This is the final post covering the Degobah diorama. This one concerns the addition of a touch of LED lighting to Yoda's hut.
The lighting device of choice comes from one of those flicker votive candles.
The LED used for this item has built in circuitry to produce the flicker effect, making it the perfect choice to simulate a fireplace flame in a LEGO set.
After carefully extracting the LED from the candle base, it was only a matter of wiring it up along with a limiting resistor, a battery, and a small two-position switch.
A 270 ohm resistor was perfect for achieving the right brightness for the LED, and the whole thing is powered by a 3 volt lithium battery.
The LED assembly was hot melt glued to a black 2x2 plate to facilitate its mounting inside the structure.
I had to disassemble a substantial portion of the model to reach the area where the LED would go.
The unit was originally installed in the section where the original trans red and orange tile 'fireplace' resided. This detail was buried way off to the left side of the hut and was not even visible from any angle from the outside.
Once I had the entire set re-assembled, I switched on the lighting feature and saw...nothing!
The LED was too far buried behind other interior elements to shed any light at all.
So, the model came apart a second time....
On this round, the LED was moved to the very center of the hut, out in the open. I also sealed the large opening at the back of the diorama with white bricks that would reflect more of the light forward.
Of course, this now prevents the interior details of the hut from being visible, but I am willing to sacrifice that in order to have the lighting effect, instead.
Engineering always involves some degree of give-and-take.
Once the model was re-assembled and switched on, the results were very satisfactory. The lighting effect has a nice orange glow that flickers as if there's a real fire burning inside.
The Degobah Jedi Training diorama is now completed!
Thanks for looking.
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