7mm Heybridge Basin

[Richard Gawler]

Presumably there is a range of brightness from “too dull to see the detail” to “west end theatrical overload”, and presumably there is a range of acceptability dependent on the viewer

The best I can hope for is a bright overcast day. If I want to have shadows then I need a spotlight far enough away to keep them all pointing in the same direction. The layout does depict the south-facing aspect of Heybridge Basin, so shadows could at least be pointing in the right sort of direction.

I did this on my very first lighting rig, which was an array of small fluorescent tubes with an incandescent spot lamp in one corner. This was suspended from the ceiling above the layout, and the effect looked good. A bit of a challenge for a portable scheme.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

Having a somewhat Teutonic mind when it comes to design I'd be inclined to mount a small project box at either end of the lighting bar to conceal the connections with two plugs and/or sockets in the ends. Of course by using two different types connectors it also makes the setting up foolproof. (When I used to build exhibition layouts I used multiple types of connectors - which avoided the need to label them - and made sure they could only be connected one way so anyone could set up the layout).

This would also give the lighting bar a degree of flexibility by being able to power it from either end depending upon the location of the power source.

 

[Yorkshire Dave]

The best I can hope for is a bright overcast day. If I want to have shadows then I need a spotlight far enough away to keep them all pointing in the same direction. The layout does depict the south-facing aspect of Heybridge Basin, so shadows could at least be pointing in the right sort of direction.

Naturally, to do it properly you would require a sidereal drive to rotate the spotlight in order to reflect the time of day....

 

[Richard Gawler]

Having a somewhat Teutonic mind when it comes to design I'd be inclined to mount a small project box at either end of the lighting bar to conceal the connections with two plugs and/or sockets in the ends.

The project box is a wonderful idea and I would be searching for one right now if I hadn't tidied up the cabling this morning


At least the cabling is black, and with the controller strapped up here there is only one cable to take off the rig.


Maybe I won't lose the remote if I make a home for it.

To be honest, the warm/cool buttons aren't labelled. So if the connections to the lighting bar get transposed, everything will still work.

I put the connections onto the lighting bar at this end so I can take some of the surplus DC power to a light above the fiddle yard. Eventually! I'm not so sure about duplicating the connections at both ends. I spent twenty years with an employer that insisted on building in "expansion features" which never got used. Something I never ever did after I started working for myself.

I am quite proud of this construction because it has a mildly "designed" look about it even though I made it up as I went along.

 

[Richard Gawler]

Having a somewhat Teutonic mind when it comes to design I'd be inclined to mount a small project box at either end of the lighting bar to conceal the connections with two plugs and/or sockets in the ends.

I have bought five small project boxes. The surplus LED tape is going above the kitchen worktops (drivers have arrived) so two boxes for the kitchen to contain terminal blocks, two boxes for the rig and a spare.

 

[Richard Gawler]

Presumably there is a range of brightness from “too dull to see the detail” to “west end theatrical overload”, and presumably there is a range of acceptability which will be very much dependent on the viewer, I know my vision improved when I had my cataract op, but it had been declining slowly from my youth anyway. I certainly need brighter modelling lights now than even five years ago.

Yes - very variable.

The output from my light bar does have a noticeable 'blue' element just like every other so-called white LED. I think this is something I have got to live with. I have my last remaining incandescent daylight simulation bulb in the celing pendant and when this blows the only incandescent bulb left in the room will be in the anglepoise lamp for the lathe. I will then be LED-only in the room.

But in truth, the blueness is only apparent when I darken the room and illuminate the layout with just the rig. In any normal environment, with the ceiling lights and even some daylight present, the effect of the rig is good. I don't have the look of mist and depth achieved by Gordon Gravett on Arun Quay, nor the gentle pastel shades of Trevor Nunn; but much of their work is in the modelling as much as the lighting.

At this time of the year, direct sunlight passes through the doorway and onto the layout, and this casts unwanted shadows onto the backdrop. Nevertheless, if I close the landing curtains (so some diffused daylight still comes in though the doorway) and return to the model, the layout looks much the same as before but without the shadows. So the rig tunes well to match the light of a sunny day but without suitably model-like shadows. The rig tunes down to look like an overcast day too.


On a freezing and foggy morning today, the double glazing separates the warm and cool parts of the rig. I have no idea how this is happening!

Still - I have probably achieved all I can hope for without going down the RGB route to do sunrise and sunset effects as well as daylight. I didn't try for these because I don't think I would use them much.

The adjustments of brightness and of colour temperature go beyond what I can enjoy using, and the quality of the light is good enough to show up the details and colours in the models without being conspicuous in its own right. The rig has completed a 24 hour soak test and it is still working, so I'll call this complete until I get the project boxes and tidy up the wiring.

 

[magmouse]

On a freezing and foggy morning today, the double glazing separates the warm and cool parts of the rig. I have no idea how this is happening!

My take is: each pane in the double glazing produces its own reflection, so if you are looking at an angle to the window, you will see two. The difference in colour will be to do with a slight tint to the window glass, which one reflection passes through and the other doesn't. The weather is only relevant to this in that it provides light conditions outside such that the reflections of the LED strip show up strongly and you have noticed them.

Thanks for updating us on this and sharing your experiences - very useful, especially as I am in the midst of experimenting with lighting myself.

Nick.

 

[Richard Gawler]

Thanks for updating us on this and sharing your experiences - very useful, especially as I am in the midst of experimenting with lighting myself.

I have studied umpteen lighting rigs at shows. Some look really professional, some are pretty much half-baked.

We cannot go out and buy a RTR lighting rig, so the thing has to be home-made. I suppose, the choice of materials reduces to woods, metals and plastics.

At one extreme you can build something bespoke from "raw components" like perforated steel strip with fabricated brackets. I have seen this looking good on a large 7 mm layout; it is what it is so to speak and you immediately look away from the rig and back to the modelling.

At the other extreme you can lash something up with spot lamps clamped onto a bar or even (gulp) the backdrop. This might be the right thing if you only need the rig at shows and you rarely do shows.

I have seen the miniature rainwater goods sold for garden sheds used really well to build a floor-standing rig. I mean, it looked really good and I took a double-take when I realised what it was built from. I have seen the same products used really badly, where the result looked as though the same products were the only thing the builder could think of to use.

I suppose I have tried to find a middle ground where the supports are actual lighting equipment somewhat re-arranged for the task, and the lighting bar is bespoke. I like the slender look of the aluminium section. The aluminium is 30 x 20 x 2 mm and supplied ready-painted from Wickes. It is strong enough to let me have the supports near the ends, and I need to do this because the space for the supports is near the ends of the layout.

I do know, the thin-walled aluminium tubing will collapse if you try to bend it. So if you use this, you have to go down the route of clamps or suspension components (e.g. chain) to change direction. Steel tubing from something like an old gazebo is more likely to survive in a pipe bender.

 

[simond]

dependent on budget, musicians' / stage / disco light stands and bars are another possibility

a quick google found this which would probably be cheaper than some of the lash-ups that are seen around the shows. And it's designed to be portable. I'm sure there are many others.

BeamZ Lighting Truss Bridge Stand 3m wide, £160.

If that's too heavy-duty, they have tall tripods at ~ £60 and you could make your own crossbar