good luck on your tail lights! ive attempted them so many times in the past only to fail when it came to that retarded center tail light. whatever pattern or arrangement i came up with for the sides, never fit/looked right in the center tail.
thats why when i got my CF trunk,i went for the shaved one... lost the reverse light but fixed it with some clear sidemarkers mounted next to my license plate, which happen to be crammed with 18 4chip white leds in each, talk about bright, lol.
im working with a friend of mine who has access to a laser cutting machine at his work, he and i are going to come up with something for my tail lights. i plan on using 10mm leds like Roger(aznfunkflip) used but with more of them and also hack the light up a little bit to make the brake light area taller and the signal area a little smaller.
anyways, i wish you the best with your tails and hope they come out like you have imagined!