Make your Greater Ice Elemental Glow!

[Filthy the Clown]

With a large size, and a translucent composition, the Greater Ice Elemental is the perfect figure to light up...Literally. Here is how I did it with household tools and $7 in parts (excluding the Frosty figure).


Instructions

1. Gather your supplies: 1 Drill w/ either a 1/8 or 9/16 bit; 1 wood chisel (a utility knife will also work); 1 packet of mixed LED lights (I purchased mine from Radio Shack for $2.50); 1 roll of electrical tape; 1 needle-nose pliers or wire cutters; 1 pack of Watch/Electronics batteries (I used Energizer 2016 Energizer 3V batteries; the thinner, the better); 1 Greater Ice Elemental
   
2. While holding the Elemental, use your drill to slowly create holes, about 1/2 inch deep, in the feet/legs of your Elemental. You will need to drill through the base; go slow and be sure to line up your holes with the middle of the legs. If you have small hands, or want to be extra careful, first place the Elemental in a vice before drilling.
   
3. While holding your Elemental, use your wood chisel [or knife] to remove the ridges and bumps on the underside of the base. This is necessary in order to get the batteries to lie flat on the base. You only need to remove as much as necessary in order to fit the batteries...one battery under each leg. Go slow and be careful so you don't slice your fingers up. Once again, feel free to use a vise to hold the Elemental.
   
4. Once you have your holes cleaned up, get out your batteries and your LED lights. I used the smallest LED lights in the bag, and I chose to go with RED, as it really contrasts with the light blue of the Elemental. Choose the color that you like best (Green looks really good as well, but it is harder to see in daylight).
   
   
5. Slowly, carefully insert the LEDs bulb first into the holes that you created. If they don't fit, you will need to widen the hole with either another drill bit, or a pair of needle-nose pliers (just stick them into the hole and slowly turn them around in order to widen the hole).
   
6. We now need to add the batteries to the bottom of the base. Bend the LED wires at a 90 degree angle; you will want one wire to be under the battery, and another to be on top. When you squeeze the wires around the battery, the LEDs should light up. If not, try flipping either your battery or your wires. Trim up any wires that overhang the base with needle-nose pliers or wire cutters. Once you have the contacts established, cover up the battery with a piece of electrical tape, trimming away any overhang. The goal is to keep the battery pressed against the top wire (we use tape, rather than glue, so we can easily swap out batteries or even LED lights).
   
7. Flip your Elemental over and test it out: when you place the Elemental on the table, the LED ends will contact the battery, lighting up the LED lights. When you lift the Elemental off of the table, the contact is broken and the lights will turn off. With this method, you can store your Elemental on his side or up-side-down, keeping your battery from draining needlessly.
   UP:
   
   DOWN:
   
   
   Simple, cheap...And very cool looking!

[Schulzy]

Uggggg...I want to do this sooooo baaaaaaad!

[lefton4ya]

Awesome. New idea: put a flickering led on the base of a fire and water elemental!

[personwholives]

Originally Posted by lefton4ya

Awesome. New idea: put a flickering led on the base of a fire and water elemental!

Only problem with that is that those flickering LED's tend to require a circuit, not just a battery. At least, all the ones I've found.

[Filthy the Clown]

There are blinking LEDs that would perform a similar job, and you can connect those directly to the battery without a capacitor. However, the problem with the little elementals is the lack of real estate on the base, at least if you want to hide the battery.

[kolakoski]

Well met!

I made my Obsidian Guards glow on Valentine's Day. However, they didn't make it to Valentine's Night - too much lighter fluid, I guess.

[Kaemon Awa 123]

Here's another similar yet cool idea for a neat Obsidian Sentinel, or something of the like...

1. Paint the GIE with red or orange stained glass paint (I think you can find it in Walmart, Target, etc)

2. Paint most of him dark grey with opaque paint, leaving some patches of the red or orange showing through

3. Wire him up with some red LEDs

... I might just have to try that.

[Utger man]

Awsome!

[aquamaniac27]

Originally Posted by Kaemon Awa 123

Here's another similar yet cool idea for a neat Obsidian Sentinel, or something of the like...

1. Paint the GIE with red or orange stained glass paint (I think you can find it in Walmart, Target, etc)

2. Paint most of him dark grey with opaque paint, leaving some patches of the red or orange showing through

3. Wire him up with some red LEDs

... I might just have to try that.

Now that my 4 month long summer break is here, I've spent solid days on my custom figs. If I can pick up a reasonably priced GIE from anywhere, I'm doing this.

EDIT: Just picked up 2 for a total of $5 of Mini Market. I've got a lime green paint like that, which is what I'll use... ...Emerald Guardian?... ...Emerald Sentinel?...

[scorpionslayer]

I think I might try this with air elementals, and see how that goes.

[hawkeye2000]

i want to buy one not make one because i'm lazy so how do i buy it

[Chardar]

Originally Posted by hawkeye2000

i want to buy one not make one because i'm lazy so how do i buy it

Too lazy to use English?

There might be someone here who will make and sell one, but I doubt it; and isn't half of the fun in creating something yourself?