Interior lighting for ho scale styrene models

[sd24b]

I like to paint the walls black. like the white ceiling, though. will have to try that. I use LED and incandescent bulbs. The bulbs at 10-12 volts, LED at 1.5v. Phil

[Watchword]

Thanks to everyone for your help. I think it will be easiest to purchase the resister along with each LED and run them off my 16 volt transformer, keeping the resister well-away from the plastic. And the rest of my models will have black interior walls and white ceilings. My only experience with electricity has been house wiring--full scale.

[Lionel fan]

LEDs are the way to go. If you are using regular LEDs, you need a resistor.

But here's what I did.

I used these LED strip lights. They have the required resistor built in. I soldered 22 gauge copper wire to the strip.


These run directly on 12 volts, but they are dimmable, which I take advantage of on my layout.

I hot glued them in my buildings (All DPM and Atlas kits) and hot glued the wires where they wouldn't be seen from the windows. Some of them were too bright, so I covered one or two of the LEDs with electrical tape.

Then just drill a hole through your layout and hook them up to a 12 volt power supply.


In most of my buildings, I also used paper to divide the building into rooms and used black construction paper to black out some windows.

The strip LED lighting can be purchased from Electronics websites.

[Dave S]

These links will help you calculate the proper resistor size and draw you a wiring diagram to follow too. I've found them quite handy in my LED installations.

http://ledcalculator.net/

http://www.hebeiltd.com.cn/?p=zz.led...tor.calculator

[Watchword]

Thank you Lionel fan for taking time to give me a tip and even to show me some pictures. Three of the images are not coming through for some reason, but I will check out the idea of using the LED strips. I think my transformer is 16 volts, not 12 volts, though.

So far for my little village I have ordered Smalltown USA, DPM and Cornerstone. I like DPM best of the three. For one thing, the architectural style of the buildings is more esthetically pleasing. One of the walls on the Smalltown model lacked distinct detailing for the brick, as if the mold had gone bad.

Dave S, thanks for the calculating links. I’ll have to figure out how to use them, but they will be very helpful. It’s amazing to me what a beginner has to learn to build a model railroad but I’m sure having a lot of fun! Truly this is the world’s greatest hobby.

[diburning]

Originally Posted by Lionel fan

The strip LED lighting can be purchased from Electronics websites.

Would you be able to suggest one please? I want some to light up some passenger cars.

[Lionel fan]

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cat/t...Warm_White,3,2:

http://www.ecolightled.com/category/...pe/?r=b_ribbon

These are like the lights I used. They are also handy for other uses, I used some to light up my Lionel display cases. They have all different colors of light and I see there are some that run on 24 volts and 5 volts. I highly recommend using this type of lighting, it is very easy to use for someone who is not the most electrically gifted.

These would be good for passenger cars, but I recommend the less bright styles so they are not too bright for the confines of a passenger car.

And Watchword, I love the DPM kits too, I have a handful.

[Bread&steel]

You can get LEDs today with the resistor built in and also a rectifier. They are transformer ready LEDs. They come in steady and flashing so be careful
Have a look at hobby LEDS

http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/ledlights1.html

[diburning]

Originally Posted by Lionel fan

http://www.superbrightleds.com/cat/t...Warm_White,3,2:

http://www.ecolightled.com/category/...pe/?r=b_ribbon

These are like the lights I used. They are also handy for other uses, I used some to light up my Lionel display cases. They have all different colors of light and I see there are some that run on 24 volts and 5 volts. I highly recommend using this type of lighting, it is very easy to use for someone who is not the most electrically gifted.

These would be good for passenger cars, but I recommend the less bright styles so they are not too bright for the confines of a passenger car.

And Watchword, I love the DPM kits too, I have a handful.

Yikes, they'r a bit pricey. I guess I'll see if I can build my own light strips on some sort of metal bars.

[DianneB]

I just put LED lighting in a Model Power 'farm house' that I will be using for the sawmill manager's office, one LED in one room, another in a different room. Of course the interior of the house had to be divided into rooms with cardboard painted black first. I feel that having different light levels in different rooms is more prototypical and gives a pleasing effect.