Starship Modeler Discussion Forums

I've got another question: these Paragraphix LED Tape connectors are compatible with any LED tape, right? It's all the same, I hope. This project of mine will incorporate straight 3mm LEDs, LED tape, and fiber optics. I plan to use fiber optics with a red LED to light the engines of the tiny X-Wings.

The longer the LED strip is, the more powerful your power supply will need to be in terms of pumping more current. OK, thanks. That's what I needed to know. I am working on lighting up ships from the old MPC Hoth Rebel hangar diorama. I've done the Rebel Transport with regular blue LEDs (I've share...

So I bought some of this great LED tape from Cult TV Man at the WonderFest last summer. It says that there's no need to be concerned about calculating resistors. But shouldn't the number of LEDs affect how the light shines? I would think that the length of the tape and how many LEDs are lit would af...

Very lovely links! I tinkered around with a 555 strobe light last fall and wrote down some notes. The lesser the resistor, the faster the flash. And on the other end, the greater the resistor, the longer between the flashes. I bought some 20ohm resisters to try to make it a very quick flash, but I h...

Hi, Does anyone have any simple to understand wiring diagrams for 555 timer chips to light up a typical Star Trek ship? I'd like to do this for my 1:537 Enterprise, Reliant, etc. I've been playing around with a 555 timer chip on my own and getting the hang of using one, but I've seen at least two di...

I had secured LEDs into the Rebel Transporter model I've been working on with hot glue, and I made the mistake of leaving it in my car for a few hours. The heat had warmed up the hot glue and unseated the LEDs. I had used that glue to secure the LEDs into position. But that was not the least of my p...

Epoxy putty doesn't conduct electricity, does it?

I've been told by guys who light their kits that if I burn test it and it works fine, just go with it, even if it isn't "perfect." I'll likely see them online today and they will probably tell me that this is what I get for listening to too many people. The problem is that I don't have a t...

Hi Ant, OK, for the past 6 hours (except for when I ate dinner, etc) I have rewired this to do it in the way you've suggested. Except for the 3-light sequence for the bottom I have a 220 ohm and for each of the two series ones on the top I have a 440 ohm. I can get either the 3 lights or the 4 light...

Thank you for the drawing. It is easy to understand, too. So the lights don't have to run in parallel to each other, but the three different series of lights all run parallel. I misunderstood people's advice. The reason I went with the 840ohm resistors is because I did not want the lights to be blin...

That's the problem I had with the Boxhead commenter on YouTube. He was insisting that I can't just have the resistors up front and that I had to have them in front of each LED. I'm glad you say that it is just personal preference because I am inclined to agree with you. Well, the way I already have ...

I had posted a question here about where the resistors go, and the response I got was that it does not matter where the resistors go, but that they ought to go before the LEDs. Are you saying that it's best to just leave the parallel as I have already established, but just to put resistors in betwee...

Thanks for the quick reply. The boxhead guy said that I should not do anything in parallel, and instead do it in a series with positives connecting to negatives. I proved already that this will not work, and that it has to be a parallel configuration. I've been told that it doesn't matter where the ...

Hey guys, I've made progress on the parallel LEDs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mS0iuHCY5bc Let me know what you think. Today I had a user who goes by "Walter Boxhead" tell me that it actually does matter where the resistors go, and that they need to go between each LED and that I need ...

Awesome thread! I just came here looking for an answer to this very question. I will go with epoxy putty to make things definitely permanent.

Hi Ant, Thank you for teaching me about this. It is still rather difficult for me to understand. Do you suggest a parallel or a series? I couldn't detect any recommendation from you, assuming you provided any. The very last scenario you provided for the parallel is only for 3 LEDs, however I did mak...

The battery is an LRV08. Today I bought a double power pack along (making it a total of 24V) with some 430 ohm resistors. You can see the progress I've made on my Rebel Transport here on YouTube. You can skip ahead to about 20 minutes in if you just want to see the lighting part. Oh, and I found tha...

Yes, that is essentially the same LED tester that I have, although the on/off switch is on the side. I can stick all of the LEDs along the top row. I don't know what the bottom row is for. I've tested them for over an hour to make sure there are no duds. Guys, none of this makes sense to me. I have ...

Guys, I don't get it. I have seven blue 3mm LEDs I want to light up for my MPC Rebel Transport. I have an LED Tester that runs on a 9v battery. I can plug all seven lights into it and they light up. But once I put them onto a breadboard with a 12v battery, I can light four of them with only one 220 ...

Yeah, I'd like to get that arcade truck, too. Do the game screens come with clear plastic panes so that they can be lit from the inside? It's natural for these kits to share the same parts since they just repop the same runners and shade out the unused parts in the manual's runner pics on a case-by-...

Thank you so much!

Here is what I am up to.

Or does it matter? Should be a quick answer. Thanks.

I found this page to be a useful primer on lighting kits:
http://www.instructables.com/id/LED-Lig ... ic-Models/

I only use Tamiya Airbrush Cleaner or their lacquer thinner to clean out my airbrush. Did you fully disassemble it? If so, the sputtering may be due to not tightening the nozzle tight enough. I also do not merely soak it, but I use an airbrush cleaning brush. Mine is made by Tamiya, but you can use ...

I finally got around to checking out that electronic component store in my town last week. I bought a breadboard, some 220 resistors, a switch, a 9V battery pack, plug-in jumpers, and of course some LEDs. I followed an easy how-to guide I'd found on TEH INTARNETZ and made it a father/daughter scienc...

Wait... what? Plenty of people use artist oil paints for washes. That FitchenFoo video even shows artists oils being used. Some people are only saying that Bandai plastics may not be good with using turpentine, but there are alternatives. The gloss coat is so that it can properly wash over the surfa...

IIRC, someone on here (I believe either Millenium Falsehood or Lone Wolf) said that this is what he always uses. I've never used it myself.

OK, thanks. I understand that the resistors control how fast the flashes will be with the 555 chip. I would want the strobes on the Enterprise to be as fast as a finger snap, but the other lights should be maybe a second on, and three seconds off. I assume that it's possible to have two different 55...

brt wrote: and 10k and 15k for flasher timing on the chip.

Pardon my ignorance, but what are "10k and 15k"? Thank you for your guidance. I appreciate it.

it also causes them to turn yellow...as I learned the hard way on a model of the USS Reliant. :( (it was also over an enamel-based white) I know that Testors Dullcote and Gloss Cote turn everything yellow because they are crap. Good reminder. Although I have been told that you can put a lacquer cle...