Advice needed lighting diecast model

rf4c

New Member
Hi everybody,
I'm a newbie here! Also a newbie to modelling and seeking some advice or point me to a source of advice.

I'm a Londoner, being held captive by a wife and four kinds here in Dublin!
Hardly a day goes by that I don't miss my hometown, badly!

I decided to revive my modelmaking hobby from years ago and began to plan a project.
Basically, I'm trying to make a small "London" diorama to hang on the wall of my office.

I've bought some 1/76 Buses, a little black taxi and some street lights, telephone box, bus stop, etc.
Then I got some card Tube station models and the EFE tube train is on the way.

I think I can manage to fit the street lights and put some lights in the train (if I can figure out a circuit!) but am I being too ambitious?

I'd like to find a way to attack the buses and taxi with my mini drill and put some headlights/rear lights/internal light in these vehicles.

Has anybody successfully attempted this or do you know where I could get some guidance on how to go about it.

Thanks in advance for any assistance,

best wishes to all!

Jim
 

scarmig

New Member
Hehe.... button batteries, resistors, and LEDs.

It will probably be a custom job for each item, as you'll have to figure out battery placement and containment, bulb placement, wiring,and the resistor for each LED you want inside the object.

Look up LED circuits on Google, they are simple enough that they are nowadays often the "first" circuit people new to electronics build.

The steps are:

Decide what color LED
Get it's specifications.
Figure out what battery you want to use.
Get it's voltage and amperage specifications.
Enter those into a resistance calculator (all over the web)
Use those to figure out what resistor to buy.
Get some wire.
Solder all together in a circuit.
Test
Install in model.
 

peter taft

Senior Member
scarmig gave some great advice for you here :thumb: But if you want quick guide to Voltage and Resistors for your project, here it is :

Assuming a typical L.E.D running at a reasonable brightness:

VOLTAGE USED....................RESISTOR REQUIRED
3 VOLT...............................68 OHMS
6 VOLT...............................220 OHMS
9 VOLT...............................390 OHMS
12 VOLT.............................560 TO 1K OHMS
24 VOLT.............................1,2 K OHMS

Wheat bulbs are good, but the lifespan of an L.E.D makes L.E.D's more desirable, and they consume less power. They are available in several colours. Hope this helps you. Regards. Pete :wave:
 

rf4c

New Member
Hi guys,
Many many thanks for taking so much trouble to help.
This is magic stuff and gives me courage to get on with it!
One other query, if I may be a bit greedy asking:
The answers above solves the internal lighting.
I'd also like to try simulating headlights and tail lights, but 1/76th scale is so small!
Do your feel LEDs would show through, or would fibre optic be an option.

Also, do I need to consider heat issues with LEDs?

Sorry for being so cheeky picking your brains. If I've already asked enough, it's ok!!!

Sincerely, thank you so much for your help, it's great stuff and much appreciated!

Kindest wishes to all,

Jim
 

peter taft

Senior Member
Hi guys,
Many many thanks for taking so much trouble to help.
This is magic stuff and gives me courage to get on with it!
One other query, if I may be a bit greedy asking:
The answers above solves the internal lighting.
I'd also like to try simulating headlights and tail lights, but 1/76th scale is so small!
Do your feel LEDs would show through, or would fibre optic be an option.

Also, do I need to consider heat issues with LEDs?

Sorry for being so cheeky picking your brains. If I've already asked enough, it's ok!!!

Sincerely, thank you so much for your help, it's great stuff and much appreciated!

Kindest wishes to all,

Jim

No problem mate... if you don't ask you don't get :mrgreen:

1} For really tight areas, fibre optics is defo the way to go. Get as many as you need and tape them into a bunch {dip in resin to hold them} Fix to the L.E.D {colour you require} Tape to inside of parts and to where the light is required to be seen. Mask of areas with black card or paper to stop any stray light showing through. Job Jobbed :mrgreen:

2} Heat.... if the L.E.D is used at the correct voltage with the correct value resistor, the amount of heat would be so small it's no worry, wheras a wheat bulb will get hot, but saying that, at lower than required voltage for a wheat bulb they run pretty much slightly warm but nothing to worry about. If still not sure, put some foil on the card underneath them - between the led or bulb and the card stock.

there you go. Have fun :wave:
 

scarmig

New Member
If you want to see an actual build of the fiber-optic to LED, I just completed one.

www.scarmig.com/StarDestroyer

You'll see I repurposed one of those cheap wal-mart solar garden lights, because it already had a battery case, resistor, and matching LED wired up in one single module. I then got some fiber optic cable and ran it to little windows in my model.

Depending on the size of the model a 3mm LED might work just fine for headlights. But for small lights, fiber can get much smaller.
 

rf4c

New Member
Hi again!
You guys are totally magic!!
I've been staring at a box of bits and pieces for three months wondering where to start!
I spent much of that time wandering around forums looking for help, without a single reply.
In less than 48 hours of joining this forum, I'm totally sorted!
Thanks again guys, you're exceptional!

Best wishes

Jim
 

peter taft

Senior Member
Jim... you are welcome mate. If you need anything else electronics wise - just shout up and if i {we} can help we will :thumb:
 

yazzy

New Member
I did a few LED projects, and have all kinds of them and so far everyone has given great advice.

At first what I did was look at a few youtube vids, then went to my local autoparts store. I needed a bright LED for a project I had. Believe it they had some great LED with switchs and wires all ready there. I started with that and went from there.

My local electronics store gets all the items i need now. Much cheaper, and can make much smaller.
 
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