Colored cellophane vs colored disc?

Please forgive me if this has been addressed in another thread, but my searches turn up no matches.
I have had the idea to spread a sheet or two of colored cellophane over the LED instead of dropping in a plastic color disc. I have some bronze transparent cellophane that I think would look lovely as a saber blade. Has anyone tried this before?
For the blade, I will be buying a thick walled trans-white tube. I'm unsure if I will diffuse it with the film from here, with clear cellophane, or just run it with no diffuser... I have seen photos of all three, and am unsure which effect I like best.

It is essentially the same as using a filter.

It is a subtractive form, and as such some people don't like the results in terms of lost brightness.

In the end it is really up to your personal feelings on how it looks. Depending on the shade of the filter, your results may be what you like. If it is too dark it may not be acceptable.

As long as you know and understand this going in I would say go ahead and try it, if it doesn't work, or doesn't look the way you like, you could always go the RGB route and resistor down colors to get the mix you desire without sacrificing brightness to a filter.

I used a red cellophane filter in my very first saber in 1977 only because back then at the 'dawn of sabers' there was nothing better...it dimmed the blade greatly because as mentioned filters are subtractive. The more saturated with dye [darker] the filter is the more subtractive it will be and the dimmer the resulting saber blade when lit. RGB LED colour mixing has been a great advance in this hobby because it is additive of light from multiple emitter dies rather than subtractive. It will almost always give better results. That said if you have a transparent/translucent material and a bright white LED go ahead and give it a try and please post the result...we encourage experimentation here. Good Luck and MTFBWY

Well, the cellophane I'm going to use is quite transparent. In fact, I might have to use two layers to give any color at all. The white LED is VERY bright. I accidentally aimed it at my face once and I had a big black splotch in my vision for the next 5-10 minutes. Ouch. If it does dim it slightly, oh well. This is my very first saber, so I'm going to be tickled pink just to get it to light up at all. Lol
One other thing... Where would be a good source for clear cellophane? I think I'll try that as my diffuser. I'm guessing the strip should be as wide as the tube is long? Somewhere else on the forums mentioned a trans-white looking best with 6' of cellophane... So, where do I find a 36" x 6' piece without having to buy a 100' foot roll of it?

Buy a roll of it, maybe not 100 feet, but don't get "just enough" cause it won't be.

You will use it all eventually, it will have to be replaced over time, especially if you duel with your saber, and you will probably need it for more and more blades down the road.

A hundred foot roll of 40" wide film is $10 at Michael's. This is without a coupon which are available everywhere and give an additional 20% off. So...for $8 you can have enough film to supply the average hobbyist for years. Not bad IMO.

Thanks for those replies, I wasn't even aware that the cellophane would wear out. I'll try to find a roll of it next time I'm at Hobby Lobby or Michael's.

The belt clips finally are back in stock, so I made my order last night. :) can't wait for everything to come in! I went ahead and bought the colored discs, just in case I have trouble with the cellophane (the discs aren't expensive, anyway). I got a roll of clear cellophane for the defuser, at hobby lobby. The size they had was 30" x 25', so I'll be testing out defusing the blade by lengths of 30"... First 30", then 60", then perhaps 90" if I think it needs it. I will definitely post pictures when I get it in! (hopefully my crummy camera will behave and let me get a few good shots)

Blade came in! Whoo hoo!
Cellophane does not work well as a color filter. It gave barely any color, and took a LOT of light away... Maybe because cellophane is shiny, and reflected the light back on itself? I don't know, all I know is I'm just glad I got the color discs. Even the darkest color disc didn't take away so much light.
As for the light itself, I need to find something better... I haven't taken any photos, because, to tell you the truth.... I was trying to use a $7 LED flashlight in my hilt. *hides face in shame* needless to say, quite underwhelming. The light doesn't go any further than 4-5 inches up the blade.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Aziara

Blade came in! Whoo hoo!
Cellophane does not work well as a color filter. It gave barely any color, and took a LOT of light away... Maybe because cellophane is shiny, and reflected the light back on itself? I don't know, all I know is I'm just glad I got the color discs. Even the darkest color disc didn't take away so much light.
As for the light itself, I need to find something better... I haven't taken any photos, because, to tell you the truth.... I was trying to use a $7 LED flashlight in my hilt. *hides face in shame* needless to say, quite underwhelming. The light doesn't go any further than 4-5 inches up the blade.

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Yeah, no that's not going to work so well. Before I had all my components I tried something similar just to see how it would look and even the brightest LED I had was kind of overwhelming. (that was my iPhone 4S in flashlight mode)

You need to get your saber finished with a good LED in place. I got the 10W RGB LEDEngin in mine wired for purple with 5 feet of polypropylene in the blade. (make sure when getting cellophane that it is really polypropylene and NOT REAL cellophane which is a brand name for a plant fiber based film...)