Italeri 1/48 AC-130

[Jack L]

What's the absolute minimum I need for a small light set up inside? Please bear in mind I know b****r all about electrics, but I was thinking of two tiny bulbs front and rear and hiding a tiny battery and switch in the flare box that fits on the rear ramp. The inside dimensions of the box are 15mm wide, 26mm long and 19mm deep. If I can get a switch and battery in there, I can make a simple mock up of a canvas cover over the box to hide them. There's no issue with the wiring as the real thing has got wires and cables everywhere so they don't need to be hidden.

I have used these in the past...really simple and easy, and fit into a very small area

https://true2scale.com/miniature-3v-led-lighting/

[papa 695]

Very nice work so far Dave.

[Gern]

Thanks Ian.

Jakko & Jack: Thanks for the info guys. I've ordered a small 3V lighting set which has 4 lights and a coin type battery holder & switch. Am I right thinking that I can wrap an LED in foil if I want to hide the light from it? Will I also need to provide some sort of shielding to prevent the light shining through the kit plastic?

I'm off to see if the carpet monster will return the end of the Vulcan barrel that I dropped .....

[Guest]

I doubt you'll have trouble with the light shining through the black plastic of the kit, but a coat or two of black on the inside would guarantee it.

If it's a 3V kit then it's very likely the LED's are wired in parallel, in which case you just don't connect the ones you don't need, but you probably won't know that for certain until you have the kit and check the wiring diagram.

[Guest]

Am I right thinking that I can wrap an LED in foil if I want to hide the light from it? Will I also need to provide some sort of shielding to prevent the light shining through the kit plastic?

If you mean aluminium foil, I’d say that should work — just take care it doesn’t touch both legs of the LED, else you’ll short-circuit it. You could also build a plastic card box around the LED, or take a bit of plastic tube that will fit around it and cut it away on the sides you want the light to come out.

[Gern]

Little bit more progress on this. You'll have to forgive the quality of the pictures. This is the first time I've used the camera I got from Ken and I've got much to learn.



I've added some wires to the back of the IP as you can just about see behind it through the windows. Seat belts are just 1mm Jammy Dog tape. I haven't gone OTT with them as they're only just visible even with the lights so I'm calling the cockpit done.




The interior is totally fictional but I felt it better than leaving it completely empty. I think I'll need to add some more colours though - especially on the seats.

You can't see any of this except vague outlines when it's buttoned up in the fuselage, but the little lighting kit I ordered has arrived. I've tested it and I reckon it's just what I need. There are 4 small (1.5mm) LED lights so I can put one in the cockpit, two in the middle and one at the rear. There's a row of what look like lights moulded on the main deck roof parts. There are more than four but the aircraft only has four switched on for routine servicing during standby (Hey Ron - I learned this from you!).

I was going to try and hide the coin battery holder in the flare box on the rear ramp but it won't fit. I'll make a little box to fit on the roof just above the ramp. The battery holder will just slide into it so I'll be able to replace the battery if needed. The extra wires won't need to be hidden as the real aircraft has wires everywhere, and I can disguise the switch as some sort of control box - or summat.

Jakko. Thanks for the tip about using foil near any bare wires. I've got some black electrician's tape which I think will be all I need to secure the wires in place and provide enough shielding for the light as well.

[Gern]

Nearly forgot.

I don't know whether this should be here or in the 'other interests' section.

Is the 'washed out' and bright appearance of the pictures due to the white balance on the camera? The box I used as a background is a light grey colour and it seems like the camera has interpreted this as white and has changed it - which has effected the other colours.

[Mickc1440]

Some great work Dave, I'd pull up a chair but with the size of that thing I doubt there's room :smiling2:

[Guest]

Jakko. Thanks for the tip about using foil near any bare wires. I've got some black electrician's tape which I think will be all I need to secure the wires in place and provide enough shielding for the light as well.

That should work, sure. Though electrical tape does’t necessarily stick very well, so you may want to just superglue it to the LED bulb to make sure it won’t come off

[scottie3158]

Gern,
Cracking work fictional or not it looks great and will add a lot of interest.

[Tim Marlow]

Hi Gern
Nice build so far....with respect to the pictures, are you using flash? If so, the shots are overexposed. White balance will change the colour tones not the exposure. The camera usually tries to expose everything to a mid grey, not white. Try reducing the flash power, shooting further away and cropping in, or shooting in daylight...I suspect the flash is at minimum power but the close shot still overexposed the shot.
Cheers
Tim

[Gern]

Hi Gern
Nice build so far....with respect to the pictures, are you using flash? If so, the shots are overexposed. White balance will change the colour tones not the exposure. The camera usually tries to expose everything to a mid grey, not white. Try reducing the flash power, shooting further away and cropping in, or shooting in daylight...I suspect the flash is at minimum power but the close shot still overexposed the shot.
Cheers
Tim

I managed to get hold of the instruction book for the camera and set it up for fully automatic. The book says I should get as near as possible for close-up shots, at least that's how I interpreted it, so that's what I did. As I said, I clearly have a lot to learn - and a lot to observe 'cos I didn't even notice if the camera used flash or not! Not a problem though, it's not as if I'll be wasting film by experimenting:smiling4:

[Tim Marlow]

Hi mate
If you look at the camera shooting “modes” there should be one with a “flower” icon. That one is called “macro” and is designed for close up shots. It should set the camera up better for close up shots than “auto” (green square icon ?). It also helps to use something to keep the camera steady, because the exposure time will be longer than a normal shot. Stick with it, you’ll soon crack it then wonder what was so hard....