My new build will have "normal" car headlights. rather than seven style lights on sticks. Ordinary cars have lights mounted on a grey or silver plastic moulding with a glass or polycarbonate front cover. I've decided that making a PC front cover will be too difficult in the available time so I'm just going to make a plastic back with the glass of the lamps exposed. The problem is that mostly these look awful and a bit "kit car".

Can any of you think of an example of headlights that don't have the transparent cover but still look good?

what the blubs exposed? but they'll shatter it rains from thermal shock

Think he means projector lamps....

No, not the bulbs. There are separate lamps that will be mounted to a plastic shell to make 1 big headlight unit.

[Edited on 31-10-2008 by smart51]
Rescued attachment temp.jpg

This is what I'm trying to avoid
Rescued attachment temp.jpg

You can see here the separate lamps on a silver background. Over the top of the whole thing is a clear polycarbonate cover.
Rescued attachment temp.jpg

oh sorry forgot is was for the wee car

It's dead easy to vacuum for plastic btw, I've done it loads of times for my model planes, some canopies I’ve done are over a foot long.

You just make a airtight box with a hole in the side for the vacuum cleaner nozzle, and drill lots of small 2mm holes in the top. Mount a sheet of plastic in a wooden frame that has sticky back foam door seal round the edge so it forms a seal with the top of the box. You then carve a mould (I use balsa) with a knife, flapper wheel is it’s a biggy. Then once smooth put the mould on the top of the box, heat the plastic till rubbery with a heat gun, switch on the vac, place the plastic over the box and watch it suck round the mould. You can then put the mould aside and use it in the future is a lamp cover is cracked. To do something like your lights would take me about two nights if I was starting from scratch.

there you go a linky to DIY the covers, my vac box is half as thick as that though!

Note : the thicker the plastic you use the less smooth the mould needs to be. Don't use varnish as it melts in the heat and stick to the plastic spoiling it

Vac forming how to...linky

another good site -

linky 2



[Edited on 31/10/08 by Mr Whippy]

Apologies for the blatant plug (but I AM a registered trader now)
but would these help

Link

I can also do some single 80mm units without the bodies which do both dip & main beam (so comes out a lot cheaper). Pic in my archive

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I can also do some single 80mm units without the bodies which do both dip & main beam (so comes out a lot cheaper). Pic in my archive

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quote:

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Originally posted by Mr Whippy
there you go a linky to DIY the covers, my vac box is half as thick as that though!

Note : the thicker the plastic you use the less smooth the mould needs to be. Don't use varnish as it melts in the heat and stick to the plastic spoiling it

Vac forming how to...linky

another good site -

linky 2



[Edited on 31/10/08 by Mr Whippy]

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quote:
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I can also do some single 80mm units without the bodies which do both dip & main beam (so comes out a lot cheaper). Pic in my archive
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These dont seem to be there?

Dunno what was going on there, but I've put some fresh copies of the pictures on there now - bottom pics here's one




They measure just 80mm across the lens

Is there any legal thing about where they're positioned? I wouldn't mine to be fitted just inside the nosecone unless it's illegal or looks stupid...

I'm liking the idea of them being "hidden" though