Reddit mentions of uxcell 4 Pcs Black Plastic Battery Holder for 2 x 3V CR2032 Coin Button Cell

Hey there! I work with LEDs a lot (but only strips of LEDs, not singular small pieces, but it's one and the same), and I'm a foamsmither too! Here's some of my work!

For LEDs, you can use any 3V small coin-battery operated LED like this. To power them, you can just use any 3V coin battery like this, perfect for what you're using! You may also opt to use a holder like this, if you want to wire them and easily replace them (instead of having to leave the coin in between the LEDs). They're easy to set up, the longer leg is positive, the shorter is negative.

If you're looking for transparent pieces you could use acrylic plastic, but that's a little expensive too. I use acrylic all the time, and getting a round piece is very tedious. The problem with dark red acrylic sheets is that the LEDs do not shine well through them, or at least, in bright lights like con settings, they don't show very well. Here's an example from my Project Zed blades, they shine well in the dark, but not well in the light.

If you do wish to opt that route, you can order a sheet of red acrylic plastic from here. I use these guys all the time, they're great. You could ask them for a commission, but it's like a $100 minimum (which is super expensive). It might take a few days to get out to you if you're on the East Coast like I am.

With painting, you are supposed to prime and paint with EVA foam. The best way in my own opinion (there are lots), for both ease of durability and quality of paint is to spray with plastidip, and then use acrylic paint like Liquitex Basics to paint over it (my favorite brand). When you're done painting it, spray a coat of plastidip over it again to seal it. Unless it rubs against other pieces or touches anything, there's a good chance it won't chip or scuff at all. After I made the switch, a lot of the paint job on my armors held up really well!

I've never worked with wood glue before, I've used gesso and that worked really well at showing off the colors I wanted to, but it's very susceptible to chipping when rubbing, unless you put a lot of coats on it. If it's foam, I don't know if moisture would not rub off of wood glue, but it definitely doesn't on plastidip. I walked through a huge rain storm for NYCC and just wiped the rain of and it was like I first painted it.

Apologies to you for the follow up wall of text (and shameless plugs) but feel free to message me or comment if you need additional help! :)