to add micro LEDs to a scene, and to get some especially clever
tricks from Geoff’s out-of-the-box thinking.
LEDs have a number of advantages over incandescent bulbs.
LEDs use less amperage, they’re often less expensive, and
these days you can get some extremely tiny micro LEDs. They
also have a life measured in tens of thousands of hours and
they run cool – you won’t melt any plastic with an LED.
Being able to get LEDs in very tiny sizes can be a real advan-
tage for modeling, especially in rolling stock and signaling
applications or putting them inside signs. You can also use
these micro LEDs to put headlights into your automobiles, or
to put flashing lights onto a police car.
LEDs can be had in many different colors, including many dif-
ferent tones of white from an intense bluish-white to a warm
golden-white. Because LEDs run cool, you can also use a thin
paint wash to tint the white LEDs different shades.
Bipolar LEDs make modeling single-head searchlight signals
quite practical and relatively easy. These red-green LEDs can
also be made to simulate a yellow aspect by using a circuit
that alternates rapidly between red and green. You just can’t
do this with incandescent bulbs!
You can get special circuits that allow you to use LEDs to
simulate a campfire, a welder, traffic signals, railroad crossing
lights, or as aircraft warning beacons on tall smokestacks or
things like radio towers.
You can also get special LED lighting strips for interior car
lighting such as the Easy Peasey Passenger Car lighting sets
from Rapido Trains or the passenger car lighting kits from
Publisher’s editorial - 3
MRH-Jul 2014
