So speaking of Adafruit and value add: the heat is going to continue to be a problem for as long as the LEDs are touching that glass. So hows'bout we try a little something else?

That's 8 Neopixel rings. So I'm going from 7 strips of 27 LEDs, to 8 rings of 24 LEDs: 189 to 192 LEDs total. The diameter of the rings is slightly smaller than the baking soda canister I had used to mount the WS2812 strips in the last iteration, so the air flow should be improved. And, coming from Adafruit, I'm pretty sure they'll have checked these out for faulty parts.

And, some soldering later, I jammed some balsa wood around the inside of the rings as a rear reflector, and here's what we've got:

As usual, the LEDs aren't very good photographic subjects, but you get the idea: the LEDs wind up showing on the balsa wood if you're looking at them from on- or below- horizon. And from above, you get the full assault of the lights.

So far, so good. I've been tweaking firmware and playing with light patterns today, trying to convince myself as to whether or not I actually like this arrangement.