1/144 scale need less modding to fit the LEDs. Less mods means less plastic removed which equals more sturdy parts specially in the joints.

For the chest area, I used the back to back LEDs so that I could light up more areas of the chest pieces. Again, due to the size of the LEDs, aside from drilling the holes for passing the wires, no mods have been done on the parts. Previously I had to cut off as much plastic inside the chest to allow the LED to light as much area of the clear piece.

The shoulders were also quick and easy, I just glued an LED underneath the clear pieces.  

And that completes the pieces for the upper body.

For the waist area, the peg holes originally for the clear piece fits the LEDs quite nicely.

The front skirt area actually took a good amount of time during planning since it was a fairly large piece to be lit by a small LED. Though there were plenty of space behind the piece, the problem was finding the right position for the LED to light the whole piece. 

The crotch piece was fairly easy. I just glued the LED onto the frame part and ran the wires on opposite ends. This will be the start of me segregating the wires per polarity. Separating the wires on each side makes managing the wires easier.

Finishing the legs required the most amount of work. Each leg used 9 LEDs from upper leg down to the feet. There was also limited spaces inside that made managing the wiring more challenging.

There was just enough space to manage the wiring in the lower leg. good thing I was using very thin wires.

Passing the wires through the knee joints also challenging. I need to be able to pass the wires through the joint without sacrificing articulation and without putting too much strain on the wires that could damage them.

Last part was the upper leg area. this required 2 LEDs since I needed to light up 360 degrees of the part. Here it can be seen that I used 2 types of LEDs, a 0603 LED and a 3528 LED. The 0805 was used to light up the separate smaller clear piece while the 3528 LED was used to light up the other 3 sides.

Good thing I didn't get any issues putting the leg together, no parts were damaged beyond what was already there, articulation is still good and light looks good. It only appears too bright in the pictures but it's dimmer and more balanced in actual.

Now it''s time to put it all together..