43: Warm white LED strips 6” apart to light the lower
deck.
43
overall cold wintery feeling to this area. See figure 41 with
the Blue White LEDs at the left, transitioning to Warm White
at the right. Overall Warm White lighting balance is shown in
figure 42.
The underside of the upper deck, with the three LED light strips
installed, is shown in figure 43. The next step was to provide for
“Blue” night lighting to match that in the rest of the room. I was
surprised to find that, for this application, a single strip of blue
LED lights was sufficient (44). I was also surprised to find that
the blue light includes quite a bit of ultraviolet. This causes any
paint or finish that would glow under “black light” to glow. You
could capitalize on this effect, if desired. The great John Allen
used black-light effects extensively in the Port area of his Gorre
& Daphetid layout.
Last, I decided to add red lighting to match the red dawn and
dusk lighting in the rest of the layout room. In this case, a last-
minute decision was made to put the red lights on the layout
deck shining up instead of on the top facing down. This will
require careful consideration in the placement buildings and
Getting Real column - 17
42: Completed backdrop section under warm white
LED lighting.
42
What I learned is, that with the Golden White LEDs, the strips
must be placed about 6 inches apart to produce a lighting level
on the lower deck that matches the overall lighting level in the
room. This means that for the average section about 18 inches
deep, a strip is required at the front, middle, and back of the
upper benchwork to provide adequate lighting. The peel-and-
stick backing does NOT hold well. Put it up in the evening and
it has fallen down by morning. I used a staple gun and 3/8”
staples to fix the strips in place. I placed the staples between
the LEDs to avoid damaging the LEDs. In all the strips I stapled
in place, I damaged only two LEDs.
One change in plan involved the stormy sky over Watts,
Oklahoma. This area will be set in the winter season with
snow on the ground. Normally I avoid “White” LEDs. They
tend to have a blue tint and overall cold-white appearance.
But for this section I used the White LED strips which give an
MRH-Jan 2013
