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light diffusing sheets?
Ginsu Victim:
Rope lights, at least mine, really don't put off much heat.
Cakemeister:
Use a string of Christmas tree lights, and a hot glue gun. Easy, cheap, no diffusion required.
IA1NY:
Neverending: You still need to diffuse the fluorescents unless you are interested in bars of light across your field.
Chad: Your drafting film will work well for short term, but will sag over time. We use 3/16" sign white polycarbonate for all of our lightboxes. Since you don't have to worry about fire codes, you can use acrylic too. You'll have to test the depth to see how far back to put your lights to avoid hotspots. The ropelight is a good choice. Little heat, and simple to attach. We're using some very expensive high-intensity white LEDs on boxes these days. They pump out the light with no heat, but about $27 per foot. We've also used neon or some of the neon substitutes, but like I said cha-ching!
Call a local plastic supplier and they can help you out. When in doubt, have them send samples. You might also be able to get some from a local sign company if your plastics suppliers don't sell in small quantities.
Neverending Project:
Good point about still needing to diffuse. But Depot also sells fluorescent light covers for drop ceilings, which will probably make a fine diffuser. I have also seen them at Tap Plastics.