Ouch!
What a lot of work just for a number!
Why don't you try this:?
Get some acylic glass coloured the way you like most, yellow, red or any colour. Buy a bunch of self adhesive paper dots in a paper shop and put them nicely on the rear side of the glass. Then spray it black. When the paint is dry remove the paper dots and you have something left looking like a LED. Use an incandescent lamp inside and shade it so it will emit light not directly onto the glass.
Your friends will admire you for the lots of work youv'e done.
Saves one week of soldering and possibly fried LEDs too.
Boncuk