nixie VU meter

i love my nixie clock from PV-electronics and while i'm waiting for the parts to build a nice headphone amplifier i was thinking that it would be nice to make a VU meter with IN-9 or IN-13 tubes. does anyone have a design (preferably without micro controllers) that works. i'm not looking for exact measurements, it's more for the visual effect.

i heard some things about using the LM3915 to do this but i have no idea how to use this with these tubes as the LM3015 is made for LED displays.

preferably it would be something with an OPAMP and a transistor like the MPSA42. just plain and simple

any hints or suggestions?

p.s. i know about the "that2252" but it's hard to come by and i prefer to use common parts so that if something breaks i don't have to search everywhere for obsolete parts.

vicsys.hu/files/pop_p0141_000.html i stubled upon this schematic, what is the general opinion about it?

yes it looks like a unity gain buffer, you "could" make that a lin to log converter with a simple diode in the feedback path. i don't really see why it can't be done and it would be a nice addition.

nobody has done this or has a nice idea?

Why not using simple 2 x 24V 40mA bulbs as series resisitor for the IN-9.
Due to their filament temperature depending resistance it is possible to create a simple (but not fully exact) lin to log conversion