
Layout In A Box – Demo Micro Layout Project (part 21 ) Welding Effect & SMD’s/Floodlights
Scale Model Scenery Demo Micro Layout Project – Installation Of SMD’s & Weld Effect Lighting
Part Twenty One
Following on from part twenty of this series, in which we looked at installing our AX106-OO orange UTX cable tube trunking & the LX281-OO / LX-OO Cable Hangers Kits. We now look at adding more lighting effects to the layout. For this article we’ll be looking at the Pre-Wired 3mm Blue Flickering LED 12 to 16v (Pack of 1) MLS012 pack, also the MLS001 Pre-Wired Surface Mount LED’s (3.5mm x 2.8mm) Warm White lights. We’ll be installing these into the loco shed building & one of the low relief building kits as well.
The lighting kits that we are using can be found here in our webshop:
MLoo1 Warm White SMD lights:
(Or wanting the cool white light version)
The blue flickering light weld effect:
The SMD lights are really tiny L.E.D lights & can be used in alsorts places around your layout. One example would be to light up the interior of our gatehouse building kit. With the SMD’s tiny size it can be hidden inside the building out of the sight of the viewer. Another use could be a ground mounted flood light, say for lighting up one of your buildings for example. The MLS001 & MLS004 SMD light packs both come as a pack of five lights.
The two images below show the lighting packs we’ll be using today.
Oh Righty then, lets get started…
Lets get started…
Tools you’ll need are:
- Wire cutters/stripper tool
- Small drill with suitable sized drill bit for hole big enough for the wires.
- Super Phatic Glue or similar
- Small flat blade screwdriver
- Chocbloc connectors
- Vacuum
We’ll start with the MLS012 pack with the blue flickering L.E.D. this we’ll be using inside the loco shed as the welding effect.
The ends of the wires on the MLS001 blue flickering light are going into a chocbloc connector, so we’ve stripped them a back a bit longer for fitting into the connector.
Next the shed building is lifted off the layout & a hole just big enough to take the blue LED is drilled just inside one corner of where the shed building stands. This will keep the LED hidden from view when the building is replaced, so when switched only the areas in side the shed lit up by the LED will be seen through the window & doorway.
Now feed the wires down through the hole & sit the LED into the hole as shown in the photo right.
Under the layout baseboard we have run in a pair of wires from the transformer to a chocbloc connector. The wires from the LED are then inserted into the chocblock connector & the two grip screws are tightened. Make sure you connect the red + positive wire from the LED to the +positive wire from the transformer (the red wire), & also the black – Negative wire from the LED to the – Negative black wire from the transformer.
Switch the power on & the LED should then come on & start flickering & give a nice blue ambient light out as seen in the photo right. Once happy all is working okay, we’ll now look at adding an interior light with using one of the warm white SMD’s from the MLS012 lighting pack.
Time to break out the drill again. We are running the wire up the inside corner of the shed building, this is so it’ll be out of the sight of from the folk viewing the layout. That hole can be seen in the lower right hand corner of the photo opposite right. At the same time as fitting the interior light, we’re fitting two more of the outside wall mounted flood lights to the front of the shed. Another hole has been marked & drilled between the the two railway lines into the shed, & will be hidden by the shed center front wall.
Taking one of the SMD lights, We’ve glued into into place centrally on the underside of the roof truss beam. The wires from the SMD light are then run back along the the underside of the roof truss beam as shown in the photo right. The wires have been glued into place & will be painted to hide them.
Next run the wires from the SMD light down the wall & glue them to the wall to fix them in place.
Now feed the two wires from the SMD light through the drill hole in the baseboard & connect up to the two wires from the transformer. Here, again we’re using a simple chocbloc connector to do this.
More Wall Mounted Flood Lights
Earlier on in this series we looked at installing our popular wall mounted floodlight kit. Here we’ll be installing two more flood lights on the front of the shed building. So as before drill a hole big enough to insert the two wires through from the wall mounted flood light. Glue the wall mounted flood lights into place on the wall. Then solder one of the supplied resistors to the red wire as show in the photo right.
Now solder another wire on to the resistor, so that it’ll reach the the transformer or in our case the chocblock connector which the wires from the transformer are connected to. Then cover the resistor & bare wire either side with a piece of heat shrink insulation to protect & insulate the bare wires from electrical shorting etc.
We’ve then glued the wires to the wall & down the inside of the central front wall pillar as can be seen in the photo right. The wires are then fed through the other drilled hole in the baseboard.
The four wires from the two flood lights are then soldered together in pairs. So the two red + Positive wires are soldered together, & the two black – Negative wires are soldered together. The bear wires & soldered joints are then protected by sliding a piece of heat shrink insulation up the each wire to cover the soldered joints, as shown in the photo right.
Now connect up to the wires from the transformer, here we’re using a simple chocblock connector again to do this.
Once all is connected up, it’s time to switch on & enjoy the lighting. The photos opposite & below show the shed lit up & gives a nice ambiance.
Moving over to the low relief industrial unit building next to the station, we drilled a hole above each of the fire escape doors. Another SMD light was then fitted in the same way as the bigger flood lights, with just the SMD lights just poking though the drill holes, to act as wall mounted lights. In the photo right can be seen the SMD lights after fitting & switched on. These are the warm white versions.
In the photo right can be seen the station end of the layout with the lighting we’ve covered in the last couple of articles. The eagled eyed of you may spot an item or two that we’ve not covered yet, but will be covered in an upcoming article.
Happy modelling
Looks amazing, very atmospheric!
Have just purchased (using Club Card Vouchers) a pack of the SMD lights as I want to do the same in my TMD and Engine Shed.
Hi Malc, thank you 🙂 They do give a nice great effect in the shed. Many thanks Iain
Many thanks, Martin. It does help give it a nice atmosphere when viewed in the dark & the layout lights are all on. The layout has just had it’s first proper running session for testing prior to taking it to the stafford show. All good so far.
Thank you Martin, it’s simple but very effective with it’s effect.