Actually there is no best way. Whatever works for you. I would recommend you put light blocks (walls) or you will be able to see completely through the building. Lamp placement should be where the light source is not seen.
Some people frost the windows so you see the building is lit but you cannot see inside.
Miniatronics has very small light bulbs that would work for N gauge.
Do a search using Google or Yahoo, say for "lighting model railroad buildings".
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
LEDs are nice for small buildings, because they don't give off much heat and won't melt or burn anything. They also draw very little current. (Yeah, the low current draw and low heat are related.)
But, cheap LEDs aren't the color you want for buildings. They are a bluish-white, and you really want more of a yellow color. Yes, you can get Golden Whites like many of us use for engine headlights, but they will cost more.
Also, LEDs are very directional, light headlights. The light mostly comes out in a beam, rather than an nice uniform sphere. For a building, you might want to mount them on the floor and use a white ceiling to "bounce" the light around.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
Another LED idea I just found. Go to eBay and search for 260088189446. This guy is selling "inverted cone" LEDs for model railroad buildings. They are the white type that give off a 360 degree light. The light has a bluish tint though. Maybe you can search for a "warm white or yellowish" of this type. I like the 360 and I am going search the 'Net and see if I can find any. I would prefer using LEDs. This is the first time I have heard of inverted cone LEDs. Possibly there is a different term used.
Two good sources of LEDs that can be used to illuminate the insides of buildings are SuperBright LEDs and More LEDs. More LEDs also has the inverted cone type.
http://www.superbrightleds.com
http://www.moreleds.com
It is amazing what you can find with a little searching. I found those also.
CP,
I was able to brightly light a 3 story building, from the top all the way down with a single grain of wheat bulb. This was accomplished by cutting large holes in the floors and placing sections of a light panel over each hole. I cut the sections to size with shears.I got the flouresent light fixture panel free from Lowes. It was cracked and one corner was smashed, but I'll never use it all anyway.The little prisms moulded into the clear plastic panel refract light a thousand ways, making the all 11 windows and other openings sparkle quite nicely.
Another thing I've learned to use is alligator clips. The "grain of wheat" bulbs I use come in two packs from Radio Shack for about $1.75. They have two bare wires coming out of the glass. I mount them on the inside of the roof of a structure. To power them I use the smallest alligator clips, also from Radio Shack. I make up a length of 22 gauge bell wire and put the clips on each end. One pair clips onto the bulb anodes and the other pair to the power source.
This works for me, but I'm sure others will chime in with equally good methods.
Nice pictures, Kyle!
Although I understand that LEDs have the advantage of little heat loss and rarely needing changing (if ever), I actually prefer incandescent bulbs to illuminate my layout interior and exteriors because I can use a power pack to instantly adjust the lighting intensity - which also has the advantage of increasing bulb life. Incandescent bulbs also give off a much warmer and more diffuse light. I make the roofs of my building detachable so that lighting changes are less of an ordeal.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
Thanks for that More LEDs link! WOW!
Kyle-That grandfather clock looks cool! Where'd you get it?
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
You can easily diffuse the light emitted from an LED buy roughing up the surface with some sandpaper. When purchasing LEDs for interior lights, get the highest mcd. rating you can find - 1000 to 2000 are really bright, and when sanded, act very similar to a bulb. My city scene alone has over 125 LEDs .... If I used that many bulbs, I'd need more than one supply to handle them !!!
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
loathar wrote: Thanks for that More LEDs link! WOW!Kyle-That grandfather clock looks cool! Where'd you get it?
I was railfanning in Durrand MI. There is an old fashioned BEN FRANKLIN store there, with worn wood floors and everything. It was run by mom and pop, who kept it spotless. The grandfather clocks were discounted 2 for a dollar. Don't ask me what they are for... dollhouses? I'm sure they are not HO, but I found a use for them anyway.
Thanks for the kind words, all...