The Bleacher Dilemma
Like many busy parents running between work, practices, and weekend tournaments, I have two kids competing in high school sports. We're in the stands for every play, set, and rally. But there was always one recurring problem: whenever team shirts made their way into the house, my kids "borrowed" them immediately. On game night, I routinely found myself heading out the door in an old faded hat and generic team colors with zero logos.
Having spent years engineering 3D designs and precision gear, I decided to fix that for myself two seasons ago by building a custom Marina Viking keychain. I invested hours obsessing over the multi-layer color transitions and perfecting the mascot crest. Before long, that pocket piece grew into my first full-sized turnover chain.
Fast-forward to this season: my daughter stepped onto the volleyball court, and I quickly learned each squad can carry their own school identity. The volleyball program rallied behind Marina’s canon alternate logo—the iconic "M" with the Star. Back to the CAD drawing board I went to build a dedicated alternate turnover medallion to match their exact team colors.
The Lightbulb Moment: Bluetooth vs. All-Day Solar
Things took off when I started tinkering with internal illumination. I pulled out an intense 100+ LED, Bluetooth-controlled light strip and built a housing powered by an external USB power bank. Connected to a smartphone, it cycled through synchronized color chases, strobe sequences, and crowd-hype pulses. When that first lit up in a dim gym walkout, you could see heads turning right across the bleachers.
At the same time, I wanted an option designed specifically for long tournament days where hunting for wall outlets is out of the question. That inspired our solar-charged array—soaking up the sunshine through every outdoor match and automatically powering clean, ambient light the second dusk sets in.
The Evolution: Frames, Screw Tabs & Wire Routing
Getting these medallions clean, balanced, and rattle-free took genuine trial, error, and plenty of plastic. Early on, it was all about testing structural rigidity before refining the aesthetics.
Version 1 Shell: The earliest frame attempt, fastening the plates together with hardware screws.
Early Mechanical Fitting: Working out early shell alignment and clamping points.
- Version 1 (The Screwed-Together Prototype): In the earliest build, the front and back plates were held together with hardware screws. The LEDs and wiring were distributed loosely inside the open void, leaving the glow uneven and the battery shifting around inside.
- Version 2 (The Dedicated Housing): V2 brought major internal structural upgrades. I engineered a dedicated central cage to hold the power bank securely and added perforated guide bars along the perimeter. This let each LED strand route through precise points to project uniform, diffused backlight across the front face.
- Version 3 (The Precision Interlock): As the designs became more compact, early snap tabs proved too finicky to align on multi-layer prints. Rather than fighting fragile clips, V3 moved to a heavy-duty continuous wrap-around locking perimeter—hugging the front and rear shells together firmly so it can withstand real sideline celebrations.
Version 2 Framework: Molded central battery cage with perforated guide bars for routed LED paths.
Tucking in the Harness: Guiding the lighting array through internal channels before final assembly.
Full Bench Test: Verifying uniform luminescence through the translucent faceplate.
An Honest Maker's Note: While these are built tough for game day, they aren't stamped out of a billion-dollar factory mold. Each one is designed, sliced, 3D printed, and assembled by hand in my workshop. Every single batch teaches me something new—whether it’s tightening tolerances by 0.2 millimeters, improving tab ergonomics, or optimizing light bounce. When you wear one of these pieces, you’re holding a design that continues to evolve and improve with every single print.
The Field-Ready Solar Lineup
From bare internal frames to full game-day gear: the solar-charged line wraps the entire solar collector and power cell seamlessly inside the rear housing, letting the crest shine front and center on oversized gold links.
Solar Integration: Rear faceplate embedding the high-efficiency solar recharge cell.
Chain Assembly: Mounted to oversized gold links, ready for pre-game daylight tailgates.
Night Walkout: Clean contrast and glowing Marina "M" Star ready for kickoff.
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