Hi, I've acquired a pair of Nerf guns not too long ago and while I'm not that interested in the performance aspect of the sport, I am interested in some aesthetic modifications. So I thought I would share some ideas and see if anyone had any experience in the directions I'm looking at going in.
First of all I'm planning on taking a normal maverick and cutting into it and replace sections with acrylic that I will impregnate LEDs into. The LEDs I plan to use however are SMDs, so I was wondering if anyone had any experience with them. They are incredibly small and hard to solder, but they have a massive viewing angle and are pretty bright. I have managed to mount one onto a piece of plastic by drilling into it and filling the holes with solder which worked, but I wanted to know if anyone had any better ways of going about it since they don't seem to stick to solder directly and are easily fried.
Why use SMDs at all if they are so hard to use? They are tiny, so they allow a better distribution of light from packing more in.
Also regarding the maverick, does it have any known stress concentration points where cracks occur from regular use?
Secondly, I have seen little documentation on LED stefans, it seems a common complaint is weight/size issues. I am fairly confident that I could make one using a SMD LED and a button cell. What I ask are just some specs of common stefans. The SMD's size and weight are negligible and I can get my hands on a button cell that will power it that is about 5.8mm in diameter, by 1.65mm tall, weighing 0.18g (though bigger ones are cheaper). Does that seem about right?
Of the two ideas, I am probably more likely to try out the custom darts (since I'm hesitant with cutting into a gun in case I lose interest halfway through) so if anyone can give some incite into that then I might have a go this weekend.
First of all I'm planning on taking a normal maverick and cutting into it and replace sections with acrylic that I will impregnate LEDs into. The LEDs I plan to use however are SMDs, so I was wondering if anyone had any experience with them. They are incredibly small and hard to solder, but they have a massive viewing angle and are pretty bright. I have managed to mount one onto a piece of plastic by drilling into it and filling the holes with solder which worked, but I wanted to know if anyone had any better ways of going about it since they don't seem to stick to solder directly and are easily fried.
Why use SMDs at all if they are so hard to use? They are tiny, so they allow a better distribution of light from packing more in.
Also regarding the maverick, does it have any known stress concentration points where cracks occur from regular use?
Secondly, I have seen little documentation on LED stefans, it seems a common complaint is weight/size issues. I am fairly confident that I could make one using a SMD LED and a button cell. What I ask are just some specs of common stefans. The SMD's size and weight are negligible and I can get my hands on a button cell that will power it that is about 5.8mm in diameter, by 1.65mm tall, weighing 0.18g (though bigger ones are cheaper). Does that seem about right?
Of the two ideas, I am probably more likely to try out the custom darts (since I'm hesitant with cutting into a gun in case I lose interest halfway through) so if anyone can give some incite into that then I might have a go this weekend.