I really like the effects of the new Woodland Scenic Plug & Play automobiles, but since I already have over 160 HO scale automobiles, I find it really hard to justify paying $25-$30 each for new ones with lights.
How difficult is it to install LED lights in HO scale automobiles? Once they are installed, I assume I can plug them into the Woodland Scenics controllers to adjust for intensity and effects.
Anyone done this?
My friend installs LED's in vehicles. They run on 9-12V DC only and I know the power output on the Woodland Scenics system is not the same. Best thing to do is buy a 9V DC filtered UL listed wall wart and you can run quite a number of vehicles on your railroad. Right now, I have 3 emergency vehicles that he lit up each with anywhere from 12-18 lights plus 2 PRR style signals with no power issues.
Good luck!
Neal
Hi B. Bryce,
I have installed LEDs in several HO scale vehicles. It is not a difficult process but it can be fussy. However, if I were starting over again I would probably use Mel's method, especially his brass tube mounting system! You can probably use the Woodland Scenics system to power the LEDs but you will have to figure out what size resistor to use.
I use 0402 or 0603 LEDs. They are available on eBay for decent prices. I strongly suggest buying them with the leads already attached. Adding your own leads is fairly easy on the 0603 LEDs but the 0402 LEDs are a bit of a challenge.
The biggest problem with using LEDs is that they are hit and miss with the right colour (Canadian spelling eh!). Everybody has 'warm white' LEDs and some of them give off a nice slightly yellow light, but many of them are too green or too blue and they don't look right. Mel's incandescent bulbs solve that problem nicely.
I'll offer a hint for working with the pre-wired LEDs. Sometimes the manufacturers use just plain copper coloured wire for both leads. The only way you can tell the polarity of the LED is by the length of the leads. One will be longer than the other. That works ok until you are trying to sort out which wire is which inside your vehicle. To avoid confusion I always colour one of the wires with an oil based Sharpie paint pen. This is another vote for Mel's incandescent bulbs. Polarity doesn't matter.
I use fiber optic cable to form lenses for the headlights and tail lights. If you hold a heat source like a hot soldering iron up to the tip of a fiber optic cable it will melt into a nice mushroom shape. You can control the size by the amount of heat you apply.
You will run into different situations with your vehicles. In some cases the manufacturers have been nice enough to install clear lenses for you in which case all you have to do is mount the light source behind the existing lens. Sometimes the lens will be part of a larger molding. You may want to cut the lens off of the molding or leave it in place depending on how well the light travels through the molding to the outside of the vehicle.
If you have a vehicle with opaque (solid) lenses you will need to start by drilling a hole through the center of the lens just slightly larger than the fiber optic cable. Then, take a larger drill and flare the hole out so that it resembles the inside of an old round headlight pot and it is about the size of the original cast headlight. You can also drill the tail lights out in the same manner but not to the same size obviously.
If the vehicle has a plastic shell test it to see if light shines through it. If the light glows through the fender you will need to paint the shell black on the inside. It may take a couple of coats.
To make the lens, start by flaring one end of the fiber optic cable to the correct size as described above. Then cut the cable so that there will be about 1/8" protruding inside the vehicle with the lens in place. The next step is to flare the inside cable end so that the flare ends up against the inside of the shell. This holds the lens in place and it gives you a larger target to line the LED up with.
Now we have to mount the LEDs. I use 90 second epoxy instead of CA so that final adjustments can be made to the position of the LED. I mix the epoxy and let it sit for about a minute. This shortens the length of time that the LED has to be held in place. Next, I light the LED. Having it lit will make it much easier to mount in the correct position. I have an adjustable power supply on my workbench for this sort of thing. It has 1.5 volt and 3 volt settings (among others). If you are going to use 12 volts don't forget the 1k resistor!!
Put a dob of epoxy on the back of the lens and place the LED into the epoxy. Now comes the tedious part. The LED had to be held in place while the expoxy hardens fully. Look at the outside of the lens and see how bright the light is. Move the LED around until you get the maximum amount of light. Once you find the right position you have to keep the LED perfectly steady until the epoxy is hard. Like I said, this part is tedious. Be warned that the LEDs have a tendancy to wander out of place, even after the epoxy is apparently firm. You will need to hold the LED for another minute or so after it feels firm. Semi-solid epoxy will still flow and you are likely to discover that the LED has moved out of alignment after the epoxy has finally set hard.
The final step is to paint the inside of the shell where the lights are mounted. I use black. Siver works too. It usually takes two or three coats. If you don't paint the lights on the inside they will shine out of the bottom of the car.
Here are some examples. Pardon the blurry pictures:
The tail lights in the Chevy below are OK if you are modelling the vehicle with the brakes being applied, but if you want to tone the lights down use higher value resistors. I have used up to 30,000 ohm resistors on some LEDs and they give off a nice glow.
This truck uses a single light source for all five roof lights:
Have fun!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Thanks Mel. I still say your method is better.
Neat results- I wonder has anyone ever come up with a way to add them to resin autos such as Gregs garage. My only thought was glow in the dark paint.
Jim
Thanks Mel and Dave for sharing your clever, dexteritas and impressive vehicle lighting work, really adds a great dimension to night scenes. Nice looking vehicles too. Love the postal scooter, I remember the mail carriers riding in those, guessing the 60s?
Regards, Peter
drgwcs Neat results- I wonder has anyone ever come up with a way to add them to resin autos such as Gregs garage. My only thought was glow in the dark paint. Jim
drgwcsI wonder has anyone ever come up with a way to add them to resin autos such as Gregs garage. My only thought was glow in the dark paint. Jim
Hi Jim,
I have never done any resin vehicles but I have done a resin street car and I can attest to Mel's comment that hollowing out the shell was a PITA, and I only had to do the roof.
Mel's suggestion to hollow out the entire shell is great if you want to model clear windows, but if all you want is headlights and tail lights you might try just drilling holes in from the lenses. Start by drilling holes the size of the lenses straight into the casting just deep enough for the bulb or the LED to sit inside the hole. Then use a smaller bit to drill a hole on an angle from the headlight or tail light to the bottom of the casting. It only has to be large enough for the wires.
You could use epoxy to make the lenses, although it will yellow over time. Another option would be to use canopy cement to build the lenses up in layers. Canopy cement will stay clear.
As you are painting the cars I would test for light bleed through before applying the final colour coat and details, and don't forget to paint the underside as well.
Please note that I am only relaying how I would approach putting lights into a resin vehicle. I haven't actually done it. I would add that I think 0603 LEDs would be easier to work with rather than bulbs in this case. Bulbs will require deeper mounting holes and getting the hole for the wires in the right place would be a bit more difficult.
Most all of my cars are put together with a type of rivit that holds the undercarrage to the body. How did you remove the undercarrage or gain access to the inside of the car to run the wires. I model mostly the 50's, 60's, and 70's automobiles. Got a lot invested, $15-20 each, in these cars and don't really want to mess them up by experimenting.
B. Bryce Most all of my cars are put together with a type of rivit that holds the undercarrage to the body. How did you remove the undercarrage or gain access to the inside of the car to run the wires. I model mostly the 50's, 60's, and 70's automobiles. Got a lot invested, $15-20 each, in these cars and don't really want to mess them up by experimenting.
Most all of my cars are put together with a type of rivit that holds the undercarrage to the body. How did you remove the undercarrage or gain access to the inside of the car to run the wires. I model mostly the 50's, 60's, and 70's automobiles.
Anyway, a number of YouTube channels out there that cover Matchbox/Hotwheels etc restorations touch upon this topic of drilling out and then tapping the post for a screw (for easy servicing later) - here's one video from the WheelsNThings channel which shows drilling out the post during a project for adding lights to a Hot Wheels A100 van; other channels like BareMetalHW, Martys Models, and others use similar methods.