I think it looks great! I was thinking of doing something similar, but was stalling. I noticed there are several different sizes (thickness) of EL wire. Which did you use? The thickness you used looks perfect. Which color did you opt for? It looks white in the picture, but you said you used a blue LED in his chest, so it might be blue. Was splitting it easy? Is the excess EL under the playfield or did you cut to length?

Overall great job!

I paid to have it done out of laziness and wanting it done right. Looks good though bud!

I had thoughts of doing a topper of Iron Man, War Machine, Iron Monger, Whiplash and all four Drones with arc reactors in the chest lit up.

Can't believe how crazy cheap this is.

Looks great.

Looks very cool.

Old, old thread being resurrected. Just wanted to say "Thank you" to the OP. I couldn't believe vendors wanted $200+ for this mod, and then there's the whole kit ready for less than $10 shipped to my home. A little bit of wire cutting, soldering, and clipping to save $190+ ? Yep, I'll take part in that right here, thank you.

I get it - someone did the homework for you and decorated the whips so you'll pay a little more, but charging 1900% of the original parts cost...? Holy cow.

Props on explaining the LED in the chest too. Super easy - just got to take your time and go slow with the drill. I'll be doing that too - thanks Erak!!

I've found working with the El wire to be a PIA, the wires are thinner than hair and not so easy to see. Exposing those wires is also not so easy. Sure, parts are cheap, but Those that can work with EL deserve what they can get for them. You also need to do it correctly or the whips will be too dim.

Link to the EL wire used.
http://www.aliexpress.com/item/1M-Flexible-Neon-Car-Cold-Light-Glow-Rope-EL-Wire-with-12V-Inverter-Car-Cigarette-Lighter/1976608625.html?spm=2114.031010208.3.1.6Zvdug&ws_ab_test=searchweb201556_2_79_78_77_91_80,searchweb201644_5,searchweb201560_9
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Thanks for sharing...I put this on my to do list.

It would be awesome if somebody could put up a video tutorial of this being accomplished.

When I got my IM, I also bought one of the modified whiplash characters with EL wire whips. I think it was way overpriced ($130) and you cannot even see the EL wire lighting during gameplay because it does not light up very well.

Rob

My brains not working well, but there is a newer, brighter EL wire made....I think its only a couple dollars more, but
I cant remember the diameter or verbage....Maybe someone can share.
There are also many different qualities of EL wire, like anything else out of China.
I think I have over 20 different samples....and indeed differences can be seen....

Are we able to purchase EL Wire from you? I have the inverter on the way, and working with this stuff doesn't scare me. No way I am popping $200+ for these kits.

Sorry, for the same reason as the Op posted, we tested offering the $3-$4 product for $8-$10.
(Cost of operations, and free shipping from here)
Basically, most knew it was available from Ebay the same....under $5.00 delivered.
What we do expect with Matrix, and this one part is scheduled for around March, I hope,
is plug our "Black Box", which have a 12V output by plugging into a bulb, that will enable a choice of trigger events
from any insert. While I have a lot of products so far, This will be a great addition, and I may add some El wire at that time.

But simply getting the better product, and I dont usually worry about $1.00 may be easier on Ebay.
Some come sound activated, others as they are 12V can hook to the flashers...but then you never see it.
For that reason, to me, if they light from an insert event before the mode and all the flashing, I think it would be appreciated more,
and seen much easier.

Certainly, Id gamble a few bucks and play with some......having the battery pack lets you test as whips, or lighting in any game.

I was hoping someone could share the specs for the brighter version, which appears almost 75% brighter to me.....

$8 - $10 is one thing; $150+ is another.

I bought a couple of these and will be experimenting. Between this and the new 3.75" War Machine figure I just purchased to LED up, I'll be doing some fun experimenting . Never done this kind of thing, so between Whiplash and War Machine, I figured "Why not?"

I'll have to go to a specialty electronics store here in town for the LEDs small enough to fit in the chest area. Does anyone know right off the bat the size hole in the chest you have to make to place an LED there? I assume if you're going to get a "test LED" that is just theLED bulb and the two leads, you need a resistor in series with one of the legs to keep the LED from being burned out.

Sorry, just learning here as I am new to this kind of stuff.

I know I'm digging up an old thread here, but does anyone want to comment on how their whiplash wire mod build turned out?

Curious what products were used, and perhaps there is brighter el-wire now to purchase. Still a little confused how to wire this correctly.

Mine turned out great. Very pleased with the result for about $20.

I would assume something like this would be easy to do for Balrog in LOTR as well...

Here's Balrogs whip using 3 strands of EL braided together. Tap into the Balrog flasher using a resistor to reduce the voltage down to 12v so you don't burn up the inverter. The Sam system flasher circuit is usually around 17-18v. It will light when Balrog is active only and looks awesome. It's tricky to build. Buy extra EL wire. You'll probably need it...

IMG_0280 (resized).JPG

The photos are nice, but it would be great if someone could post a diagram of how to wire these up to the flashers & GI sockets. I don't have much education with electronics, but I can use a soldering iron. Gauge wire used, size of resistor needed, connecting the led.... it would be so helpful to see in detail exactly how someone setup the parts to create the chest led, whip wiring, etc

That Balrog is pretty awesome. What size reistor did you use? As HoakyPoaky also noted above, I am not an electronics expert but can solder.

Traveling this week. I can look it up in my notes when I return. There's a few calculators online that can also give you the info.

To make it cleanest I made them with idc jumpers to wire inline. You can tap in right under Balrog. The connector is visible and easy to get to. If I remember correctly it's a 4 pin idc. That way you won't have to cut factory wiring. Also you can route the wire externally under his arm. Or, you can remove the figure, drill a small hole on the underside of the wrist, and route the wire through the figure and under the playfield. That looks factory but is a bit more work.