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Ok all!! I have recently made great strides in re-creating my MAN-CAVE!! Woo-hoo!
As a result, I have begun to experiment with making my own lightcore figures.
I will update this thread with pics/descriptions of my progress.
This is meant to be a journey...a sequence of experience...as I research and test what I need to learn about the led's, coils and figures themselves to create my own lightcores. Hopefully, you can learn from my mistakes if this kind of thing interests you.

I have already begun and, indeed, have been preparing for this for a while by picking up multiple, inexpensive lightcores to work with (eg. I have 6 lightcore Hex's).
I will add more as I progress but your comments, questions, feedback, suggestions and even requests are welcome!
LET THE ADVENTURE BEGIN....

So...
I was able to pry open two of my Hex's and a lightcore Smolderdash I picked up on the cheap, as it were.

The "coil disc", a flexible pressed disc @1 inch in diameter with flat coiled windings, creates the electrical current in the induction field that is generated by the portals. Mounted on this is the microchip containing the readable/writable RFID. That is the brain or the skylander itself. Wired off the chip is the LED assembly which looks to be two wires and a @3mm red LED.
They came out as a unit from Hex but the removal from Smolderdash was harder as the wires pass up her torso to the head. I couldn't get the assembly out easily, damaging the wires and separating the led. (Not a problem that a little soldering couldn't fix but still. The only option would seem to be to pretty much destroy the skylander encasing the assembly.
I read previously that another mad Skylander Mechanic had used a heat gun to soften the plastic as he disassembled his skylanders for alteration. That may be worth a try. However this experiment was a success as an exploratory venture.
I tested the complete Hex assembly on a portal and, sure enough like a witch ghost, she shows up in game with the LED glowing when placed on the portal. (See pic)





I will proceed in two ways:

1. THE CANNIBALIZE METHOD
To find out how to use a complete assembly. The glaring problem being, of course, how do i disable the Brain portion and keep the functioning LED and coil assmebly.

eg. It would do me no good to use the assembly as is. If I put it in KaBoom's cannon, for instance. It would certainly light up and look cool BUT then the game would register both KaBoom AND Hex.

It might be possible to selectively damage the chip to 'lobotomize' the chip and, therefore, HEX along the way. That would take systematic effort
It may be advisable to break apart the assembly and just reuse the "coil disk" and the LED with my own wire, assuming I could solder it correctly. i will have to size the wire correctly.

2. The FROM SCRATCH METHOD
I could backward engineer my own 'coil disk's. Then... solder an assembly together using my own wire and LED's. Again, the wire will need to be sized correctly along with the properly sized LED's.
This method has advantage as I will need flexibility putting LED's in various sized and shaped Skylanders.

I experimented with crude wire windings which did succeed in lighting up the LEDs on the portal WITHOUT any chip involved. Encouraging!! My wire is too thick and AT LEAST 6 windings seem to be required to generate the required power for the LED.
And perhaps most curious: the inner diameter of the windings seems to be critical. It cannot be too small or the LED will not light.
More as I continue...

I've been working on similar stuff for awhile now...Lots of options if we could get things sorted out!

Cool deal...looking forward to it!