REPLACEMENT QUALITY GLASS FIBER OPTIC SPRAYS COMING VERY SOON!! FOR FANTASIA & CUDA BRAND LAMPS

[jmpenny32]

Hello everyone, I know many of you are on the hunt or know of someone on the hunt for replacement fiber optics for their Fantasia lamp. Look no further!! As you all may or may not know already. I am currently in the process of making replacement glass fiber optic sprays. These will be identical to the original Fantasia sprays. I am overwhelmed with pre-orders and will most likely have a supply and demand issue on my hands at first, so I will do my best to have enough on hand when I begin selling them to go around. The first sprays that will be rolling out will be for the Sunburst 4000 model, Cosmos 5000 model, Regency 4001 model. All previous model Fantasia lamps, Cuda etc will have replacements as I make them available. These I hope to have ready by early to mid summer.

The large fiber optic sprays that will first be available, will be available in two lengths. The first one being a 14" spray that when inserted will hang and display its ends about mid globe on a Sunburst 4000.
The second length spray will be 18" long and is generally seen on the Black Sunburst 4000 model "Egg Shape" But will fit the Chrome and gold model Sunburst 4000 model lamps also.

The Cosmos lamp will need a measurement specific spray tailored for a exact fit within the lamp, essentialy the 14" spray should fit with no problems however I would not mind some feedback on the length of the fiber optic spray from a Cosmos 5000 model. "Measure from the ferrule to the end tips of the fibers, I know multiple sprays were used on the Cosmos, some shorter than others, just reply to this discussion with the measurements, please and thank you! :-)

These fiber optic sprays are in no way easy to make and will be made by hand and not in a factory, the cost of materials, especially the glass fiber optics is a bit pricy, the work and the process that goes into getting a spray fully assembled from start to finish with a haircut takes a bit of time. The price tag on these sprays will be most likely in the neighborhood of $100-125 each, that will be determined when they are made available for sale. I am a quality person and will make the price tag worth it's cost. I know you all know these sprays are not available anywhere unless you purchase another lamp somewhere and snag it's spray for a replacement.

keep your eyes peeled on ebay for these sprays as this will be where I will be hosting them for sale first as where I also have many other Fantasia related replacement parts for sale, color wheels etc. I will also give a heads up to you all on here prior to me listing them on ebay. Reply to this thread to give me an idea of how many "goo members" alone I will be helping out with sprays. I look forward in helping many of you get your vintage Fantasia lamps back!!

 

As a heads up I WILL NOT be offering "Heat Formed" replacement sprays as the process in doing this is very involved and requires special techniques and equipment I do not have access to, perhaps down the road when the lighting business I am trying to get launched is successfully up and running.

[MarkHofmann]

I was wondering how things were progressing on the replacement sprays?  It is great that you are working on this. 

Also, I have a Fantasia Centurion 4002 and was wondering if these sprays will work/fit properly in that lamp?

Thanks again!

- Mark

[jmpenny32]

Hello, well I will be honest I have not been working on the sprays or color wheels at all because I have had so much going on. Aside from NY just comming out of a deep freeze and my shop not being heated I also have a bad back and have been unable to stand for long periods of time. However both of those things are improving and I think I will be resuming the sprays soon. As far as the sprays working in the centurion they are a different sized ferrule end along with different dimension fiber widths to which I currently do not have and the thinner the fibers the more difficult the trim so I do not think I will be making the smaller sprays unless I attempt making them with the larger fibers I have already, just not too sure how that would look and how the dimmer light at the other end would transfer through the optics. I may try one to see how it looks.

[Miss Chi V. Us (Kim S)]

Aw, man, sorry to hear about your back problems! Back pain...well pain in general...sucks! Hope things improve soon! I sent you some questions in the Replacement Fiber Optic Spray Update post. 

Peace!

[064idi3z31saf]

I'm also interested in a fantasia 5000 spray for my 4000.  When you're up and running again send reply. I may also want a new Fantasia 4000 spray.

Thank you

[gary612]

gary nash said:

HOPE YOU ARE DOING BETTER, HOW DO I GET A NEW SPRAY FOR MY FANTASIA 4000 AN 18 INCH? AND I ALSO COULD USE ONE FOR MY FIREFLY TO. DO YOU TAKE ORDERS FOR WHEN YOR ARE BETTER?  OR WHAT DO I NEED TO DO. CONTACT ME.

THANKS

[Rod Ashcraft]

I've just joined, and would like to say hello.  I've been searching for replacement sprays and happily found this forum.

I'm sorry to read of your back issues.  I'm very familiar with back and neck problems... definitely no fun.  I hope you're doing well.

 

I'm interested in purchasing TWO of the sprays pictured, (model 4000).  Are you accepting pre-orders?  If so, how should I proceed placing an order? 

I've thought about trying to make replacement sprays, but I'm having trouble finding suitable information / resources.   The few sources I've contacted all say they've had a lot of inquiries regarding suitable filament replacement for Fantasia products.

Are you using plastic filament?   (I received my first lamp years ago, and was told the filaments were glass.  Because of liability reasons, I'm not sure glass is even available.)  If I were to try making my own, it looks like I would need 0.25 or 0.5 mm filament, two sizes of aluminum tubing, clear epoxy, and a method to cut then grind the bases flat after assembly. Shaping the filament looks pretty labor intensive.   Another drawback would be the materials cost just to make two sprays.  In the end, I think I'd rather purchase yours.

Thanks for your time.

[jmpenny32]

Hello everyone! Thank you all for your patience, I'm still around I just have been swamped with so much lately that I have not had two seconds to think or any spare time to work on these sprays. Anyhow, my back is doing much better, thank you everyone who has asked. As far as the sprays go, I plan on resuming them soon. I have to let you all know that I am beyond overwhelmed and if I cant figure out an easier way to trim them this process of making many of these is doomed! getting them cut down, assembled into the metal ferrule is easy. The biggest hurdle I have yet to achieve is the trimming and shaping of these that not only looks consistent for every spray that I produce, but also so that I can turn over and produce many of these to fill current demand and orders. See here is the current set of issues. I have been in contact with one of the original designers from Fantasia and we have gone over the ins and outs regarding these sprays. He even got in touch with the original president of Fantasia and spoke to him regarding my process in making these and he was excited to hear there is such a large interest still in these fiber optic lamps, and people who collect them. He advised me that back in his days with fantasia he remembers the trimming process all to well and how daunting it was. He said no two sprays were alike! It is also a very dangerous procedure, which can even lead to surgical removal of glass "hidden" splinters. Many small glass fibers fly about as you are trimming these sprays to shape. You need to wear safety goggles, zip up suit etc So one of my current tasks is to figure out a way to trim the sprays without them taking 4-5 hours each and so that they are not as dangerous!! It is an art form to get the shape down during trimming, especially the egg like shape that pretty much everyone prefers that was seen on the black Sunburst 4000 model.

Rod, it is much more complex than one would think to reproduce one of these sprays. I wish I had someone who lived in the NY area that would be willing to come over and assist me in making these, I would gladly share my knowledge and teach someone how to make these and provide you with all of the resources and contact information to the companies to purchase the fiber optics etc.

So to answer everyone's questions as far as orders go, I currently am not doing any kind of pre order or anything like that, however, so that I can better track and gauge things I am going to start a separate thread regarding this and it will just contain your name along with how many sprays you would like and what length spray you will need.

I will be floating around on here more often now, so feel free to give me a shout and by all means if you live near or in NY I am looking for someone who is willing to work with me on these and if you have any trimming ideas that I can try that may be helpful and less dangerous, let me know your ideas along with any sketches.

Thanks Everyone!

[064idi3z31saf]

Tank you for the reply.  Glad to hear your feeling better.  Let me know when it's my turn to get one of the 18'' sprays.  My  I look forward to hearing back from you.

best regards

Joseph

[Rod Ashcraft]

I've recently talked to three suppliers of plastic filaments, (none of which supply glass because of liability and U.S. import issues.)  All three were very familiar with Fantasia, and commented they receive inquiries weekly.  They further advised the problem with plastic is that it curves / distorts during the manufacturing process.  The last Rep I spoke with advised they had a contest to see if anyone could come up with a process to straighten plastic filament... they got close, but not close enough.   I've thought about stuffing plastic filaments into a tube with distilled water, then sealing and heating for a few days, (my attic gets pretty hot).  Apparently, someone already tried something like that.  

I assume the major reason Fantasia lamps were eventually dropped is because of liability issues, and glass filaments became difficult to obtain. 

I have an idea how the sprays are assembled... probably not any easy process, and rather messy.   In my mind, trimming, especially glass, would be the most difficult.  Too bad I don't live close.  I like a challenge.  (I'm in the Denver, Colorado area.)  

Your example pictured looks great, possibly better than an original spray.  Have you thought about selling untrimmed, providing the buyer understands the risks of trimming their own?  (If I were the seller, I'm not so sure I'd be willing to take that chance... during trimming, glass filament would probably be popping and flying in every direction... a messy and dangerous process.)

[Rod Ashcraft]

Did I read somewhere the Fantasia trimming crew used electric clippers?   If so, I've been thinking about the way I cut my hair... with a Flowbee, a form of electric clipper attached to a vacuum.   (The cut hair is sucked into a vacuum, and the length gauged by spacers.)    I assume your glass filament is pretty lightweight, brittle, and easily breaks when bent.  As long as a vacuum's suction is low, and the angle not too severe, I'm curious how a vacuum hair cutting system would handle the glass fibers.  (Flowbee's cutting blades are sharp, and oscillate very fast.  When cutting my hair, I don't always use spacers, but just eyeball the distance.)  

Just a thought.

[jmpenny32]

Yes, the plastic fibers, poly optics are junk. The fibers do not transmit the light the same way as they do in glass fibers.

The main reason for Fantasia getting out of the fiber optic lamp business was not just because of the crappy company who had aquired them "Vicon Fiber Optics" but more on the scale of lawsuits due to injury from embeded fibers in people's skin. As these lamps Fell into the wrong hands or children, it literally spelled disaster! Glass fiber is still used today and is more reliable than its plastic competitor but comes with a price. Glass fibers are mainly used now in medical and dental tools, as they are more reliable and transmit the light better.

The fiber optic cable I purchased was a special order of fiber due to its size. You see Fantasia was a Fiber Optics company who had plenty of various fibers in many diameters and lengths at their disposal so nothing was an issue. The weight of the fibers dictate how the fibers stand or hang.

Your idea of the flow bee sounds interesting. Yes clippers were used in the trimming of the sprays, barbers and hair stylists were hired to trim them in a dark room with the lamps lit as they rotated. I too use this method only I am not a professional hair stylist. After all its technically a haircut.

And yes I have thought about selling the assembled fiber bundle to people to try trimming on their own, however that's a horrible idea on many levels. For starters the safety issue and Secondly not knowing how to style them for the cost of the spray they would be throwing money away especially if they goof it up, so no bad idea... lol

[Rod Ashcraft]

Very interesting. 

I almost didn't mention the possibility of selling untrimmed sprays for the very reasons you listed, but thought I'd ask anyway.  Others may have had the same question.  The more I learn, it's doubtful I'd take the chance.

I'd be interested to learn how well a Flowbee cuts glass filament, and how a spray might react to vacuum suction.  If regular hair clippers work, it may work fine if the vacuum has lower suction. 

I recently purchased my second Flowbee on ebay for not too much.  (After 20 years, the power switch on my first unit went bad.)   I haven't been to a barber for years, and was never trained to cut hair.  It did take a little practice with the spacers to get the hair length and angle I liked.   I can now cut and scissor-trim my hair in about 15 minutes with very little mess.   From the picture of your spray, you'd probably make a great barber.