Flourescent basing/diods?

Tjingeling!

Ive for a long time considered basing my infantry with a sort of burning appearence. Im thinking of a fire in a blue tone, shining out from in between black sprayed stones.

Ive been trying to incarnate this with regular colours, but had a hard time getting it looking real when I suddenly realised I might need a colour that is flourescent. As Im interested in geology, the best way to give you an idea of what Im after, is to attach a link to a flourescent mineral named scheelite (http://www.johnbetts-fineminerals.com/jhbnyc/mineralmuseum/17459uv.jpg)

The problem is that this type of colour would need to be exposed to UV-light in order to shine, and in daylight, the special colour wont even get recognised.

Then I got a new idea - diods installed at the foot of each base plate and a battery underneath not showing. This is not to hard to execute and now Im wondering if someone has tried something similar?

I've seen people model light up parts on vehicles and larger models. I don't think I've ever seen glowing basing before though - it's a cool idea.

I actually used flourescent material (it's called moon glow or something, ground to a powder) on my hekatrixes base.
And it really doesn't work well.
Because it has to be very dark to see it glow and it rarely is on any tabletop.
And when it's dark enough you see only the glow and not the model which is also bad.

I've seen diodes on a Space Marine Flyer and it looked quite good.

A problem could be if the base literally outshines the model though.
But it could also be used to light up the model like churches are lightened up with floodlights.

True!
I havent actually thought about the the fact that the base could outshine the model, but as you say it, the lighting sure would have to be quite moderate...and thereto positioned strategically both in a vertical and horisontal direction - I dont want the diod to be visible, and I dont want the lights too bright.

Im sure these are details you notice and rectify when started, but I really appreciate the input!

I think the problem here is that most substances that you or I have access to are not light-emitting, they are merely reflective. So the effect of any 'glow' would be proportionate to the amount of light present, which kind of defeats the object.

Hm, RGB-SMD-Diods would do, but you need a battery. Maybe inductive. I give it a moment, or two, to think about...

edit: Would this do it? Shouldn't be too hard to solder.

I acually think a classic two-legs-diode (but the smaller 3 mm-ones) are better for this purpose (http://www.bildioder.se/sv/led-belysning/losa-dioder/3mm-bla-diod-med-inbyggt-motstand-12v.html).

If they are installed underneath and positioned into a hole in the baseplate, so that just the top shows on the up-side; thus there is a posibillity to exchange it, when burnt out, without touching the details glued and painted on top of the base plate. in addition to that, the legs of these diods are easily bent.

I actually tried using LR41-batteries and a 3V,5mm-diode on a base plate and it turns out everything will just fit (imagining the diode is smaller and bent to stick up as I explained earlier, the base plate levitates about 1 mm when tipped over from the position in the picture (link beneath), but I think I can look past this).

Ive tried 4725679 times to post a picture in this thread, because Id like that better than a link, but whatever: https://imgur.com/e6YK8w7

Isn't the diode too big, for the small base?

The diode in the picure is a 5mm-diod, but as I wrote, I would prefer a 3mm-one. I couldnt find any smaller ones in my toolbox, but am on my way to get a new package.

I see. Well, let me know, how it goes. I'm eager to see the results.

I would be very worried it might detract from the figure

Yeah, but the idea is to get a glowing appearance, and if the diode would actually outshine the model when everything is in place, there is always a way to get around this.

To start with, I will use a small diode, which doesnt give that much light. Secondly, it'll be hidden in the details of stones and painting on the base, and thirdly, you can always diminish the strength of the light even more, by adding for example silicone.

In addition to this, Im working on a sort of switcher solution, so that it is possible to turn the light off when not needed.

Zinge do a gamer-friendly set of bits for this: battery holders that fit into a base, directly compatible LEDs etc.
http://zinge.co.uk/index.php?route=product/category&path=57