A quick update! (not that I'll be working at this rate
)
1) I'll be ordering some battery holders and misc. items this weekend from Mouser and All Electronics.
2) I'd really recommend just trying out some of these LED candles in your layout as-is - you can sticky-tape/blue-tack them to ceilings, roofs, etc, or place them inside houses, barns, ships - even as out-of-scale as they are, the lighting effect is quite nice, and you can somewhat hide the bulky 'candles in a corner somewhere. Try it out! (the easiest thing you can do is remove the outer case with faux flame and shell to reduce overall size).
3a) I've got at least one concept partially done - the campfire! To drill out the hole in the flame, I used a pin vise (no power tools here, just do a look at any online hobby store). Closest drill bit I had on hand is a 7/64" 2.8mm. I also used a 1/16" 1.6mm bit to hollow out as much as I could to the tip of the flame (this bit's just to try and get the brightest light output). I'll *try* and post a small video clip or animated GIF, but for now the picture shows the lighting in an almost darkened room - the flickering effect is really quite nice! FYI I had to use a dremel and drum sander to trim off the bottom ring edge around the LED, and widen the holes trial-and-error with an xacto blade.
3b) Next up is to hollow out the bottom of the campfire logs so that I can fit the PCB under it, with only a pair of wires leading out to a battery source - for the moment it will be a barrel - anyone care to recommend any other playmo prop that would *be* near a campfire?
3c) This has been a straightforward mod, and I suppose with some creativity I could just use the setup as-is and hide the battery base under a false ground, or build up something around the campfire - no need for wires leading to power source.
3d) A slightly easier modification (imo) would be using the Knights Superset (older version with Blacksmith) and Viking Superset - There's enough space UNDER the landscape to house a decent size battery holder
(fwiw I have some ideas for a major lighting spectacular for Rock Temple setup ... after I get these other initial lighting up and running).
Richard - yup, I'd looked at Playmobil's modern interior lighting before, and I have the StarShip3 (3080) with blinky LED set for reference ... just a little too modern and bulky for my intended purpose!
Slyvia - I'll admit Little Jo's diorama has been an inspiration for me to get this project going every since I cam across the page months ago.
Thanks much again for all the encouragement, and I hope to report back soon!
