ErikElvis Posted April 9, 2009 Posted April 9, 2009 Just wondering if anyone has ever thought of adding LED's to their valks for display. Might not look bad to have the red and green wing lights with a simulated spot light underneath. And with how small some of these things are it might not be hard to hide. What made me think of this is a lit up fold booster pic which I think yamato used. Would look really cool in a dimly lit display case. What do you think? Quote
macross1979 Posted April 9, 2009 Posted April 9, 2009 Just wondering if anyone has ever thought of adding LED's to their valks for display. Might not look bad to have the red and green wing lights with a simulated spot light underneath. And with how small some of these things are it might not be hard to hide. What made me think of this is a lit up fold booster pic which I think yamato used. Would look really cool in a dimly lit display case. What do you think? It's a cool idea. But much precision is needed. Quote
eugimon Posted April 9, 2009 Posted April 9, 2009 some guy did it to a 1/48 back when it first came out Quote
ErikElvis Posted April 9, 2009 Author Posted April 9, 2009 would like to see it. setting up the lights to work shouldnt be hard but getting the wires to blend in or look acceptable... that could take a lil skill. Quote
eugimon Posted April 9, 2009 Posted April 9, 2009 would like to see it. setting up the lights to work shouldnt be hard but getting the wires to blend in or look acceptable... that could take a lil skill. I think I remember the guy used flat wires or something and housed the batteries in the missile pods. It was just the spot lights at the base of the wings not the running lights though, if I'm remembering it correctly. Quote
big F Posted April 9, 2009 Posted April 9, 2009 (edited) Well you would have to cut a channel along the wing to place the wires. I would recomend using a couple of strands of wire from a length of thin wire as Led's dont need much current and one or two strands would be easier to hide. If you made two channels you wouldnt need insulation eaither. A small watch battery and a discrete micro switch would be enough. Clip a couple of watch batteries in series and you could have it running for hours with the right resistors in place. More difficult would be shaping the LED's they would need to be filled and then polished to make them work if you dont polish them you get a sort of murky light. insted of the pinsharp light you'd want to portray nav lights etc. Edited April 9, 2009 by big F Quote
eugimon Posted April 11, 2009 Posted April 11, 2009 if I recall, the guy didn't use wires but two flat, unshielded metal bits that ran parallel to complete the circuit. Quote
grapetang Posted April 11, 2009 Posted April 11, 2009 Sounds like a great idea! You should do it! :) I found this as a reference. Do any of the VF/YF experts or aviation buffs have any info to add? Quote
red2alpha Posted April 20, 2009 Posted April 20, 2009 I'd like to do this to my Destroid Tomahawk. That big spot light is just begging for a working light. Quote
RedLion Posted April 21, 2009 Posted April 21, 2009 Try this link they are very bright LED's and are more bright than standard super brights. Luxeon Star LED'S are also in some of the latest flashlights. http://www.luxeonstar.com/ Quote
Vince Posted April 21, 2009 Posted April 21, 2009 SMT leds generate a lot of heat, so is the regular one or lightsheets. Quote
MechTech Posted April 21, 2009 Posted April 21, 2009 You have two ways to go with your lighting: 1) Use LEDs and fiber optics. The fiber can be fed from one light and the end lenses can colored to what shade you need. 2) If you want my two cents, go to a thrift shop/charity shop and buy electronics REALLY cheap. You cn use TINY surface mount LED's like you find on electronics boards (think thumb drives, tiny radios). They can be glued right into where you need them and fed with hairline wires. Like Big F said, just etch a channel to fit the wires into and paint over them! I've done lots of LED work on my Daedalus. I've collected a small bag of small surface mount LED's for things like aircraft navigation lights (and red and green are VERY common). - MT Quote
EXO Posted April 21, 2009 Posted April 21, 2009 I remember he used conductive paint or something like that. Quote
Jasonc Posted April 21, 2009 Posted April 21, 2009 Ha, I was just gonna say that. Back a number of years ago, I bought some conductive paint, and tested it out on a bunch of LEDs I have in a work box. I also have a crapload of resistors, so I was able to figure out how much battery to use vs. LED specifications. The paint works great. The only thing I didn't try was using the conductive paint, then making your connections, then painting over the conductive paint with a regular Tamiya, Testors, etc. Quote
Vince Posted April 22, 2009 Posted April 22, 2009 Starship modeler site got a lot more on lighting.. Quote
Graham Posted April 22, 2009 Posted April 22, 2009 Buy a Toynami Masterpeice VF-1, LED already preinstalled. Graham Quote
MacrossMan Posted April 22, 2009 Posted April 22, 2009 Buy a Toynami Masterpeice VF-1, LED already preinstalled. Graham Not a bad idea actually. If you have the skills disassemble the Toynami piece and try to see how to go about wiring in a 1/48 if possible. Might be able to pull it off with some skill and luck. Quote
Jasonc Posted April 22, 2009 Posted April 22, 2009 The Toynami LED is a larger bulb lookin LED I believe. If you're looking for less protruding and conspicuous lighting, there are those available all over the net. For that spotlight on the Tomahawk, I can definitely see that being one hell of a custom. When I got mine, that's the first thing I thought of. Quote
Valk009 Posted April 23, 2009 Posted April 23, 2009 I think it has been done on a Hasegawa VF-1 fighter. The modeller used flat wire as someone here already mentioned and hid it between the two wing parts. I believe the most difficult part was to redo the wing tip lights, they were scratch built from pre-coloured acrylic pieces. Besides the wing tips, very dim lights were also placed in the cockpit main control panel and red lights used for the main thrusters. Quote
Kicker773 Posted May 1, 2009 Posted May 1, 2009 Any pictures by chance? also I looked around the net for some wiring and a set up that I can use, but most places are sold out unless they have suggestions. TIA Quote
Vince Posted May 24, 2009 Posted May 24, 2009 It seems like the light sheet folks are still in business, microstru.com, has any body even done anything with light sheet? Quote
MechTech Posted May 26, 2009 Posted May 26, 2009 Lightsheet downsides - doesn't like humidity, is organic and breaks down more readily, bulky with power supply (high voltage-high frequency. There are many vendors for it too. Just ask if you're still interested. LED's are still you best bet. Smaller, indefeninte shelf life, low voltage, higher light output. - MT Quote
neptunesurvey Posted May 27, 2009 Posted May 27, 2009 I'm looking into some light sheets for a hangar deck diorama. Quote
Vince Posted May 27, 2009 Posted May 27, 2009 just gonna try out the light sheet, LEDs are not always best for signs and such. Quote
MechTech Posted May 27, 2009 Posted May 27, 2009 In that case: http://www.elbestbuy.com/?gclid=CP69o4ba3JoCFQWfnAodDiIL3Q http://www.thatscoolwire.com/ I got some cool strips for bikes with built in battery pack/power supply from American Science and Surplus. They may still have some. - MT Quote
Vince Posted May 28, 2009 Posted May 28, 2009 In that case: http://www.elbestbuy.com/?gclid=CP69o4ba3JoCFQWfnAodDiIL3Q http://www.thatscoolwire.com/ I got some cool strips for bikes with built in battery pack/power supply from American Science and Surplus. They may still have some. - MT Thanks, I'm just gonna play around Quote
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