hon30critter All of the LEDs were dipped into clear epoxy to form a globe that distributes the light more evenly.
Dave, what product did you use for this? Could you post a photo of a dipped light at some point? It has given me an idea, which is always dangerous.
Thanks.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
BATMANDave, what product did you use for this? Could you post a photo of a dipped light at some point?
Hi Brent,
This is what the LED looks like with the epoxy coating. The epoxy diffuses the light so it is no longer directional. If you click on the picture a couple of times you should be able to get a real close up view:
I use J-B Weld Instant Setting epoxy to form the 'lens'. It takes a few minutes to set:
The LED is easy to tint if you want it to look like an incandescent bulb or a kerosene lantern. I use Tamiya's Clear Yellow. One application is usually sufficient to get a slightly yellow 'incandescent' look even though the paint barely shows when you first apply it. If you want a yellower light, dip it two or three times.
When I did the headlight the light was too yellow but rather than scraping all the clear yellow off, I just removed a tiny bit in the center. That gave a whiter appearance to the bulb but the light in the silver reflector was still a nice yellow.
I'll post more pictures of the degrees of colour if you wish.
Edit: I should mention that the JB Weld epoxy isn't necessarily a great product IMHO. It never sets up really hard. It can be peeled off fairly easily. That can be a good thing if something needs to be taken apart, but I wouldn't rely on it for joints that require a lot of strength.
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Further to the LED discussion above, Here are some comparison photos. The LEDs are all 0402 warm white lights. The exposure has been turned down so the lights can be seen better.
This is an untinted LED with the epoxy globe as shown in the previous post:
This one has had three coats of Tamiya Clear Yellow. The lantern is from Utah Pacific. It is a bit oversized:
This is the headlight. The LED had three coats of Clear Yellow but it looked too yellow for my tastes, so I scraped a wee bit of the Clear Yellow off of the very center of the bulb. The picture doesn't show how yellow the light in the reflector is, and the headlight appears brighter than it actually is because the exposure has been turned down:
This is the gauge light. It has not been tinted but I'm using a 30.1K resistor so it is very dim to the naked eye. There is just enough light that it can be seen on the gauges:
I hope you found this interesting.
Last night I worked on some of the wiring. I had to replace the motor leads on the decoder because they were too short to get to the contacts on the motor. Fortunately my hands were steady enough that I could solder the wires onto the decoder no problem. I will have to install some connectors for the headlight and the lantern because they will be attached to the shell whereas the decoder is attached to the frame. I won't install those lights until everything else is finished.
I was having trouble figuring out how to connect the water line from the tender to the boiler but I came up with a solution that is probably not in any way prototypical. It will allow the tender to pivot by not anchoring the water line to the boiler. It will be mounted to the tender and the boiler end will float freely inside the back of the plow. I'll take some pictures once I have the pipe in place.
I mounted an air tank inside the plow only to realize that I had put it exactly where the ladder to the cupola has to go on the left side of the plow. Fortunately it popped off quite easily so all I did was move it to the other side. I have to figure out a route for the piping from the air pump which is on the left side of the boiler to the tank which is now on the right side of the plow. I may just fake it and have the air lines disappear into the floor.
I had to order some arch bar trucks from Tichy for the tender. I had two delrin arch bar trucks but one broke when I was installing the wheels. It must have been a bad casting because I didn't apply any significant force to it. It just fell apart.
The thread has just gone over 37000 views! Probably most of those are mine.
Thanks for the info on the epoxy/light work Dave. I have been messing around with tiny beads but have not been happy with the results. I think some experimenting is in order.
BATMANThanks for the info on the epoxy/light work Dave
You are most welcome.
I suppose that if you wanted larger globes you could just dip the LED in the epoxy a few more times. My only concern would be that the epoxy will flow off of the bulb before it sets so you might have to rotate the bulb a few times to keep the epoxy layer evenly distributed. That hasn't been a problem when I have only been dipping the LEDs once. The surface tension of the epoxy seems to keep it in place.
hon30critterI was having trouble figuring out how to connect the water line from the tender to the boiler but I came up with a solution that is probably not in any way prototypical.
After studying my proposed water line route I finally admitted that my solution wasn't acceptable. It was just too far out of the realm of prototypical possibilities. Further examination caused me to realize that the simplest and most prototypical route would be to simply extend the water line straight from the bottom of the tender to the bottom of the plow frame. This also allowed me to install a shut off valve in the line.
This is the pipe from my first idea. It had to come out of the bottom of the tender and then curve 180 degrees to line up with the outside of the tender. Then it had to curve upwards and sideways in order to go into the back of the plow, and then curve again to fit up against the boiler. It was a work of art, but totally useless!
This is the vastly improved, and I believe far more prototypical, final solution. The pipe simply disappears under the bottom of the plow frame. It has lots of room to float around so it shouldn't interfere with the movement of the tender:
The plow project might be on hold for a few days. Dianne was taken to the hospital by ambulance this afternoon. Her blood pressure had gone through the roof and she thought she was having a heart attack. She was shaking uncontrollably and felt nauseaus and faint, and she had stabbing pains in her back.
The hospital determined that she had not suffered a heart attack but they aren't sure what the problem is. They couldn't get her blood pressure to go back down to normal levels. She will undergo testing tomorrow to see if she has a blocked artery. Scary stuff!
hon30critterScary stuff!
My thoughts are with you and Dianne, and hope for a speedy recovery.
Regards, Ed
gmpullmanMy thoughts are with you and Dianne, and hope for a speedy recovery.
Thanks Ed,
That means a lot to me.
And others getting on board with Ed. Bless you and Dianne.
John
Let us know how things go , Dave, to whatever extent your privacy concerns permit.
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
Hoping the best for Dianne, Dave. You are both in Judy's and my thoughts.
Have them check her cortisol levels. This may be a self-amplifying stress reaction.
All my wishes for a quick and certain recovery.
Our thoughts and prayers for a speedy recovery for Dianne, Dave.
Stay positive.
David and Dawn
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
Dave, praying for a speedy recovery for Diane, and strength and comfort for you until she does. Take care.
Mike
Thank you everyone for your kind words. Dianne is stable and her blood pressure is back to normal. She has had multiple tests and most of the results showed normal, healthy readings but there were a few concerns.
She was supposed to have an angiogram this evening. If needed, they would install a stent during the procedure.
I won't keep posting about her situation unless something changes significantly. No need to hijack the thread.
Significant progress on the Dianne front:
Dianne had two stents installed on Friday evening and she immediately started to feel better. Her BP is back to normal and she may be discharged on Saturday.
We dodged a bullet. The blockages were really severe.
Back to the plow:
I installed the hanging lantern and the headlight. I used 5.76k resistors for both.
Pardon the dirty lens!
Dianne is home. Heart attack was mild.
hon30critterDianne is home.
By the way, love the lantern!
hon30critter Dianne is home. Heart attack was mild. Dave
I got the connecting plugs and resistors for the lights soldered onto the wires without too much difficulty. I'm waiting for some liquid electrical tape so I can coat the solder joints. I could have used heat shrink tubing but I got lazy.
Now I have to figure out how to connect the plugs once the shell is on the frame. I left the wires a bit long so I will have some room to play around but it's still going to be fussy work.
I had a reminder that CA has a limited shelf life. I had two different bottles/tubes of CA and neither of them had any stickum left. I should smarten up and store them in the fridge which just happens to be right behind my workbench.
I'm very close to being able to mount the shell more or less permanently on the frame. I'm waiting for some brake parts from Precision Scale, and I want to install them and finish detailing the bottom of the frame before the engines, boiler and shell are installed. If I don't wait I figure that my clumsyness will do all sorts of damage to the internal details, especially the top of the steam dome. I'm also waiting for the second set of name decals to arrive. I would like to apply those to the shell before the plow is assembled.
In the interim, I will do some touching up of the paint and see what controls I can come up with to add to the cupola.
I have pretty much decided that I'm not going to attempt to glaze the windows. I'm very fussy about glazing looking clean and flat and I just don't think that I am capable of getting it right using 5mm clear styrene. I used American Model Builders (Laser Kits) glazing in my caboose fleet a few years ago and it looks fantastic because it looks like actual glass. I absolutely will not use the liquid glazing options like canopy cement. I think the distortion makes them look hideous!
I got the new name decals from Bedlam Creations today and they look great! I have trimmed them as closely as is possible, at least for me. I want to Glosscoat the surfaces first and then I will adjust the appearance using Dullcote.
The name on the plow will be "The Ideal Snow Plow Co. Limited, Toronto, On.", but I'm going to label the tender with Canadian Pacific decals because the CP are the ones who tested the plow.
I don't know if I have related the actual history of the demise of the plow design, but apparently the plow suffered a major failure of one of the engine mounts when under heavy load. It was decided that, because of the limitations of the design (i.e. the lack of the plow's ability to through the snow clear of the tracks when the snow was too deep), that it wasn't a viable product so it was scrapped.
More to come!
I got the liquid electrical tape today and I have applied it sparingly to the bits of exposed wire. The brush that comes attached to the lid is way too huge to be useful so I snipped it off with my tin snips and used a disposable micro brush to apply the very goopy insulation.
I am a little trepidatious about applying the name decals. I think I will wait until I get some Testors Glosscote so that I can avoid any silvering (air bubbles) under the decals.
I'm kind of forced to pause my efforts while I wait for some bits for the plow.
I have brake parts on order from Precision Scale. In order to install them I have to turn the frame upside down. That means that I can't install either the boiler or the engines because they will likely get damaged when the frame is sitting upside down, even if I use a soft cradle (which I don't have).
I also can't apply the name decals until I get the Testors Clearcote from Cedar Creek Hobbies so I can create a (relatively) smooth surface to mount them on.
Oh well, I'm sure I can find some minor things to do while I'm waiting. It's kind of like contemplating your navel, except the plow is much more interesting!
Stay tuned!
hon30critterI got the liquid electrical tape today and I have applied it sparingly to the bits of exposed wire. The brush that comes attached to the lid is way too huge to be useful so I snipped it off with my tin snips and used a disposable micro brush to apply the very goopy insulation.
FWIW, Dave, Testors Clear Parts Cement & Window Maker (3515) works great for insulating bare wires. And no brush needed. You just squeeze out a little bit on a piece of paper (sticky note works great) and apply it with a pointed toothpick. It gives you a decent amount of working time and dries clear & stays flexible.
I use it to insulate the backside of SMD LEDs that I use for illuminating the headlamps in my brass steamers. It also pots them in place quite nicely. Lastly, it's non-toxic so no nasty chemicals.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
tstageFWIW, Dave, Testors Clear Parts Cement & Window Maker (3515) works great for insulating bare wires. And no brush needed.
Hi Tom,
Thank you for that recommendation. I should have asked a few questions before buying the liquid electrical tape, but now that I have it I will use it for as long as it still works. However, I suspect that it won't last more than a few months before it gets too thick to be useful.
I could have just used the epoxy that I have on hand. I'm not quite sure why I didn't do that. Maybe I'm too addicted to spending money on the hobby.
That's the beauty of the Testors Clear Parts Cement. Unlike epoxy, it's stays moderately flexible after it cures but can be pealed off, if needed. Although easy to apply initially, the epoxy becomes too rigid after it cures and could become a breakage point if the epoxy coverage is too long and the wire(s) need to be moved around alot. Thin heat shrink works great, too, but that can be difficult to find.
I'm trying to get up the courage to apply the name decals. As has been suggested in the past, I will test everything first before trying to apply the decals to the actual plow. Wish me luck!