Transparent Plastic Sphere: To use as the mould. I found a cheap ball for hamsters (~16cm diameter) that splits in half and has a handy access hole. You can usually find plastic balls - I had a similar size one that was briefly full of chocolate pieces... Once you’re satisfied with the look of your pattern, you can paint a darker shade of paint over the whole ball. I used a 1.5mm drill bit to drill a bunch of holes on the sphere. The grid markings on the surface of the sphere was handy to follow. Since the fibres are around 0.5mm, this hole should be big enough. I kept drilling until I got bored - which wasn't long. Add trench / panels Winter holidays Furniture Storage & organization Beds & mattresses Kitchen & appliances Home textiles Lighting Baby & kids Home décor Kitchenware & tableware Rugs, mats & flooring Bathroom Outdoor Plants & planters Home electronics Pet accessories Home improvement Laundry & cleaning Smart home IKEA Food & Swedish restaurant Home Accessories For the super-laser a ring of foam the size of the circle was cut and attached. For the inner piece, I pushed various circular objects (bottle caps, cups, etc) into a disc of foam to make marks. I then cut random shapes out along the arc segments and glued it in place. Sealing the foam

Paint the ball completely or work in segments — it all depends on your taste. Lastly, they peeled the masking tape not long after painting.Where the predrilled holes were, I pushed dressmaker pins through the craft foam and the cement. This is obviously easier to do whilst the cement is still wet. I didn't push the pins in complete so I could pull them out more easily. Fiba Tape: Alkali-resistant tape to add tensile strength to concrete. The grey grid pattern shown underneath the transparent sections should also make it look a bit like the building structure. Once fixed, I shortened the exposed fibres using nail clippers so that they're less likely to be pulled out whilst grouting. Fill in the trenches Storage & organisation Furniture Textiles Kitchenware & tableware Kitchens Lighting Decoration Rugs, mats & flooring Beds & mattresses Baby & children Smart home Bathroom products Laundry & cleaning Plants & plant pots Home electronics Home improvement Outdoor living Food & beverages Christmas Shop Shop by room The tape will force the silicone to form weird grid patterns unless you really push it into the gaps. To get a cleaner boundaries, I pushed the silicone from the centre of the mound outwards. More tape

It'd be great if we can cement the optical fibres into the Death Star. However, fibre optic cables (even the plastic ones) snap, break and pull out easily. It might not matter if I used an actual mold (e.g. a ball within a ball) and poured the concrete in...but I was going to be slapping a concrete mix onto the inside of a ball. So I pre-drill the holes and use craft foam to cover them. Then I'll remake the holes with pins after the concrete has been added. Plastic Fibre Optic Cable: I got this from a cheap light toy. If the lengths are short and straight, you can use clear fishing line too although it won't be as bright. What I decided to use was transparent silicone sealant. Silicone usually takes forever to cure and I don't have the patience to apply thin layers. To get a faster cure time, I used the mold making technique of kneading the silicone in glycerin-rich soapy water. Speeding up the cure time makes the finished silicone slightly cloudy but much much easier to shape and push into place. Tape it up The next step is to prepare your favourite cement mix. Cement is not good for your health - I made sure to wear goggles, a mask, nitrite gloves, and did all the mixing outside. Drill & Bit (1.5mm) & Hole-saw bit (54mm): To make holes. Also to cut out a circle to make the super-laser part.It's easier to work on the inside of the sphere if it's in halves. So first I split the ball...well actually, I dropped it accidentally and it fell apart. I took the opportunity to rip off the plastic tabs holding the sphere together otherwise it would've been annoying to take it apart later. My shell came with handy grid lines on the shell - you can always draw them if they're missing to help with the layout. Super-laser I cut a bunch of optical fibres (from a cheap led lamp thing) into lengths of around 4cm - longer is better because we can trim them later. I've read that some glues (e.g. super glue) can heat the fibres and damage them. I added a dab of wood glue on the each hole and pushed the fibres through. Having a light inside the sphere can help see where the unfilled holes are. Hook: Hanging heavy things from electrical cable is not idea. Use hooks to take the weight. A threaded tube and nuts would have been better but I couldn't find any locally. Craft Foam: for marking trench-ish shapes. I've tried using oil-based clay but found that stuff hard to remove from the concrete once set.