Hi, I'm now trying to light up buildings on my layout. I'm using LED's. The issue is with the buildings. I had to blacken the inside so the didn't glow but now I need to do something with the windows. My layou is 42" tall so when I light up a building you can see inside. I put the light behind a wall but you can still see that the building is open with nothing inside. Short of having to build full interiors do se anyone have any help
Thanks Bill
Hi Bill:
One option is to use simple printed images of appropriate interiors. Mount them on cardstock or styrene and place then just far enough back from the windows so that they can be illuminated evenly.
There are commercial suppliers of interior pictures. Here is one:
https://sites.google.com/site/johnsmodelrrdepot/ho-scale-interior-details-sheets
Or you can scan magazines and re-size the images to suit. You can also copy images from the net and re-size to fit.
If you are using 3mm or 5mm LEDs and they aren't casting an even light you can lightly sand the surface of the LEDs to better disperse the light. If the LEDs are brighter than you want, just increase the size of the resistor to dim them down. I have used resistors as high as 30,000 ohms to get a nice 'incandescent' glow from the LEDs.
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
This HO scale building uses a couple of Dave's suggestions:
The building is illuminated, but the bulb is not visible from the windows. I put a rudimentary printed interior inside, and a very cheap figure to give it some 3D look. Then, the figures and trash can outside grab the viewer's attention.
This is only a bit more elaborate:
The store shelves are printed on cardstock, cut out and folded to make 3-dimensional models. The figures are from Preiser. When viewed from outside, the illusion comes together very well.
I very intentionally choose structure kits with large windows, like this City Classics grocery store, just so that I can put in interiors.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Thanks for the tips on prints. One more question where do you mount the LED? I was thinking about the ceilings or under the roofs.
Thanks for the tips.
Yes, you want to mount the LEDs on the ceilings, or perhaps high on the walls so they're not visible through the windows.
If you look at my grocery store, you'll notice that I also printed pictures of shelves, cut them out and glued them to the walls. Not only does this enhance the visual interior, it also blocks light from "leaking" through the plastic of the walls. I use balsa wood strips in the corners, too, which strengthens the wall joints and also blocks and light that might come out through the corners.
There are things you can do to the inside (emphasize INSIDE) of the windows to make them less transparent. There are semi-clear paints in spray cans you can get at the local hobby shop that you can use on the inside of the windows that will make the windows look dirty and hard to see through, but the outside will still be shiny like glass. This works best on an industrial building, like a factory. You can also spray the inside of the windows with flat finish like Testor's dullcote. A light coating will 'frost' the insides of the windows a bit. In either case, light from the inside will still shine out the windows, but it will be harder to see the inside is bare.
Another option is not to light the entire building, but create 'shadow boxes', basically creating the impression of an office or whatever behind a couple of windows that can be lighted separately from the rest of the building. Doing that, you can also use shades to cover some windows, but put a light behind them so it looks like the room behind is occupied.
This building has a rudimentary interior, but face it, the windows are small and you can barely see into any of them.
I used City Classics window shades here. There are Venetian blinds and pull-down shades in a variety of sizes. From the inside:
It's like a magic show. It's all about the illusion.
I was at a train show over the weekend and one of the vendors had a new product from City Classics. It's called "Picture Windows." Each one is a photo printed on film, so that it can be back-lit easily. I bought one but have not put it into a building yet. The display model the vendor had set up looked very good.