Giving your control panel display and lighting

[leading edge]

This is a discussion for the use of lighting effects and internal detail of models. I've collected some data on the subject which I feel will make a model look that much more authentic. I specifically want to focus on the finishing touches( sensors, camera, exaust, control panel lighting, and exterior color). One such effect would be the electroluminescence found inthe display panels of cars. I find it fascinating yet is it possible to use instead of an LED? I just read the article in wikipedia and it is a promising novel approach to making the lighting "softer" LED's can give great effect bur I'm looking for a glow to the display even on a transparent piece say the HUD. Any ideas would be welcome.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroluminescence

here is a comparison with the DRYL display and a real electroluminescence panel.

[EXO]

Would love to know how this turns out. I've been wanting to see how to put in lighting inside the control panel and the boosters for a while now.

[Jasonc]

I know this has been talked about before. One suggestion would be fiber optics. The light travels through the path of the wire and doesn't spread like an led. I haven't worked with them, so I'm not too keen on what exactly you'd need, but a simple power source, and a decent track to put the fibers. The light should be brightest at the end of the line.

[Penguin]

I've been messing around with a bunch of stuff like this over the years (not specifically for glowing consoles, but in general), but have never actually applied it to a model. Just a bunch of experiments.

Simplest approach would be to put a piece of clear plastic in between the source and glowing area. Coat one side with a transparent paint of the desired "glow" colour (a pale blue/green mix would be best, of course), and a clear flat coat on the opposite side. The flat coat will diffuse and dull the light coming through, as will the transparent paint. You may need to experiment with thicknesses to get the right "soft" luminscence. If you're really careful and can achieve it, a thin coat of non-transparent paint also works, but I find the flat coat and transparent paint work best since you have better control of the colour.

You can make good use of fibre optics for point sources in a display without requiring long tracks for the fibres. Run short lengths of fibre (about 5 or so millimeters) through the console, flush with the front but extending out the back. A single LED placed behind will illuminate all of them, although the ones nearest the source will of course be brighter. This way, you only need to run the wires for the light source. You can also use a very light coat of transparent paint to tint the end of the fibre, but you need to be really careful as the light isn't all that bright.

There's a light-dispersing plastic that's actually used in car displays. The Bandai Star Trek kits of a few years ago used it to disperse single sources to fill a bunch of windows. It works reasonably well. Never tried it with a point source like an LED. It's a softer plastic, and a little hard to work with. I played around with bits and pieces from those kits for a while. Typically, you'd put a piece of this plastic behind the item you want lit, and the light source behind that. Not sure how thick it needs to be to be effective. Might be able to sculpt the console out of this stuff, and then paint and decal the non-glowing areas. Never tried that.

FYI... the chrome silver Gundam marker makes an excellent inside coat for lit models. It helps keep the light from shining through both by reflecting it back and being a pretty thick paint too. Testor's silver enamel works well too. None of the acrylic silvers I've tried are smooth and shiny enough.

Edited March 23, 2010 by Penguin

[hibiki_konzake]

reading the article on wiki makes me think that if you buy EL wire you can cut it and maybe be able to make your own custom light source in any shape and size.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroluminescent_wire

here a store that sells them.

http://www.elbestbuy.com/index.html

i think you can cut and shape little bits of the wire and create your own el light.

to anyone who wants to try it, good luck.

Edited March 23, 2010 by hibiki_konzake

[Penguin]

reading the article on wiki makes me think that if you buy EL wire you can cut it and maybe be able to make your own custom light source in any shape and size.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroluminescent_wire

here a store that sells them.

http://www.elbestbuy.com/index.html

i think you can cut and shape little bits of the wire and create your own el light.

to anyone who wants to try it, good luck.

Interesting stuff. Really nice glow. Requires an external power pack, since the wire uses AC current, so the power connections to a model might get a little complex if you also wanted a regular battery pack for lights on other parts of the model.

[hibiki_konzake]

Interesting stuff. Really nice glow. Requires an external power pack, since the wire uses AC current, so the power connections to a model might get a little complex if you also wanted a regular battery pack for lights on other parts of the model.

actually no, if you use LEDs they will work on ac too just if the frequency is to low of the AC powersupply then you can see them go on and off just like CRT computerscreen.

what is also possible is use an LED to light some plaxiglass. if you shine a light on the side of it then the whole panel lights up and any scratches in the material become lightup lines more brighter lit then the rest of the panel so polisching is required.

i think when i start my next project i will give this technic a try.

[Penguin]

actually no, if you use LEDs they will work on ac too just if the frequency is to low of the AC powersupply then you can see them go on and off just like CRT computerscreen.

what is also possible is use an LED to light some plaxiglass. if you shine a light on the side of it then the whole panel lights up and any scratches in the material become lightup lines more brighter lit then the rest of the panel so polisching is required.

i think when i start my next project i will give this technic a try.

True... you need to get at least above 60 Hz for people to really not notice. There's another vendor, EL Wire Online, that says it's power packs are adjustable for frequency and voltage output, which could solve that problem. In any case, if you wanted to mix EL wire with other sources, you'd have to either adapt the EL wire power pack to serve both the wire and the other output, use a second source, or design your own.

[leading edge]

True... you need to get at least above 60 Hz for people to really not notice. There's another vendor, EL Wire Online, that says it's power packs are adjustable for frequency and voltage output, which could solve that problem. In any case, if you wanted to mix EL wire with other sources, you'd have to either adapt the EL wire power pack to serve both the wire and the other output, use a second source, or design your own.

ti

I tried talking to a cellphone vendor in my local mall the lighting effects on some of these cell phones use a timing circuit much like the ones found on Christmas lights. I've been trying to find the smallest one for some projects. One problem I'm finding is the size of the battery is hampering my models and have to be built in a stand or display. The only way I found to eliminate this problem is to use watch battteries and watch parts that way there is a place for the battery pack. About two lithium batteries will do for a medium size watch. I have yet to try the timing circuit and hook it up to the formation lights I'm working on (cant seem to get them to blink right).

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_9313373/.../tm.htm#9330665 I'll try the method mentioned in this article and make adjustments as necessary.

http://ledz.com/?p=zz.led.resistor.calculator ( this is for calculating LED resistors.)

http://www.rc-cam.com/navlight.htm ( formation lights)

[Amirn]

Anyone know if the small beads used for the lines on the road way can be bought small enough to be used when painting?

[MechTech]

The easiest thing to do that I've done is use a grain of sand light bulb (ask your local train store about it). Pull off the resistor and it's 1.5volts. Encase it in a piece of plastic and wrap that with foil to hide light coming out from the sides.

I save the colored plastic bits from Gundam models and use that material for color filters.

You can do the same with LED's. Look up surface mount models if space is tight. A piece of sanded plastic (both sides) filters out brightness and makes it "warm" in appearance. Use clear lights/LED's and use Tamiya clear colors for various colors on the same panel.

I've messed with all of these before. LED's are my favorite because a couple of button cells outlasts an incadescent bulb on a AA. No heat either (though grain of sand bulbs hardly make any either).

PM me if you need details. I have other projects going on that are keeping me away from the boards here. - MT

[tundrayeti]

I see a couple people mentioned EL wire. Have you looked into EL sheets? you can cut them to whatever shape you like, i'm not sure how small you can get with them and you will have to use an inverter. Check into it and see.

[leading edge]

I see a couple people mentioned EL wire. Have you looked into EL sheets? you can cut them to whatever shape you like, i'm not sure how small you can get with them and you will have to use an inverter. Check into it and see.

Update on Lighting know it's been a while here is a few more ideas and any comment or criticism is welcome.

http://www.starshipmodeler.com/tech/cj_blink.htm-lighting effects

http://www.starshipmodeler.com/tech/pa_flash.htm

http://www.starshipmodeler.com/tech/pa_deluxe8.htm

http://culttvman.com/main/?p=3712- internal lighting

[Iceblue106]

I've been following this post and was wondering if anybody has actually applied these

methods to their Valkyries, and/or hanger diorama's? I would be interested to see pictures

of these results from anybody out there that has done just that. I have a few projects that

I have incorporated LED lighting into and have included them below, but would be more

interested to see what other people have done.

Blue

1/100 scale VF-1A with Green LED eye.

1/100 scale hanger deck with multiple LED's

1/60 scale Tomahawk hanger deck with multiple LED's

Edited May 5, 2010 by Iceblue106