I tried an idea that I had a couple of months back.
If only the Rift had transparent lenscups, the light that comes through might create ambient lighting inside the headset strong enough to compensate for the parts that fall out of the FOV from the device. So I modeled the lenscups, made a 3d print with transparent plastic (both clear and diffuse) and tried it.
Unfortunately, I miscalculated. The light from the LCD isn't strong enough to shine through the lenscup and doesn't reflect against the black plastic inside the headset. In case anybody was wondering. This seems to be a dead-end... unless perhaps the entire headset is made out of transparent plastic.
Oh well. It was a fun experiment.
I have made the 3d print available on Cubify.com for those who want to have their own custom lenscups.
Note: (big caveat) It is an approximation of the Lenscup A measurements. It does fit nicely in the Rift. The parts on top that keep the lens in place are there. The parts that hold the lens on the bottom are not. I'm pretty sure the lens from the original cups will fit, but I can't guarantee it. Contact me if you would like to have the original model-file.
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