I have 5 background buildings in a row and have lately lighted most of the other main layout buildings. I've yet to add window glazing to the background buildings (seen below). As I've liked the effect of lighting on the other stuctures, I think I'll add same to these 5 buildings also. I'm not inclined to superdetail the interiors of these buildings as they are far from the front. But I'd like some comments on options for handling the windows with lighting.
Of course currently one can see through the windows of these backless buildings to the backdrop behind. Before I started adding structure lighting, I thought I'd just add window glazing with black paper behind, hopefully looking like tinted windows, but a sample shows that makes the buildng look shut down. I tried a window with the glazing sprayed lightly on back with gray primer. With a flashlight behind, it gives a glow that makes the buliding look active. Another option is to leave the (or most) windows clear and add a paper backing of any color. I'm sure folks have other things they have tried or suggest...I'd like to consider all the options. I plan to use 3-LED lighting strips if that matters, and add a paper back wall to contain light leakage at the back.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
I use a large Magic Marker and color the back sides of the windows.
They will have streaks in them from the Magic Marker color which gives the look of dirty windows.
BOB H - Clarion, PA
Paul,
I use a white frosted type thin plastic, about paper thin, that can be cut with scissers. Got it from a art's & crafts store yrs ago in a small roll. I glue it to the outside rim of the inside styrene windows in one long trimmed piece to cover the window's a floor at a time. Use canopy glue to secure it. You may recognise this building lit with incandesants. The 1st floor has a interior, not all details are in it yet. I made a back wall and glued factory copied interior images on my printer scaled to size, from Google industrial interior Images, just choosed the one that was appropriate. All lot of the outside detail is missing, cause I'm working on the whole area.
The forklift truck, is a white metal casting, interior has a floor, to match the dock height.
Take Care!
Frank
The building next to it, also has a first floor interior with same window treatment, but lit with LED's.
Frank,
If you run out of the special translucent plastic, you might try .010" white styrene.
One thing I use sometime for obscuring, but not blocking light and vision is to use a piece of Scotch Magic Tape on the back of the window glass. Gives a quick and easy, cheap too!, frosting effect.
For a window shade, or to mostly block the light, use a Post-it note (is 3M trying to get into the model RR market or what?) and set it at a height that implies the people inside can see out, but you'll have a hard time seeing in, which I think is your goal here.
Instead of black construction paper, if you need something that has more structural attributes and absolutely blocks light, such as when you're making building flats, use black foam core board.
Your best tool here is to keep adding resistance, though. On some of my installs in passenger cars using power recitified from the track with ~12v outout, resistance has ranged well over 100,000 ohms before the LED strip segments provided light dim enough for my tastes. Light says human occupancy, but the less light there is, the more the mind adds on its own and the less you have to do to create a credible scene.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Thanks for the ideas.
Frank, what are options on exterior lights? I thnk I'll have to add that on at least one other building's dark (covered) loading dock. Are there LED types, pre-made or modified commercial? etc? Any of these?
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/933-1094
http://www.walthers.com/exec/search?category=LEM&subc=LIGHT&scale=H&subc1=STRUCTURE
Any
The outside dock lights, I made..out of 1/8 brass tubing and brass lamp shades, with a miniatronic 2.4 mm Dia. 12volt incandesants treaded through the brass tube and a hole drilled into the side of the building that the light is glued in. Bulbs are running at 10volts. If one burns out, it is very easy to change, there is a 18 gauge bare wire buss that the lights are soldered to. The outside light is turned off at the corner of the building, so you can see inside better, I have them on another circuit. They are Model Power street lights, with the arm bent to a 90 Degree instead of pointing at the sky, the way they come. They are also incandesants, which are replaceable. I don't care too much for LED lighting, whether they last longer are not, just don't look right to my eyes.
The LED lighting in the building is SMD strip lighting, but I added a 150 ohm 1/2 resistor to the circuit to lower the brightness even more. The light in the outside dock area, that looks like cracks, are actually SMD's glued to the inside of that roof with holes drilled where the lights are to shine down. I go through a lot of trouble to install the lights and interior, but it is all removable.
Mike...I doubt very seriously that I will run out of the frosted plastic in my lifetime. I have about ten yards of it. LOL.
Another shot of that building with the street light turned off. A real good reason that I choose the Model Power ones is ease of replacing the bulbs and the most important...price..three for 7.50.
Paul:
I bought a few of the Walthers goose neck wall lamps that are shown in your first link. They would be fantastic if they were 1/2 their size. I think that they are too big to look realistic in HO. Others may differ.
Unfortunately Walthers discontinued that line of wall and street lamps so if you want them you will have to do some searching. There are no Walthers wall lamps on eBay right now.
They are not difficult to make in smaller sizes using either a 1.5V bulb or an 0603 SMD LED. Here are some that I made with bulbs. That was a while ago. Now I use LEDs but they don't have the nice 'bulb' shape that the 1.5V lamps do:
The shades are made by Tichy Train Group with the centers drilled out to the size of the bulb. The goose neck is achieved by simply gluing the two wires together with CA and bending them to shape. They are sensitive to being bumped out of shape but they can be reshaped easily with no damage, at least so far anyhow.
Tichy HO lamp shades:
https://www.tichytraingroup.com/Shop/tabid/91/c/ho_structure-parts/p/8027/Default.aspx
Tichy S scale lamp shades (if you want to model larger industrial lamps. They will still be smaller than the Walthers wall units):
https://www.tichytraingroup.com/Shop/tabid/91/c/s_structure-parts/p/3505/Default.aspx
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Have had good results fogging the back of window panes with an airbrushed mixture of 50/50 Dullcote and lacquer thinner. I mist on one light coat at a time and let it dry until reaching the desired effect.
good luck and regards, Peter
Dave, can you advise what bulbs to buy? I see one at Walthers but it looks like it's too big where the wires attach. And is the DC current requirement specified, so I can size a resistor to step down from 12 volts (or can you advise on ohms and wattage resistor needed)?
Peter, that's a nice effect. Do you use it with backlit lighting or just with ambient (reflected room light)?
Thanks again.
Hi Paul:
The bulbs I used came from Miniatronics Corp. They are 1.5V 15ma 1.2mm dia.
http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/475-1800120
Unfortunately I can't remember what size resistors I used to tone them down, and stupidly I didn't keep notes at the time. (I have since corrected that very bad habit). My resistor values are all messed up anyhow because I wired the lights in parallel and used several resistors in parallel to keep things cool. I never did bother to figure out what the resistance worked out to. I just played with resistors until the light level looked right and there were enough of them that they didn't burn my fingers when the power was on. What a hack eh? Stop laughing!
You will want to reduce the light output fairly significantly if you want to have the bulbs last any length of time. At full brightness they are only rated for 500 hours. That sounds like a lot but it really isn't. If you run them for only five hours a week at full bore they won't last much more than two years. That's why I have gone to LEDs. I need to figure out some type of bulb shaped clear lense that can be placed below the LEDs to mimic the shape of the incandescent lights. For now, I will leave the bulbs in the engine shed because I don't run them at full brightness, but when they fail they will be replaced with 0603 LEDs.
peahrensDo you use it with backlit lighting or just with ambient (reflected room light)?
Thanks Paul,
Ambient 4100k florescent lighting. Structure is inside lighted with a single LED, just tried a "night" shot.
Regards, Peter
Peter:
The night shot looks really good.
For some windows, I just spray the glazing with Dullcoat. This fogs the windows enough that you can't see through them, but allows light from the inside to be seen.
Another trick, which is particularly effective for the many-panel windows you've got in your picture, is to use Canopy Cement. I shake it well so all the solids are mixed back in, and then apply it with a toothpick so that it fills all the windows. Set the window down on a clean piece of paper, or even on a sheet of glass. It will take a day or so to harden. It goes on white but slowly dries crystal clear. However, because the surface is highly curved from gravitational distortion while it's drying, each window forms a small lens and you can't focus on anything behind it. So, while you've got clear windows that light can shine through, you can't see what's inside.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
MisterBeasley:
Personally, I don't like the effect of the curved lense that canopy glue creates. If you have a frosted window then you recognize that you are not supposed to be able to see through it. However, if you have what appears to be clear glazing but you can't see through it, I find that frustrating. I would much rather do a suggestion of an interior.
There are prototypical examples of curved (deliberately distorted) window glazing but I believe they go back to the 1700s or 1800s, and indeed privacy without reducing light levels was the goal.
No criticism intended. Each to his own.
Thanks Dave,
Beginners luck I suspect. Structure inside lighting is one 2mm warm white disfused LED, 1500ohm resistor, power supply is an old 18V DC slot car transformer.
regards, Peter
Personally, I'll take whatever luck I can get, beginner's or otherwise, as long as its good luck of course!
I have a question for you. Is the barbed wire on top of the backdrop wall/fence 3D or just painted? If its 3D, which I suspect it is because I think I can see shadows from the wire, how did you do it?
Thanks
For exterior lights check out ngineering.
http://www.ngineering.com/stamped.htm
They have all kinds of lighting products.
WS
bavrailFor exterior lights check out ngineering. http://www.ngineering.com/stamped.htm They have all kinds of lighting products.
Bavrail, thanks for this lead. It looks like their gooseneck wall kits will fit my pistol.
http://www.ngineering.com/ho_lighting_kits.htm
hon30critterIs the barbed wire on top of the backdrop wall/fence 3D or just painted?
Dave,
An attempt at modeling razor wire from a how-to I saw on the internet. Skinned a piece of 16ga copper wire and wound a strand around and around a bbq skewer, then soldered the coiled wire to the tops of the brass wire fence posts. The camera's jaundiced eye shows that I stretched the coils out too much.
Have a good one, Peter
I like to sparay the inside of windows tha have no interior detail with Dullcote.
For window shades, I use paper from tan mailing envelopes or white copy paper. For curtains, colored paper napkins give a bit of texture.
ON indusrtial windows like you have, when a window pane broke, they sometimes replaced the glass with sheet metal which can be replicated by painting out a few window panes with black, gray or dark blue paint. City Classics makes acetate sheets with this kind of window, also window curtains, venetian blinds, and business advertising.
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch