# Playing with LEDs 101



## slotcarman12078

:wave: Welcome to class!!! It has been requested that I start an open discussion on lighting with LEDs so here it is. All I have to offer here is my brief experience with these little electrical wonders, (mostly from trial and error) and if there is anyone out there in HT land who knows more please step foward!!! I for one would like to find out how I can make a flashing LED work correctly on a slotcar. I know the flashers are finicky about the milliamps and a simple resistor won't cut it. But I have also have found that you can run 4 LEDs on a slot car with decent results! My surfer van is still sitting as I haven't yet decided who the victim will be from my small collection to lose a chassis, so I'll be using it as a how to on this thread. Randy from hilltop is looking to put caution lights on his table and I have the ideas brewing for this project including a link for some cool stoplight poles!!! As I can't afford a membership to HT at this time, I will have to find another way to link photos to this thread or I will quickly use up my alotted photo space so any suggestions in this area will be appreciated!! One thing I haven't run into yet is how a "nutherized" chassis will react to a LED conversion. The funny thing with magnet motors is when you cut the power (brake) and the motor is free wheeling the motor actually produces electrical current in the opposite polarity!! My cars don't coast very much..due to their being fairly new, but I need them that way for R/R crossing purposes. To automate my crossing, the curve tracks on either end are insulated from the rest of the track by pushing in the tabs on one rail for each lane and further insulated with electrical tape. those rails at this time are powered by momentary on switches, and the rest of the track is controlled by either hand controllers or 100 ohm potentiometors( for solo operation). This is how a 9 year old can run one train and 3 slotcars at the same time..see the video.but turn down volume if you don't like heavy metal!!! 



 Once the crossing gates are mounted I will be able to fully automate the crossing and won't have to sit there pushing buttons when the coast is clear. Anyway...free wheeling chassis would roll through the train crossing especially on the downhill side of the tracks. Sooo, I'm going to grab some info and start the class with Hilltop's caution lights!!


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## bobhch

*photobucket for pics...*



slotcarman12078 said:


> :wave: As I can't afford a membership to HT at this time, I will have to find another way to link photos to this thread or I will quickly use up my alotted photo space so any suggestions in this area will be appreciated!! !!


Go to Photobucket.com and join up for free. They give you 1000 images and that should last you for a little bit. I put up a thread on how to link the pictures here on another thread on HT...will find it and PM it to you soon.

Bob...pics are easy to do...zilla


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## slotcarman12078

*Track caution lights*

Ok..I'll start with a link..I'm not sure this guy is still in business as the web page hasn't been updated since 2000, but here is a possible source for traffic lights. http://www.ironpeng.com/ipe/hokits.html Check out this guys custom lighted vehicles too!! These were part two of my inspiration for my fire truck ( see members customs for the pictures). The first chunk of inspiration came from Zachbuff on ebay). What's nice about this guys stoplights is they can be mounted by poles, or suspended by the wires, or be mounted (with a little creativity) to your track wall. Switching between green and yellow:freak: will be handled by slide momentary on switches at the 4 drivers stations hooked to an Atlas snap relay; and a single pole double throw switch at the main controller station for going "shut it down" red . Some time this weekend I'll head into the "cave" and dig up some switches and a relay and see how the wiring progresses, and snap a few pictures if I get it working. Please keep in mind I don't have the stoplights so mine will look a bit more "rustic" than the ones at the above site!!! One note on the relay...these have a tendancy to bake if the power is kept on..thus the momentary on switches..a quick push of the button is all you need to switch from yellow to green and back..leaning on the switch for much more than a second or two and you'll melt the relay!!


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## slotcarman12078

*caution light circuit takes shape*

This was actually simple once I dug into the relay instructions. You need a decent train transformer to power this. The switches are wired to the A/C side. The switches can either be the slide type as shown or the push button momentary on style. If using the button type, the ground wire (center wire on the relay) can go directly to the transformer. The wiring for the LEDS is hooked to the D/C side of the transformer and need to be polarized..+/-. A cheapie volt/ohm meter will tell you which is positive. The LEDs are soldered to resistors and wired to the + screw on the transformer. The other legs of the LEDs are hooked to the relay A and B and the ground is the other screw, wired to the - on the transformer. Kick on the power, and viola!! A caution light circuit!! An easy to follow schematic to follow as soon as I draw it up. And the red light circuit will be on the schematic too.. Joe


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## slotcarman12078

*Schematic for the Caution light circuit*

Ok...Here's what I've managed to doodle up..Click it to enlarge it!! or get a microscope!!!:tongue:


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## slotcarman12078

OK.. Guess the first class was a bit boring.. And when you start thinking of all the wiring involved it's a big project for just some little lights scattered around the table...  I agree.. But I had to do it anyway!! 
Time for the real project... the one everyone was hoping to see!!! 








My little ambulance cruising the back street..








These are before and after images of 1.8mm LEDs. They will survive a little trimming from the dremel..A little buzz here, a little off the sides...just don't get too close to the internal organs and they'll be ok!!









It's very important to make and fit the holes for the LEDs before painting!! I drill them with a dremel way undersized, and work from there with a engraving bit until I can get a jewelers file in there to shape the holes.








You want the fit to be snug, but not too snug..Paint will add to the fit so plan accordingly..








The headlights on this model are 2mm warm white. This is the smallest size I've found so far in the "warm" variety..LEDs come as small as 1.6mm and are a blueish white..kinda like the new style halogens on 1:1 cars. I made a boo boo painting the headlight LEDs black. But that's easy enough to fix. White is a much better choice. Be sure to clean up the end before the paint dries!!








Ready to start bending leads and soldering.. Any questions yet???


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## T-Jet Racer

Yes if you reverse the polarity do th eblow up or just wont light?


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## slotcarman12078

They just won't light..Now hitting them with too much voltage is a different story.. I had one pop on me!!! Exploded the little sucker!!! :lol: Capacitors, on the other hand will blow up if exposed to a polarity switch. They also store up energy and can give ya quite the shock if they discharge on you. That was why I used precautions when I tried that circuit board I bought with the twin flashing LEDs. I had it shielded in case it blew!! Sadly,it didn't work at all when sharing the power with the chassis. And on track voltage it lit up but didn't flash. I'm quite puzzled as to how it still works hooked up to a 9 volt battery. It is...how would you say...illogical???? :tongue:


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## NTxSlotCars

How about a flasher? How do they get the LEDs to flash on RC cars?

Rich


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## Hilltop Raceway

slotcarman12078 said:


> Ok...Here's what I've managed to doodle up..Click it to enlarge it!! or get a microscope!!!:tongue:


Thank you sir!!! I'll have to give this a try. This is a heck of a lot better than going to Radio Shack!!! "You've got questions, Hobby Talk has answers". Thanks a bunch slotman!!! Man, the lightbulb still amazes me...RM


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## slotcarman12078

Well Rich, I've had very little success with flashers in slots. I've been doing some research and have not as yet found anything I can decipher.. Trying to make out all those electrical symbols and calculations are like trying to read chinese..once I get past the pork fried rice, I'm lost! R/C vehicles are powered by a battery source so the voltage flow remains fairly consistant. It will drop over time during use, but it's a gradual drop. Also, I think..but not sure...there is a different frequency in the voltage. The word hertz comes to mind but I was either too drunk or too sober to comprehend what they were writing about. This would explain why that ole circuit board I experimented with worked with the battery but not with track voltage, even though the volts were the same, the circuit wouldn't work. As far as flashing LEDs are concerned, I have one in my first ambulance. It does flash dimly on a level run and going down hill, but climbing a grade won't flash at all. The problem is the amps with those. Flashing LEDs have a very tight mili-amp window where they'll function correctly. Too much, or not enough and they won't work right. And since there is a huge power curve to run a slot and keep it on the track, keeping the mili-amps right is darn near impossible. I have yet to get out to the R- Shack to test the techno dudes with this dilemma..


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## slotcarman12078

*Not a prob!!*

Hey Randy check out these guys lights!!! And they custom make them so you can get just the red/yellow/green. http://cgi.ebay.com/RAILROAD-SIGNAL...ryZ11646QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem If you don't want the poles these can be set right into the infield at the corners.. http://cgi.ebay.com/RAILROAD-SIGNAL...11644QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742.m153.l1262 At $15.00 a pair, and about $8-10.00 for a snap relay, momentary switches for $1.40 each you could get the whole thing done for about $75.00 with the wire. http://cgi.ebay.com/Min-SPST-Green-...ryZ11644QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Let me know if you have any questions or run into any problems!! Joe


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## pearl

i notice on your video you use model railroad switches like the atlas track type for switching a sideing . A lot of things meant for model rairoads can be adapted for slot cars if you check out a good model railroad site you might get some ideas. From what my husband has taught me about leds the amperage from the power pack is higher than if you used a little battery and it blows them.the voltage is way to high also. He had traffic lights on his model railroad that changed just like a real traffic lights and it used a little printed circuit and a on and off toggle switch on the control panel it . and a couple of very tiny batteries like a hearing aid battery . 3 volts. It was not hooked up to the power packs , It was a homemade setup. you can buy a lot of this type of thing today like in the above link already made . Might need some adapting for your use.
Lights in a slot car could be the same.. independent of the power pack if you use , two very tiny batteries you dont need a resistor A micro switch to turn them on and off . My husband use to add lights to trucks and cars on the model railroad like that. a flasher circuit can be added say for a police car. plus he used fibre optics in a tractor trailer for the tiny lights . its a lot of very delicate work but they sure look neat all lit up at night. same thing for a movie theatre fiber optics and a chase circuit and the lights look like the real things . a lot of model railroad stuff can be used just need a imagination .. Check out the Faller videos on you tube the trucks and busses work on the same idea as slot cars . only the rail is imbedded in the road thats what my husband is playing with now a tractor trailer he is still working on getting the speed down a little more realistic . Faller even may have things you guys can adapt to the slot cars .
i dont understand most of this stuff but i do get stuck soldering tiny little resitors and other odd little things and wires for my husband his logic is i have tiny hands so its easier for me to play with micro parts l.o.l.
This will take you to one video you can check out the other s a lot are in German or French .. But the video might give you some ideas .
The trucks can be made to stop anywhere you want them to depends where you put sensors and that kind of thing it is a neat system slow compared to slot car tracks but i think you might find some ideas that could be converted to what you want.


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## Mexkilbee

Here is another interesting place for LED help, as far as sizeing to your needs, be preparred, you have to do math, argh. http://linear1.org/1ledwiz 
I believe jerry schmoyer at BRP w/t.bowman may be able to help as he has a kit for headlights for t-jets allready made, it would be a great headstart (i have a set in a nova that work and look great).


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## Mexkilbee

http://led.linear1.org/1led.wiz this should work.


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## slotcarman12078

*Love them videos!!*

Thanks for throwing that link in Pearl!! I was planning on adding it in a later lesson, but why wait!! The Faller road system was a great inspiration to me and is what sparked the concept of more realistic lighting in my slotcars. When I opened my first Johnny Lightning/ AW flamethrower and set it on the track I was extremely disapointed with the results.  The whole hood glowed like a nuclear meltdown was occuring!!! When I started searching alternate lighting methods I stumbled onto the Faller videos and it took days for me to get my jaw back  where it was supposed to be. Sad to think that Aurora and Faller were corporate cousins at one time, and one survived and the other fell. As I progress with my projects, I hope to improve the quality of my work. I know I'll never match the level of craftmanship of Faller, or some of the masters here on HT like Bill Hall, Bob...spray gun in hand...Zilla and Randy at Hilltop, just to mention a few (I don't mean to single anyone out, I'd run out of room putting all your names in!!!!) but I'll keep trying. The bar set so high simply makes me want to try harder!! :thumbsup: The priority with this and every hobby is to have fun!! There's a great bunch of people here at HT, and I'm glad I found it! My only regret is I didn't find it sooner!!! Hobbytalk rocks!!! :woohoo:


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## slotcarman12078

Thanks for the link mex! :thumbsup: I tried looking at brp's web page and I didn't see anything for LEDs. Though that 69 trans am body looks mighty interesting!! The surfer van project is only my 3rd mini lindy conversion to date, and is number 6 in total for lighted vehicles, not counting the 3 Athearn fire trucks I butchered trying to copy what Zachbuff (ebay name) was selling last year. James, if you're reading this, thanks for the idea!! I don't think my conversions will never match your level of perfection, but then yours aren't lighted like mine!! :tongue: and the Torino convertible you sold me will always be one of my favorites!! :thumbsup: Remember, imitation is the highest form of flattery!! The hard part with any lighting project is getting the light where you want it, without having it go where you don't. As a group we can accomplish so much more.. This is as much a lesson for me as for everyone else. Where will this thread lead?? Who can tell?? With our collective IQ's there is no limit!! My personal goal is to be able to use a single LED with fiber optic head and tail lights, with decent results, and be able to do it repetitively . And my ultimate goal (now I'm really raising the bar) is to do a Model Motoring 66 GTO conversion with the head and tail lights. Now that's really going to be hard!!! :wave:


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## pearl

If the light is too bright and lights up the plastic body of the car could you not use a couple of coats of black primer inside the body .

I put lights in one of my buildings it has no detail inside and the whole building kind of glowed you could see the shadow of the light bulb shining through the wall .

It was a house with dark curtains on the windows and i just wanted to give the impression it had detail like a little person glued near the window and you could see the silhouette.

I gave the inside walls 3 coats of flat back primer and it solved the problem of the light lighting up the walls .
It was a light bulb not a led lite it run on the train power pack along with the street lights.

The Faller system i think is very neat i have been trying to talk my husband into building a model railroad again for about 5 years now with no luck .

I showed him a video of the Faller log trucks he ordered one the next day .He use to own a logging truck. l.o.l.

That would be just as good as trains to me , a giant diorama where i could display lots of little cars. And trucks that move around on a road would sure look neat.

But he is still playing around with it changing the gears and the power supply it has to run at a scale speed he got it slower now has to get the bugs out .fried a couple of motors so far. l.o.l.With his resistor ideas and adding weights l.o.l.

But because we are moving he is playing around now with 4 ft modules that can be joined together that way easy to move .My dioramas l.o.l. They are all able to interlock he aint throwing them out when we move i made them so they could be moved . 4ft 6ft and 8ft long. 2ft wide and everything can be taken off and boxed .


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## pearl

Do you guys ever check the dollar type stores i bought a dumb little fibre optic light it uses 3 leds because it changes colours .. i got it just for the fibre optics .it uses 2A.A. batteries They are about a foot long and lots of them . They would be good for glueing 4 to a led lite then add a couple of little tiny batteries and you would have headlights and tail ights. The diameter is close to the size of a 1/64 scale headlight. I guess if you just drilled a hole in the car and stuck them out the back add a dab of tail light paint it would work.


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## slotcarman12078

I have considered going the battery route, but only as a last resort. As it is, my conversions add weight and usually in the wrong place for cars that move as fast and corner as hard :roll: as these cars at times do. I have been meaning to do a search of wholesale lots of flashing LED buttons on epay...the kind they hand out at trade show,etc...but haven't done it yet. It's an interesting source for leds, and a lightweight flasher circuit. The only problem will be switching on and off the power. A DIY micro switch can handle that, but again I still want to try to do this completely off of track power. I realize I may never achieve this goal, but it's still early in the game, and I'm not a quitter :lol:


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## pearl

Never thought about the weight... the tiny led and tiny batteries and fibre optics i didnt think would be that heavy But they do weigh a little bit .

Track power ..I guess you would have to use a Micro light bulb not a led.Little trains have a very tiny light bulb i mean very tiny like a little led light. The train power packs are probably the same voltage as the slot car type.. just two wires and they go on the same place as the wires on the motor, dont know if you already tried that . You would have to figure a way to cover it so it would not light up the whole inside of the car perhaps a little tiny tube i dont think they get very hot but not sure. But i think they are impossible to fry. l.o.l. Even up to about 16 volts.and i think the amperage thing on slot cars would be less than the power a train uses to haul 50 cars. You could still add the fibre optics to the glass bulb . i dont know what voltage slot cars use but the old one we had it had only a tiny little power pack .So i figured it has a lot less power than a train power pack because we could even run a sound system off ours and light a whole town yet those little headlight bulbs never burned out . i dont know nothing about slot cars just that the motors are very tiny . If i driving you guys crazy just say so i dont really understand a lot of it just things that i seen work on a train. i just was thinking trains have lights and very seldom they burn out the olden day type did but the newer type dont . And flashing light bulbs can be bought in red for train crossings and they use a very tiny light bulb . And run off the power pack but off the accessory side so dont know if they would fry if you added more power.Ok im going back to the other side of town so i wont drive you crazy . l.o.l. No more ideas because maybe slot cars are not like little trains.


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## slotcarman12078

Trains and slots work on the same basic principle..provide power to a motor and it moves. But some light bulbs do get hot..very hot. I bought 40 street lights from an ebay seller in Hong Kong. They operate on 6 volts. Well, I took the basic principle that 3 lights connected end to end would = 18 volts and well, lets just say those lights droop a bit now!! It started cooking the "lead paint" off the top of the light pole and I burned my finger trying to get it back where it was supposed to be before it cooled!!  As far as slots vs. trains, slots go way faster than trains run, and with the basic train curve minimum at 18" radius, and the slot car track standard radius is 9" things go way faster and the turns way tighter. Granted, I am always trying to slow down my cars as much as I can (boring for some slot enthusiasts) but my reasons and goals are different from theirs. My cars are rolling scenery for my trains. Others goals are racing their cars as fast as they can. And they look for as many weight losing and handling tricks as they can to get an edge, produce faster lap times and win competitions. Others sacrifice drivability for a certain look, adding stuff cut off die cast cars to enhance the appearance. We are all here for a common cause, but we're all looking for different effects. These in no way make ones contributions to the hobby any better than anothers.. It makes the hobby better and stronger by all of our work!! :thumbsup: By all means don't stop visiting or throwing ideas this way!! One never knows where an idea, or the inspiration to dig deeper into a possibility will come from!! My goal here is to make as pleasing effect as I can to satisfy all three of the above mentioned groups. The need for as lightweight lighting package as possible, with as much realism and detail as possible, without the ill effects of lighting such as heat. I am getting there...slowly....but I'm getting there!!


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## pearl

You didnt say what voltage the little slot cars use so i was thinking they must be at least 12 volt power packs so I would think they would burn out 6 volts bulbs if you put a lot together a certain way i guess they work but why wouldnt you have bought 12 to 16 volt bulbs for street lights .? That's the kind we use on our power pack for lighting buildings . The light bulbs i meant can take up to16 volts so it wouldnt burn out would it ? I dont know if they get hot .i guess i dont understand what you are trying to do but I'm one of those people that ask dumb questions thats how i learn things. l.o.l. 

12 volt bulbs dont burn out even if you advance the throttle and put it at maximum power on a train ,and yes i know the motors go slower .

So do you mean because the little cars go faster and use less power than a train motor because the motor is tiny , thats what burns out the light bulbs the motor spins faster than a train motor. Just curious.l.o.l. i promise last question i will bug you with i just wonder why a 12 volt bulb would burn out.


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## slotcarman12078

Well Pearl, the majority of slot cars run anywhere for 18 to 22 volts or more. Mine are being fed 23 volts from train transformers. The motors do create heat when they're run, and suffer adverse performance effects when they heat up. To add anything that generates heat to that environment will only cause negative effects. Also keep in mind, we're talking about an area smaller than the size of 2 dimes stacked together to work with. The plastic they're making the newer cars out of are very different from the cars of say, the 60's and 70's. They have a lower threshold in the melting dept., but they are far less brittle than the cars of yesteryear. The reason I bought the streetlights that I did, well, I'm cheap....the price was way lower than the american counterparts, and I had not given it a thought until after I hooked them up and they started heating up. My lesson??? You get what you pay for!!! And as a bonus for getting them, 10 months later I'm still getting junk mail out of Hong Kong saying....(how should I word this???) ummm .. "My package isn't big enough to deliver" ....if you get my drift!!!  Any how, back on the proper subject.. LEDs do work in trains as well as slot cars. The videos I have on youtube show that. LEDs generate no heat. None whatsoever. The hard part is fitting them in the cramped space shared by the slotcar chassis and having them look as real as the 1:1 counterpart. You have some AFX cars..I saw them in your slide show. Look underneath one and see how little space is left with the chassis in place. That space between the front tires and the little bit of room at the tail is all I have to work with. I have most of the pieces of the puzzle..I just have to figure out how to put it together. I'm getting closer everyday!! :thumbsup:


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## pearl

Ok thank you for the information i checked the car and no not much space .seems to me a led with tiny fibre optics glued to it would take less space than 2 leds at the front for headlights and two tiny leds at the back for tailights would take . Ignore me i probably dont understand what it is your trying to do. 
Your right about where you ordered your light bulbs from my husband ordered little 1/87 scale people from across the pond and they are so tiny and short but were cheap i put one beside a 1/64 scale car and the head dont come up even with the top of the hood so i put a few with their backs facing the camera here and there and they look like a 10 year old kid from behind l.o.l.


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## Mexkilbee

The light bleeding out is the worst, I have tried the black paint, inside and out with no success (It has to be perfect(it's just the way it has to be)). Thats when I used LED's on a chrome body and hey! no light bleeding out, or threw the plastic and paint. Next step was "Bare Metal Foil". you can get it in all kinds of trim colors :Alumin., Black Chrome, Chrome, Gold, and all kinds of anodized colors for model building, cost around $5.bucks you get a sheet that will last along time (Even if you are doing 1/24th scale). It is so thin and has an addhesive allready on it I'm sure others have it on the bench. But it is the only thing that has worked for me to keep light bleeding from the lights out every other opening and throuh the paint. It even works on the old light up cars were it was a bulb stuck in a chunk of clear plastic.. wrap the area around, or the light assy. its self and wHoaa LahH . Light is were you want, and not anywhere else.


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## slotcarman12078

I tried the light trick with my flamethrowers too and still wasn't happy. The look I'm trying to create is what you see on the faller road system, only with slotcars. Here is my latest project. If I'm sucessful, I'll show it!! If not, I never tried!!!  Honest!!!








We'll just have to wait and see. As it stands now, I only need to find a way to encase the LEDs in the corners. The fiber optics are in the body already. P.S. the next installment on the van will be up tonight. Please excuse my prehistoric chassis mounting methods!! They are all I have to work with at this time!!  Joe


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## Mexkilbee

I used the bare metal foil on a green AW Camaro Flamethrower, Bulb inside the chunk of clear plastic, just like the one pictured. First I poped the "Lights" out of the body, and wraped them with the foil (that's right coach, puttin on the foil). and it worked great, no sunspot under the car or anything. Just light out the headlights.


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## Mexkilbee

the thing about these is the intesity of the light varies with the speed, thats what was great about the lights from BRP (they are no longer listed on the sight, try e-mailing Tom or Jerry) the constant white light is awesome. I also spied a butain lighter with red and blue strobe LED's in it that would be great on top of a cop car, when the wife isn't looking, it's mine, and then i can cut it up. Slotcarman, i hope you do well here with this thread, i hope to get some of my own R&D done here, (Without breaking a sweat). I all so have an extra set of the headlights, when I go home i will dig them out to see what they are made of.


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## slotcarman12078

*Lesson 2 Part 2*

Ok!!! Are we ready to get to work??? Not me!!! :tongue: After I have sized my LEDs to the holes in the body, I get to work on the the electrical end of the project. It pays off to have a handy selection of resistors and LEDs!!!

















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Here is a really handy link for a resistor calculator. http://www.quickar.com/noqbestledcalc.htm
This calculator gives you the options of multiple LED configurations and the two different methods of wiring. Simply enter your input volts, the voltage drop of the type of LED, and the miliamps (enter 20 for non flashers) and it'll give you the required resistor value. 

Grab a chassis and lets begin. First off, we score up the area where we will be soldering the wires to. This helps the solder by having something there to grab onto. Also, a small drop of rosin solder flux will make the solder grab quicker. We don't want to risk melting the chassis in any way as performance issues will result. 






















Once we have the wires soldered in place, we can start experimenting with LEDs and different resistors. It helps to have an idea which ones you will use, and have the voltage drop (consumption of the LED) and the input voltage (the output of your power source) on hand. I took a few minutes to make a chart (pardon the sloppy hand writing..carpal tunnel has got the best of me)












and put together a quick light tree if you will. You should test this first without the chassis on your track. Keep in mind, the left pick-up of the car is positive, so what ever the direction the car would be traveling, the left rail is the hot one. 














If it don't work, it's back to the drawing board. If it does, hook the tree to your wired chassis and run the motor free wheeling at first and then with some drive wheel resistance on the track. *Try not to let the thing short out!!!!* Here's a few tips for LEDs... The longer leg is positive, the shorter leg..well you know what it is now!! :lol: If it's a small one, like a 1.6mm, the negative end will be marked with a black line.


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## pearl

Hi Slotcarman
If the moderator wants to edit all my posts that have nothing to do with leds he can go ahead . Like you guys i kind of like to exchange ideas and learn but my posts are a little long anyways i got the idea a picture is worth a 1000 words as they say and your last post i kind of see now what you mean ..


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## slotcarman12078

*Lesson 2 Part 3*

Once we have a working light arrangement, and it has been tested, we can start assembly. We have proven our calculations as far as resistors now, and tested our trimmed LEDs to make sure we didn't trim too far!! Lets start by making our tail lights a bit more permanent. We also want to shore them up so when we bend the electrodes, we don't break the LED. *Insert the LEDs into the body the same way, longer leads towards the top of the van*.and mix up a small batch of JB Weld. Place a small blob on each LED. Let it set completely!!













You want the leads the same so you will know the positive from the negative!!! Since the positive is on the left side of the van, we'll bend the longer lead from the right van side to the left side. You will need to add a small bend towards the front as the lead is too long, and this will give you something to solder to. Solder the two positive leads together. Don't melt the van body!!! Do the same thing only opposite for the negative, or shorter lead.













As mentioned in part one of this lesson, I chose 2mm warm white LEDs for the head lights. The reason is the thickness on the mini lindy van grill. I did need to shave a tiny bit off the length. They received a quick coat of white paint to keep the under van glow factor down, and are inserted into the headlight holes. We're going to do the same bending trick with these. Remember to put these in longer legs towards the top!!! Nothing's worse than finding out after the fact you got these wired backwards!!! Trust me...I know first hand!! :tongue: Same thing, positive leads bent towards the left side...etc. 


























Here's the tricky part...Make two short jumper wires and solder them to the negative wire (right pick up). Solder your resistors to the wire from the positive side of the chassis. Make sure you remember which resistor is which!! Shorten the straight long positive leads from the LEDs and solder them to the resistors. (you can shorten the resistor leads to 1/2" +/-. Then solder the jumper wires to the negative leads on the LEDs. Time to test your electrical work. You'll notice I'm skipping around the chassis mounting method as I'm a bit embarrassed as to how I do it.  We'll button it up in the final part of this lesson, or you're done if you have posts already installed! Push the wires and the resistors up into the body, and if you want, you can JB the resistors to the van side wall to keep stuff out of the gears. Oh yeah, I forgot, duh, now the price of mini lindy vans will go through the roof!!! &*%^^&



Joe


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## slotcarman12078

No problem Pearl..I'm not going to mess with that!! It's listed as an open discussion and I want to keep it that way. I really wasn't too keen on sharing this information as I wanted to "corner the market on totally lighted HO slots", but sooner or later someone would have come up with it. Bill Hall was so close to doing it last year but suffered a setback with CA (crazy glue) making the fiber optics brittle and when he went to assemble the body on the chassis, they shattered. I drove a yard jockey truck for 2 years, and between yard moves I had been brainstorming ideas in this area for 10 months or so, and have the concept down, but I lack the specific materials to test my theory. Just when I was getting close to being able to afford the last piece of the puzzle, things slowed down at work and they let me go. Unemployment doesn't leave me much room for extras like silicone molding compound, and the other molding stuff I need to see this project through, so I'm kind of up against a wall. I want to see if my ideas work, and my "Type A" personality prevents me from keeping it a secret because I want to know soooo bad!! I am a little disapointed I'm not getting much in the line of comments on this thread. I know it is being read, because the number of views keeps escalating, but the feedback end of it is kinda quiet. Granted, this idea is not everyone's cup of tea, but it's the only contribution I can come up with that's worth mentioning. My carpal tunnel isn't improving being out of work, it's only getting worse. My hands are too shaky to do the stuff I could do easily two years ago. It's getting to the point that I have a hard time typing at times. And some of the pieces I'm messing with are so small I can barely see them. But at least there's a written record of it, so if I fail my objective, maybe someone else can pick up the torch and carry it for me. 


Joe


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## pearl

Joe... everybody gets the days when our aches and pains tick us off.. i am having one of those bad hair days still up ..Cant sleep ..
Sugar level is out of whack again diabetes is a pain .Something ticks you off and you let it and the damn numbers change . 

So im painting a bunch of little people to relax tiny and a bit hard to see l.o.l. 

i have posted pictures that had 700 views and 2 comments a lot of people lurk. look. but no comment. Thats life.

I seen another topic on our side of town about led lights on the diecast custom board check it out if you have not seen it already maybe something of interest i dont understand 90 per cent of this topic but find it interesting because i might learn something. 

When those days we have... that we wonder if its worth it in our heads .

There are so many people on the internet that have problems .. It is sites like this where they can drop by read topics look at pictures they may have the same hobby but lurk never join .

I lurked on here from when the site opened then joined in 2003 got ticked off left had my own site , in fact just started another . 
i gave up on the first site because i let people and the ignorant ones get to me..

i hate being the only female on this whole site that posts things .

And no female i showed this site to are interested the wife's of you guys and girl friends none join . no wonder no real girl topics
sure odds and ends collect ables family site it is not .

But there are things on here that interest me and i cant ask questions if i am a lurker and dont join.
We post things on here and i think in a small way it makes some peoples day a little better a guy who cant get out lives in a wheel chair dont want to join but lurks , why, he dont type much not a computer person but liked the ideas , buy the way the guy is real he lives right across the street from me .

. He collects little cars . i tried to talk him into joining my site i can show him how to take pictures and post them but no hes 60 and set in his ways.He lurks so a guy like that may hit the topic a dozen times the views go up but no comments .

How many thousands more are like him .I been thinking of just tossing our computer out the door .what if we all did that life goes on but what about the people like my neighbour its entertainment for him. Some day am going to get angry and walk over to his place and refuse to leave unless he joins He has got the nicest collection of junk l.o.l. i have ever seen and know one knows about what a waste so many people who could share ideas and they think they might look dumb . 

My guy is the opposite has to keep up with everything new .
So i think your topic is a must have cars have lights period so now all you got to do is make them work.l.o.l.


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## slotcarman12078

I'm tryin' Pearl, I'm tryin'!! Thanks for the pep rally!! :thumbsup:


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## copperhead71

great info thanks guys!


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## Mexkilbee

Hey Slotcarman, you do know you can "Shape" and LED, you can use your hobby file or nail file and make them square. also, they look better for headlights if you file the top flat, rather than having a "Bulb" sticking out of the front. Didn't know if you were aware of that schtuff. I did not get a chance to dig my BRP headlights out last night, will try again tonight. I was also looking at a few 1/32nd cars lights, they are Micro LEDs with even tinier resistors, they also hold a bit of charge so there is a capacitor in there somewhere to. Great work so far, hope you are able to continue, i hear you about the dollors, and how hard it is to stretch em these days, many projects on my bench are waiting additional hobby funding before they can continue on. It's hard for me to get motivated knowing I am only going to get so far, and not done with out throwing funds at it.


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## slotcarman12078

*A very important advantage I didn't remember!!*



Mexkilbee said:


> the thing about these is the intesity of the light varies with the speed, thats what was great about the lights from BRP (they are no longer listed on the sight, try e-mailing Tom or Jerry) the constant white light is awesome.
> 
> 
> 
> This is very true and a definate plus!! Thanks Mex! With regular light bulbs the light varies with the voltage. As I stated earlier in this thread the flasher LED is very fussy about amperage and will only work within a very small miliamp window. But the plain old nonflashing variety work through a big volt/amp curve and are almost a constant light source as long as there's power available. I was going to try looking into a constant light source like a small capacitor in line with the lights. Capacitors are like little batteries storing up power and then releasing it only under certain conditions. The problem with them is they do not like a polarity switch and can explode under that condition. Also as stated earlier when a slotcar motor is freewheeling (let off the controller and the car keeps rolling) the motor actually produces a small amount of power in the opposite polarity. This can be solved with a rectifier and this is where my limited electrical knowledge dead ends me. The escalated number of parts you need to make something like this work with the limited space to put it kills the constant lighting project. Plenty of room in a HO scale train engine, not in a HO scale slot. For now I'll just have to live with my lil HO scale drivers shutting their lights off at the railroad crossing while they're waiting for that train to pass. :thumbsup:
> 
> 
> Joe


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## pearl

Joe 
Sent you a pm 
Take care .


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## slotcarman12078

*Been doing some more research...*



T-Jet Racer said:


> Yes if you reverse the polarity do th eblow up or just wont light?


I have been busy checking on this question...I have read recently that there is a possibility of damaging the LEDs with the polarity reversed..I have not noticed any ill effects from reversing the polarity as yet. It may depend on the brand or type of LED, or the voltage being applied to it may be a factor. Unless you are using two pins on a car, you aren't going to go backwards very far anyway. If you would like, T Jet, I'll do a test with my Tyco dump truck in reverse to see if there is any negative effects to the LEDs.. I realize some of us do use the back pin..and back the cars up on service road turn-offs and such..I was planning on doing so myself....ie.. fire truck into the fire house, police car speed trap...etc. I gave up on the idea because the service road turn offs are about 4 1/2 inches...This ruins a 4 lane because you are forced to use them in pairs to equal a 9 inch straight. If Aurora had only made a 4 1/2 inch straight track...That would have been a solution.. Anyway, the resistor is not polarized..It works both ways.. the cap on reverse voltage that I've seen is between 4 to 5 volts. Since the resistor works both ways, the peak voltage should be well under the limit anyway..at least from my limited knowledge on the subject...


Joe


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## slotcarman12078

*Who says lightning don't strike twice in the same place???*

To quote myself...ahem..."Nothing's worse than finding out after the fact you got these wired backwards!!! Trust me...I know first hand!!" Well...after getting the surfer van together I put it on the track and found my tail lights twinkling like a xmas tree.. :freak: ..Hmmmm...what did I do now???? Sure enough genius here :hat: wired the tail lights backwards... A bit of de-soldering..a bit more soldering..Thank goodness!!! I was worried I messed up the red ones when I ground them or when I bent the leads... All is well on the surfer van now other than the RRR wheels doing the normal skitter at medium speed.. :woohoo: Last bit should be up tonight...and please...I know my mounting methods are awful!!! I am making do with what I have on hand...


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## slotcarman12078

*Lesson 2 Part 4...finally*

The van is up and running!!!! :woohoo: Took me long enough..I do need to repaint the front LEDs, as there is still a bit of glow in the interior..






















She don't look that bad from a distance..sadly there was alot of handling during the lighting process and she got a bit dirty.. Most of it cleaned up but now the body feels just a touch "tacky" again. Dang spray bombs!!! I'm gonna let her sit for a day or two and try a coat or two of future and see how that goes.. Ok.. don't laugh too hard.. This is a quick nuts and bolts of makin a model into a slot without posts..












On the left, the original lindy seat part, the right one modified to clear the chassis. The half that was hacked off is used for the rear screw. I has been notched to clear the taillights and sanded to a solid fit. It's tight enough that no glue is needed. If you're using this method please note!!! It is imperitive that you have enough material behind the seats to sit on the shelf inside the body..I'm talking the section where the weights were. Without that, the seats will sink up into the body and the whole mounting process will fall apart. 












There is a bit of grinding to do. Also, I didn't shim this one so the front end is a "floater". I guess I could do some surgery on an old ink pen and come up with a spacer.












All in all, a solid fit. She did a few test laps to make sure all was ok. She's a bit top heavy with the surf boards, but negotiated my track fine once she warmed up. I still need to make a back bumper and figure out how I can attach it better..The one on the ambulance lasted 3 laps before it fell off. I'm still rethinking the process there.. I am trying to avoid the stock lindy back bumper as it has a tendancy to hook guard rails and break. 












Thanks for looking and some more feedback would be appreciated..

Joe


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## slotcarman12078

*Lesson 3 Part 1..Flirtin With Disaster*

Ok.. Now that the van is behind me, I teased you with the camaro so I guess I can go out on a limb with it... I don't know if this will work or not. Plain and simple...First off, I was going to use red 1.6 mm LEDs for the tail lights.. That would make a 6 LED car. I drilled the holes for them, but in the long run decided the bump on the LED just wasn't long enough. So I enlarged the holes to accomodate the red fiber optic cable I have on hand. I simply flared the end with a lighter (heat it up and squash it) and cut off a 1/4" section. I don't think I need to tell you how much of a pain in the arse it was to get in the body. Did it 3 more times and tried to get the squashed parts as close to one another as possible. This is how they look in the body...












Then I did the same drill and sand technique to the head lights. Same thing with the 2.0 mm fiber optic cable only clear this time.....












Then I started making the LEDs for the tail lights. I grabbed a few rolls of 28 gauge stranded wire on feepay a few months ago for use in limited space wiring situations like the fire truck. It's great stuff..very flexible..but hard to strip without losing the wires in the process...












I am currently looking for a clear two part acrylic I can use to mount the LEDs to the body. I bought some, but I lost my "slotcave" when we took in my sister in law's grand kids (he needed a bedroom) and when I moved out, things disappeared.. when I locate something the lesson will continue (for better or worse) 


Joe


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## Bill Hall

*That aint no "Lamethrower"!*

SCJoe!
Nice conversion to start with. Then the lighting is the icing on the cake. 

How about something tubular for a bumper ....plastruct or evergreen models styrene stock is cheaper than dirt. A little chop chop on some tube then cap the ends. Drill some holes for some rods or brackets for mounting. Hose it with alclad or duplicolor aluminum and ya got a period correct after market bumper. Naturally without wrap around ends for the no "snagitizations".

Great fun and inspring stuff Joe. I'd seen that Faller stuff a coupla years ago and it had been nagging at me for some time. I'd done tons of static acrylic and FO stuff for my model railroading jones back in the 80's and 90's. I bought that hippie lamp at least two years ago just to have cheap FO to play with thinking that there had to be a way to tune up or over haul the "Lamethrower" concept. Now you've opened a whole new can of really cool worms to play with. I can now see the light on a plethora of uther projects like AFX vans and semis lit up like Xmas trees with the full marker package. The semis allow enough room to execute your constant lighting project; and while not exactly what you may be after it would be A: cool, and B: establish the initial learning curve. 

Lets face it, if we can cram optics in a slammed Lincoln the sky is pretty much the limit whether one goes single LED with optic whips or the Blue Oyster Cult dammage yer retina light show with multiple LEDS. As if my build time isnt slow enough already ....now thanks to you I'm gonna want to light them all ...and maybe go back and light some that missed the boat. I'm seeing full instrumentation/dashlights on hot rod roadsters and a big ole juke box of a "Wonder Bar" for my red Willys speedster. 

BTW: RE: Your "reverse polarity blowing up capacitor syndrome" for your constant lighting project? Couldnt one just add a couple of regular diodes to the caps and gate them off in the event of the polar ice caps shifting or a spin out? Adds some cost but it beats having to repair intricate stuff ya already built. The latter being a pet peeve of mine.

Might actually work; but hopefully one of our electronic experts will pipe up and give it the thumbs up or tell me I'm a re-todd for even thinking it and there's an easier or right way to do it.

Thanx for lighting a fire under me and getting me off the Schneide!


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## slotcarman12078

No problem Bill!! I'm still psyched up on the Lincoln!! I need to stay away from feepay for a couple weeks and try to scrape up some $$ for another fiber optic order. I bought some yellow 1.5mm F.O. for parking lights but I'll need somewheres around .50 - .75 mm for trailer marker lights. That wire I have doesn't hold the shape I was hoping for, but I was going to run a pair from tractor to trailer disguised as airlines and just blob a bunch of whips and a clear LED together and try lighting one.. At least I got some good news today!! Those cigar box cars I grabbed last week all had decent SR chassis...a quick pick up cleaning and an oiling and they were cruising.. I forgot how bad stock old aurora tires are.. Like driving on ice!! :lol: BTW, the vette is red, the J car turquoise, and the willys is...blech white. Also appears one of the chassis has a mean green arm in it!!


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## Bill Hall

*A dab will do ya!*

Joe, 

Try dotting the fiber's end with paint. The tail lights for the Lincoln are a regular fiber dotted with Testor's insignia red. Would imagine that any glossy enamel paint, say like "signal yellow" will do the trick.

As for the wiggly fibers and nailing them down I believe the dude on the Faller thingy used a hot melt glue gun. If ya look at the Lincoln I used black mylar film/tape to adhere the fibers to the body's internal contours.

For your T-jet skinny tire blues try a light truing on 220 paper to open the hardened contact patch. Then a good soak in Wintergreen oil. Then give them another light cut to make sure they stayed round. They will still suck, but only half as bad and ya should be able to get around the track. Be sure to check all those lil t-jet rims to ensure they are round. It doesnt take much to disrupt a t-jets handling. Often a rim change and tire truing will take an unrully turd and turn it into a smooth running swiss watch.


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## slotcarman12078

The reason I'm going with the clear acrylic is the LEDs are just going to be "plopped" in the corners and I'm hoping the clear will hold them in place, and carry the light to the fiber. I'm trying to limit the number of LEDs to two in the back so the fiber has to share the light. Once they are in place, I'll JB over the clear. The chrome body blocks a 60 watt bulb so the glow factor is nil. Think of the clear as a binding tack coat that will transmit the light, and the JB as the encapsulating shroud. I also need to get my hands on some casting resin, and some clear 3mm LEDS. I'm thinking I can hit the dome of the LED with a drill and put my own inverted cone in it. It should then reflect the light out the sides of the LED, even if I have to foil it. My design concept for the light manifold has the fiber entering from the sides instead of the top. This will free up a ton of room for the fibers to enter the manifold. Then the possibilities are almost endless.. depends on how crazy you want to get...This will allow fiber for your dash lights, parking lights, side marker lights... There's about 11mm from the base of a chassis to the bottom of the hood on a JL challenger. There's about 4mm from the top of the chassis to the underside of the hood.. If the casting is thin wall there's room for 2mm fiber for headlights and all the extras you want. And that's without shaving the top of the chassis.. I'm gonna plant another idea in yer head... Lets see where this goes.. With a little gentle heating, I think you can shape them red fibers I sent you. Bend them into lake pipes, chrome foil them, and with a flasher led you'll have "flames coming from outta the sides"!!!! Ya gotta make that Cadillac sedan now!!! Hehehehehe!!! Oh, I was using red nail polish.. but don't let my TM find out!!

Joe


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## slotcarman12078

*Fiber optics and the rest of my plans*

I may as well spill the rest of the beans since I've gone this far...  Let me know if this sounds cool or totally foolish... :thumbsup: OR :freak: Fiber optic cable (at least the only stuff I've seen) only comes in one shape.. round extruded. It works great for head lights as Bill has shown us, but when it comes to tail lights, unless the car came with round ones we are kinda left out in the cold... My idea is this. If you flare the end of a small optic cable, it acts as an anchor. If you make a mold of the tail lights of a car, say a 59 chevy, and pour red tinted clear resin in and insert 2 or 3 fine optic cables in they will harden in place in the lenses. Flaring the ends of the cable makes the emitted light seem bigger. The catches would be 1. finding a way to suspend the cables over the mold. 2. keeping the fibers in the resin until it cures. And 3. Having a cast body sans tail lights to mount your newly cast lenses onto. The lenses can be trimmed in silver paint, and carefully CA'd onto the painted body. Mind you this is still in the "what if" stage, but this is the direction I am ultimately trying to go with these. For something like an 67-69 firebird or a 66-67 GTO, the taillights would be milled out (I wish I had a bridgeport..an unbelieveable milling machine..digital accuracy to 100th of an inch!! Can use milling bits as small as a human hair!! I used to play with one in the model shop at Wiremold in W Hartford, CT 20 years ago) and with a few partial molds a tail light lens mold could be made to fit inside the body. Even round tail lights could be done this way, allowing the use of smaller optic cable which leads to even more optic possibilities.. Like side marker lights..How detailed can we go??? Coming from someone like me who can screw up a simple spray bomb paint job..  Who knows??? 


Joe


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## Slott V

Here is an HO LED headlight kit for sale:

http://www.bat-jet.com/hl.html


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## slotcarman12078

Thanks for the link!!! I believe those are the ones Mex was talking about! :thumbsup:


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## slotcarman12078

error message


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## slotcarman12078

*Surfer van*

Coach, this van is for the next auction.. Let me know when it is and what I need to do with it..






























Joe


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## 1976Cordoba

slotcarman12078 said:


> Coach, this van is for the next auction.. Let me know when it is and what I need to do with it..
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> Joe


*C**L *-- Where'd you get a black keyboard with white keys?!

And oh yeah, the van is nice too.

(j/k messing with ya -- the van is killer!!)

:thumbsup:


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## slotcarman12078

*Keyboard not included!!!*

Why, Wally World, of course!!!! And thanks!!! I will have the white paint touched up on the headlights, and do something for a back bumper in time for the auction..I will also put a couple coats of future on it too. Believe it or not, it was going to be a surfing spongebob and patrick van originally, with a sandy cheeks spare tire on the back.. How plans change....











I chickened out at the last minute since I'm not capable of printing white, and with all my digital manipulating things started gitting too pixalated... oh well...live and learn..


Joe


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## slotcarman12078

*What's cooking????*

I believe Scottd961 hooked us up to this link elsewhere, but I wanted to put it here so you can get a peek at what I'm thinking.. http://www.motorcitytoyz.com/ 
Friday nite in chat I got bombarded with ideas on lighting a semi, and what did I find..soon to be released??? I have a pretty good idea of how I'm going to do it, I just need to wait for them to come out. I would rather cut up AW stuff than vintage Aurora, especially during the trial and error stage.. The tanker will pose a few problems though.. I need to be able to get inside the tank without butchering it.. I also need to be able to put it back together as seamless as possible once I get in there. Has anyone found any type of CA, model cement or the like that will secure AW plastics??? Any suggestions for the above from our customizers would be appreciated!!! P.S. Bill, I could use a chunk of that hippie lamp!! 

Joe


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## Bill Hall

Consider it done


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## slotcarman12078

*Lesson 3 part 2.....Rut roh Rararo!!*

I made a mistake.. OK..I'll admit it.  I tried to take the easy way out with the camaro... And it backfired... Fiber optic that won't accept 1 minute epoxy mixed with stubborn red LEDs with flexible wire that got mysteriously stiff after soldering = gooey mess in the camaro. I got her tail end cleaned up and was going to call it a total loss when I had another idea...

There is no way to drill, mill, ream, lathe, etc a 2mm fiber optic cable to accomodate a .75mm fiber optic cable (the smallest I have). Since the head and tail lights on my lil chebby are 2.0 mm I had no choice but to use that size. Call it yankee ingenuity, or just dumb luck if the yankee thing offends ya, I decided to melt my way into her heart. I heated up the smallest screw driver in the case, and literally melted approx, .75mm holes into the end of my F.O. cables. I needed 3 hands to do it, and a fourth one wasn't available to hold the camera so i have no pictures of the blessed event, but it worked. I used Poly-Zap to CA the .75mm to the 2.0mm cables and stage 2 is done!!

Then I went back to thinking...what do I have to make a emitter manifold out of??? I looked around on my desk for a minute and like a bolt it hit me!!! OW!! :hat: I snagged an old cheapie no name ink pen, of the white plastic variety and started slicing!!! Perfect!! I whipped out my dremel and drilled 6 holes in the pen, 2 pairs of 2, and a pair of singles. I carefully sliced off the section of tube and checked out the chassis to hood clearance. The camaro is tight!! Really tight..Not much room in there!! I had to do a bit of surgery to the gear plate, took off a rounded 1/8 circle, almost to the magnet, to accomodate the tube. Inserted my 6 FO cables into the manifold and got the old 1 minute epoxy out and prayed.. I shoved the manifold full of cable ends up against the front post and filled it with the epoxy, squished it with one finger into an oval and held the front down with a screwdriver. Stage 3 sucess!!!

Stage 4 was a bit disappointing, but none the less, I must say... The only 2.omm warm white LED I had left, broke while bending it into shape... I had to use a 1.8mm bleeech bluish white to do a light check. The results to follow in a separate post!! Stay tuned!! 

Joe


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## slotcarman12078

*Lesson 3 Part 3....The odds against me..*

Before I go into the pictures, I have added a picture of my low budget low tech breaker inner lighted chassis tester upper thingy I made just so you guys have something else to pick on me for thing. I think it's pretty much self explanitory, but if you don't have one of these things yet, you probably don't need one....:tongue: 












Isn't it amazing what you can do with the stuff you can't give away on feepay!!!











Sorry the RRR wheels were a bit jumpy.. I think I need to redo the resistor too, as the lights were dimming down with the motor speed. An 820 or next smaller should make things more acceptable..












Very hard to get my auto focus to handle a red chrome car..especially in the dark..











Nowhere near as nice as Bill's Hot Rod Lincoln, but the tweaking of the LED/resistor combo will help. I also need to seal up my manifold a bit better. 












Hippie lamp fiber is a bit more flexible, and the Lincoln hood's dome made the straight fiber out the of the manifold a possibility. LEDs generally emit light out the end, so Bills method in the Lincoln maximizes the light output. The camaros tight body to the chassis fit and low hood made it impossible to straight out the cables from the manifold. Since the body is so narrow, I couldn't hide the cables between the chassis and the doors, but they don't leak the light out.









The warm yellow glow is what I'm looking for, with out the nuclear reaction in the pass compartment. 











Bill did such a nice job routing the resistor/LED leads, I decided I wasn't going to find a better method... I'll slap up some better pictures as soon as it's done and I figure out why my "illusion setting" isn't illusioning!!


Joe


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## Bill Hall

Whatchoo talkin' 'bout Willis? That 'Maro is awesome!

I wuz wunderin' how ya got into my photobucket and heisted my chassis pic? LOLOLOLOL! Well Joe there just wasnt a lot of room to do much up there between the frame rails. Truth be told I had the resistor pushed into the recess under the gearplate and the LED forward. But I undoohickeyed it around the uther way after all. I've seen smaller resistors but do they make the 1.6 mm in "sunshine white" rather than the bright "bluish white'?

I think this rig you've made is trick and easily rivals the Lincoln (she's not with out her warts ya know!) so quit with all that and just take a bow. The tail shot is great! For shooting show off pics for the board take a carbon brush out and that way you'll get a nice still of the headlights without the vibration! Duh....guess I fergot to mention that part in my thread!

Smaller resistors would help. I estimate that with some minor tweaking of the manifold, using a 1.6mm LED, one could concievablly fire 4 maybe 5 whips. So even smaller packaging may be possible. Perhaps two 1.6's for more fire power could be utilized if a smaller resistor were possible.

We're just now cutting our teeth and having you egg me on is fun!

Great stuff Joe!


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## slotcarman12078

*Lesson 3 part 3 or 4..Resistors, LEDs, and all that makes me happy....*

Thank you Bill for the kind words!! I have never run across 1.8 warm white LEDs, but that doesn't mean they aren't made...I just haven't found them yet. I have been playing with my little resistor calculator, and according to it, you can use a 1/4 watt resistor, but it would have to be a 1.5k ohm to 1.8k ohm depending on the LED and the input voltage. BTW, on your Lincoln if the LED fades as you cut back the controller you might want to switch to the 1.5k ohm 1/4 watt, or the 1/2 watt 820 ohm. I would try the circuit on a spare chassis first to see if the resistor gets hot though. 

Being the sucker for advertising that I am, I bought into the "no light leakage" blah blah from my fiber optic source. This has proven to be untrue. Guess you can't believe everything you read on the web...DUH! So while I can't really call it done, it's about as done as it's gonna get without painting the fiber optics or the windshield... I managed to salvage the sunshine white that broke earlier today, and I dropped the resistor to an 820 ohm...

































The fiber glows an eerie green color, it shows up too well for my hypercritical self imposed standards, I'm thinking painting the 'shield is the best option. The head lights leave much to be desired in brightness, however it's not the blazing bright (almost too bright high beam looking light up the paneling at the corners bright) of my vans. If I could only find a happy medium,,,Hmmm.. Back to the drawing board!! Next Lesson, when my next order of LEDs shows up, is going to be one of these....











By request for the secret santa!!!! Shhhhhh it's a secret who asked for it!!!



Joe


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## slotcarman12078

*Just a few links.. Good resource material..*

Here are some links to help you out with finding needed resistor values, identification, etc.


http://stores.ebay.com/Hobby-Electronics-and-Accessories


http://www.quickar.com/noqbestledcalc.htm


http://www.dannyg.com/examples/res2/resistor.htm


http://members.misty.com/don/ledd.html


http://www.mrollins.com/circuit.html

Hope you find these links helpful...I use them quite a bit!!


Joe


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## satellite1

Yes, great helpfull links :thumbsup:


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## slotcarman12078

*Vans and LEDs*

Well, there's some good news on the lighted van front!!! First of all let me hit you guys with this... http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT&item=220296724058

There was some interest in these in the lindberg post, but I want to see how many HT'ers are actually reading this!! There is another one coming up in a few days after this one. Due to a lack of funds I can't even think of bidding on these, so if anyone wants them, go fer it!! 

Also, I spoke with Bill from dmmwem, (my LED source) and he says he's going to check into availability of a 1.8mm warm white LED!!! Smaller LED= more room to play!! Now if I could only get him to make me some warm white 2mm in a similar style to the 3mm I'd be in LED heaven!!! That's all the good news for now. 
Now the sad stuff...I made a boo boo with my JL lighted camaro when I painted the fiberoptics to try to cut the glow down. I accidently got some black paint on the red fiber taillights and they are about half lit now. Stoopid me!! I'm trying to clean up my mess now, but no luck so far. there's a good possibility I'll have to do them over. Drat! 

Joe


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## Bill Hall

Air brush thinner and a q-tip...

and prayer!


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## slotcarman12078

Bill Hall said:


> Air brush thinner and a q-tip...
> 
> and prayer!


Got the thinner and q-tip, but the airbrush I don't have..I guess I'll need to pray harder..


----------



## Bill Hall

Misheard me, "Airbrush thinner" to clean the wayward paint away. As in dab cotton top in the thinner carefully elbow grease it away.


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## slotcarman12078

Thank you kind sir for your expert professional advice!!! Got 3 out 4 taillights lit up pretty good now, and will make another attempt tomorrow!! I'm still not too happy with the head lights, and will be considering a different approach with them next time. Before I hit the hay, I need to double check my latest LED order for white 3mm's. I want to try drilling the top surface to make in inverted cone. I think that's the biggest problem I'm facing here. The light's directed up, I need it directed sideways. Option 2 would be to re-optic the headlights with the manifold parts of cable bent down towards the LED. If I ever start molding my own bodies I think I would mold the manifold right into them. Then I could prebend the optics before sliding them into the grooves in the manifold, throw a squirt of quick clear epoxy in and call it almost done!!

Joe


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## slotcarman12078

*Project X*

Been a while, so I figured I would update on the little progress I've had here. I'm still having problems sleeping and wake up at numerous times of the night, and I've been feeling like doo doo all day. :drunk: I did manage to spend a couple hours under the table trying to rig up the RR crossing gate/ auto stop + go function for the slots. The gates are in, and the reed switches are mounted, but not hooked up yet. I did manage to find a use forJL bodies when they have been butchered for the sake of "science"...











That old challanger body did make a nice holder for the four reed switches!! They fit nice and snug, and a couple screws through the hood got it mounted.. I'm recycling...Does that make me a tree hugger too??? After a couple hours under the table my back couldn't handle much else so I gave up for the day. The head and tail lights on the camaro are still bothering me...alot... They're just not bright enough or red enough for my liking. I decided to give the trim and glue thing a try on a 1.6 mm red LED to see if it would be feasible....













So far so good. If the assembly will hold up through the sanding, it should make it through the install. I have had some luck with the clear 2.0mm LEDs also, and I am able to shift the "light shaft" over to one side of the LED. This will allow an easier install in most cars. I have yet to try installing any of these modified LEDs, hence the Project X moniker. One other note.. White paint has the best reflective quality so far and the base coat on the White LEDS should be white. However, I have found that white paint doesn't stop the glowing. I am mixing paints at this time so I'm not sure if it's the color or type of paint. The white is spray bomb, the black is rustolium in a can. There is a major difference in consistancy, so results may vary with other types of paint. 

P.S. Just for giggles, I grabbed my flashing light circuit and hooked it to a 9 volt, and it worked..I put a JL car up to that same 9 volt battery, with the flasher circuit, and they both worked.. :freak: If you all switch your tracks to be powered by 9 volt batteries, I think I got something here!!! :jest:


Nuther Joe


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## slotcarman12078

*Can't remember how I found these...*

I was up kinda late last night, and ran across this web site..


http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/bl-213-f.html

What is interesting about these is 1. They are fully assembled with a compact full wave bridge rectifier. This means they are unaffected by D/C power switches and will work in either direction, in fact they will work on A/C. 2. They are available in 3.0 and 5.0 mm sizes, and they are available in flasher too. You also have a choice of 1.5 hz (1 1/2 flashes per second) and 2.5hz (2 1/2 flashes per second). These are also equipped with a resistor so they will work at 5 to 19 volts. They have a hefty price tag at $4.75 ea, 5 for $22.00 and 10 for $38.00. BUT, if they work on, say, a mini lindy ambulance, well, I guess it's worth it!! For the sake of science, I am contemplating buying one and disecting it, or buying 5 and using 2 for the meatwagon and two for my future wrecker project, which leaves one to pull apart to see the nuts and bolts of it. I would prefer to just know what it's made from so I'm not tied to their inline assembly. By the way, the bridge rectifier should clean up the power so it might work on my lil applications. It is designed to function on model trains and be a constant on in either direction.

In other news I have started my next nightmare... LED lighting a JL chevy nova. I did some serious grinding on some 2.0 mm reds for the tail lights so I'm hoping they work. I also have modified a pair of 2.0mm white LEDs for the head lights. So far my snipping/sanding/glueing modification is holding up. What I have yet to determine is if there will be an adaquate amount of light being emitted from the tip, as it's no longer positioned centered over the light source. I'm sure I will have to triple dip the LED in the old rustolium before installing in the grill or it's gonna glow for sure. Pictures to follow in the next post.

NutherJoe


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## slotcarman12078

*The little green Nova..Part 1*

I like Novas..I don't love them like a GTO, but I like them. This one came at a decent price for 2 reasons.. 1. The previous owner had no idea what oil and tuning are. And 2. It's a dark color. Dark cars are hard to see, particularly on a black track. Dim the lights and they are a trail of sparks and nothing more. I like dark cars, especially when you can keep track of them...












This is the Nova in all it's unlit glory. Nothing special, just another JL car..











These are the first attempt at custom LEDs waiting for installation. Notice the light shaft on the white one being offset. The biggest cause for my nervousness is the amount of material I shaved off the taillight LEDs. In time, if I can start molding with clear and clear tinted resins, I would rather add material to a smaller LED than take material off of a bigger one. This would make special tail lights, like a cougar set possible.





















This should give you an idea how it'll look when together. The back bumper needs to be slid up a little tighter, but the LEDs need to be secured first. All in all, not a bad conversion.






















A little JB, a little soldering, and a pair of resistors mounted to the chassis and it'll almost be done. The key to this assembly is going to be the wiring. There is plenty of overhang for the LEDs to be soldered in, but I need a precise amount of wire from the LEDs to the resistors. Not enough, and mantainance will be a bear; too much and I'll have excess wire getting caught in the gears, rubbing the wheels,etc. I am deviating from my original goal of the fiber optics/LED combo, and I'm pushing ahead using materials at hand. I personally like the extra brightness of direct LEDs, so for now, that's the direction I'm heading..


NutherJoe


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## bobhch

*Novas Rule!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!*

NutherJoe,

I LOVE Novas alot!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Nice one man...that is way kEWL. :woohoo:

Bob...sold my 70 Nova because, I needed the money...zilla


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## Bill Hall

Awesome! Really cutting edge Joe.

I got a stoopid question? Can one bond the lens to the flat wide side as well?


----------



## slotcarman12078

Yes you can, but the light is emitted out the end. There will not be a huge amount of light coming from the sides. By the way Bill, the latest link has 1.8 mm warm white LEDs available!! I just found this out tonight!! Unfortunately, they are preassembled to a resistor, but given time, I will check it out and see if the resistor can be removed with enough "meat" left to solder to.


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## slotcarman12078

There may be an alternative..I have yet to try this, and when my LED order comes in I'll give it a shot. If you cut off the protruding lens, and then grind the top surface on a 45 degree angle and glue a piece of foil to that angle, it should reflect most of the light out the side. Then the side mounting would be somewhat effective. I am guessing you are in a bind with the projector lights?? Just thought of this, taking your application in consideration... Provided you have an extra doner lens, grind 1/2 of the LED on as close to a 45 degree angle as the internal organs will allow, and the other side opposite. Split it long ways and foil the ends, and it should relect the light out both sides. It takes a while to fully bond, but the F.O. cable I sent you will bond ok to the LED with poly-zap. With that final idea you can have a lens or protrusion on both sides of the LED. Before assembly I would smother it insomething to bond it all together.. like the cheep goop, or JB.


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## slotcarman12078

*OOOOOOOOOps!!!*

Ok, so I just broke off the lens off the first prototype I made.  It was a quickie job, I didn't sand the led or the lens. It took a bit to snap it off, but it did. I'll blame it on sloppy workmanship. The bond is really only required until the LED is JB'd on the body anyway. Once it's mounted it really has nowhere to go. And the ones I sanded for the nova feel a bit stronger, cause I took the time to do it right... Just to let you know..


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## slotcarman12078

*I'm getting it...slowly*

Some things take forever to penetrate my thick noggin.. Of course, when it comes to even semi advanced electronics I can be a total dingbat!! But it's slowly seeping into my thick cranium. I'm running my slots on old (keyword old) train transformers. The process used by these dinosaurs to convert 120v to 12v and A/C to D/C isn't exactly the cleanest, most efficient method of converting power. Sometimes not enough sleep makes me smarter I guess..not so good to look at, but smarter. I got 4 hours worth last night so epiphanies are occurring right and left!! :freak:

Pictures of waveforms in my mind that I had seen weeks ago started making sense. I did a quick test with my volt meter on my old choo choo transformers and was suprised to find the voltage kicked in at 12v and pretty much stayed there. Then I tried my good train transformers and it was a smooth 1.0 up to 19.0 curve. Hmmmm..  Very interesting!! Just for laughs I took my lil ambulance, hooked up some test leads to the pickups and clipped them on the train rails. Well what do you know...The flasher LED was working!! An adjustment with the resistor would be required as it took a bit of throttle response to get it lit, but it was 2X as bright and 5X as consistant of a flash!! :thumbsup:

What's the difference between transformers?? Solid state power conversion vs. 100+ year old technology. Picture, if you will in your mind a sine wave with a straight line running through the center splitting the waves. This is alternating current. The sine waves are the direction of power. The old method takes the power from one side of that line and makes it direct current. It's not a pure power source. Think of it as a light bulb flashing on and off 300 times a minute. The pulses are so fast, you perceive it as being constant. 

Sooo, what am I getting at here?? Call it speculation, but I am reasoning that those newer LEDs I have found, the "assembled" ones hold the key to my meat wagon beacons flashing properly on any tranformer. They are equipped with a full wave bridge rectifier, which converts A/C to D/C, and does so efficiently and a filter capacitor which cleans up the power even further. It's called full wave because it converts both sides of the waveform to D/C. There is a very good possibility these will work on my meat wagon, and with the rectifier,will be able to handle the accidental voltage reversal from a spin out or placing the car on the track facing the wrong way without negative results like, say, a capacitor blowing up!! I'm going to "bite the bullet" and try some. Test results will follow when they arrive!! :thumbsup: and my fingers are crossed!!

NutherJoe


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## slotcarman12078

*The Little green nova Part 2*

Well, for what's it's worth, the little green nova is done. As a first time working with such a small car, I will call it an almost success.. It is cramped in there, especially up front, with 2 resistors and the somewhat bulky 2.0mm headlights. Soldering was a bear to begin with, and by the time I got to putting the final solder on the body was almost completely closed. There is an alternative available, and that is utilizing the passenger compartment, but I am trying to avoid that. My displeasure with the JL chassis also plays a part with not being happy with the final product. To further complicate things, the resistor I chose for the taillights is a bit too big, so the tail lights dim when I drop the power. One of these days I've got to update my list of resistors for LED tables, as I overestimate the voltage on almost every vehicle I light. Anyway, here's the remainder of the nova build(at least what I have pictures of....)






















LEDs are JB Welded in place. Once the JB set up, I added another dose over the LEDs, and a little to set the bumper up tight to the tail panel. I also put a coat of JB on the headlights, as a start to sealing in the light, particularly on the front where the lens was repositioned. My goal was to keep the grill from glowing.. That was pretty much successful, but I could have used a bit more between the LED and the hood. It glows just a bit through the hood/fender seam. 







































She don't look too bad...Like I said before, as it sits the tail lights need almost a full throttle to be at their brightest. Here is a top view so you can see how much things get lit up...










Will I redo her?? Yes.. Will I do this again with a JL chassis? Uhhhhh..NO. The JL chassis is noisier than a NOS aurora, this one is a chatterbox, and need to runs too fast for my liking. One thing I should have done is shorten up the lenses on the headlights. They stick out a little too far out of the grill, and they sit back just far enough where they can interfere with the pick up shoes. I had to shorten up the travel on the front of the pick ups to accomodate this. I'm calling this lesson closed, unless I come up with some earth shattering improvement..


NutherJoe


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## slotcarman12078

*LED Facts..just for fun..*

Here's a few fun facts about LEDS you may not have known..I was a bit suprised myself when I read these... Different colors are produced by different materials inside the diode. Producing these colors with the differing materials requires different voltages, hence the mixed resistor values. Producing white light requires more voltage than individual colors, because "white" LEDs actually produce 3 colors of light, that when mixed look white. A special coating on the diode also alters the color "white" which give us the cool, warm and sunshine variations. Thought this was 

NutherJoe


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## NTxSlotCars

Will LEDs light with a Tesla coil, like flourecent lights will?

Rich


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## noddaz

*Great lighted Nova!*

I guess that the light makes it a Super Nova! (Har, har, har...)
But really nice job there. I have been fascinated by lighted cars but haven't been motivated to do anything yet.
A question, has anyone tried a voltage regulator in the circuit to limit the voltage to the LEDs? (One of these...)








Of course it looks small till you try to shove it into a little car.. lol



slotcarman12078 said:


> . *snip*
> *My displeasure with the JL chassis also plays a part with not being happy with the final product.*
> 
> *chop*
> *slash*
> 
> *Will I redo her?? Yes.. Will I do this again with a JL chassis? Uhhhhh..NO. The JL chassis is noisier than a NOS aurora, this one is a chatterbox, and need to runs too fast for my liking. *
> *chop chop chop*
> 
> NutherJoe


whew! My arms are tired from all that cutting! lol
Nuther, if you have a dead TJet, transfer all the brass running gear over to the JL chassis... That goes a long way to taming the twitchy beast...
:woohoo:
Scott


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## noddaz

*And another thing...*

My kids had (emphisis on HAD) one of those super balls that flashed when bounced. I found it in the driveway split open after it was run over.
So now I have a flashy thingy to experiment with.... Muh, ha, ha, ha, ha.......


----------



## slotcarman12078

*Yeeeaaa!!!*

Participation is awesome!!! :thumbsup: Ok, lets get some questions answered!!

NTxSlotCars.... Will LEDs light with a Tesla coil, like flourecent lights will?

Well, sort of.. I have noticed a couple of times the LEDs will dimly blink from the static electricity over the track. It's not enough to be useful, but it does happen!!

noddaz.... A question, has anyone tried a voltage regulator in the circuit to limit the voltage to the LEDs? 
Yes, I have tried a couple of these, and was really hopeful, but found they just don't work out hooked up to the chassis. The motor doesn't get enough power to run hooked up to them.  One other problem with them is they do get "warm".

Nuther, if you have a dead TJet, transfer all the brass running gear over to the JL chassis... That goes a long way to taming the twitchy beast...
I have one and only one Tjet chassis that I could strip.. one of the brush springs is gone. I hate to sacrifice a chassis for that, knowing I will eventually be able to repair it. I s'pose I could buy running gear off of fee bay..

My kids had (emphisis on HAD) one of those super balls that flashed when bounced.

I have one too I confiscated from the oldest kid... I'm waiting until he forgets about it completely before I start tearing it apart!! :tongue: If all else fails, I have found a source for flashing magnetic pins that work off batterys. I'm trying to avoid this because: 
1. Who wants to keep buying batteries? 
2. Weight issues. 
3. Size restrictions.
4. On/off switch mounting locations...
5. The store selling them only sells in wholesale lots. 100 is too many to experiment with!!

I am trying to avoid having any electronics being visible from a "mounted on chassis" perspective. That is why my resistors aren't mounted in the passenger compartment, though mounting there would make things so much easier. I would have considered doing this if the nova had full glass,and I could black out the windows, but the side windows are open. I'll keep trying to come up with answers, and questions and comments are always appreciated!!! :thumbsup:


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## NTxSlotCars

Hey, with that side window open in the Nova, it looks like he has the 8 track on.


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## slotcarman12078

Powered by....flubber??? LOLOL :tongue:


----------



## Bill Hall

Nova looks great Joe! The only thing brighter than the high beams is yer enthusiasm. 

As for the tail lamps; any brighter and yer brakelight switch would be stuck in the on position...LOL!

No doubt every body style will present it's own set of problems related to light leaks, wire and optics routing, as well as dealing with getting the holes just right to fit the LED's.

Looks like yer well on yer way to a fairly standard but adaptable setup. :thumbsup:


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## noddaz

*LEDs? a bright idea!*

_1. Who wants to keep buying batteries? _
_2. Weight issues. _
_3. Size restrictions._
_4. On/off switch mounting locations..._

I was going to use track power to run it...

_5. The store selling them only sells in wholesale lots. 100 is too many to experiment with!!_

I can't overcome this one... lol


----------



## slotcarman12078

*Why is who and where is what??*

Rocket scientist I'm not!! Not by any stretch of the imagination!! In fact the genius that I am got the resistors mixed up, causing the tail lights to be too dim, and the headlights to be too bright. :freak: This is what I get for trying to finish up a project with the kids out of school!! I had a resistor break while I was bending and tweaking to fit the two of them in the hollow between the rails, and when I redid them I reversed them. DUH!! In the process of trying to pull it apart to redo the resistors, I broke a headlight!!!  I'm still waiting for my LED order to arrive so I'm at a standstill with the rebuild now. I am seriously considering putting the resistors up under the roof, to just say the heck with it. I don't know.. It would certainly make it easier to get "under the hood"..There are smaller 1/4 watt resistors, but the ones I've tried get warm quickly... not something I would want in a closed environment. 

Which brings me to the voltage regulator..I had planned on using one for my fire truck, and it worked great off the track voltage, until you wire it to the chassis. Mind you this was when I first started playing with LEDs.. The chassis won't operate when you hook up the regulator. I'm not saying it is a total loss, and it won't work at all..just that if you power it as I was (sharing the power with the chassis) it won't work. If I recall, in my preliminary tests, The LEDs worked with the voltage regulator hooked to the track with a car running on the same power. I've always tapped power on the plates where the shoes attach. The chassis doesn't like sharing using this method. As far as the flashing ball, count the batteries, find the voltage of each and add them up. It'll be fun trying, but you're going to need to find out how much of a resistor you will need to bring the chassis power down to the volts of the batteries. Hopefully you'll have better luck than I have!! Buried in a few of my posts..some here, some elsewhere, I've mentioned what I've tried so far. So far I've had very limited success with anything that flashes hooked to a chassis!!


----------



## noddaz

hmmm.....you had to say that, didn't you...
Ok, so there is nothing new under the sun...


----------



## slotcarman12078

Yes there is, I just haven't scraped up the money to buy them yet.. I'm hoping this week!! Check out the link in post 69!! They look promising.. As yet untested for our application...


NutherJoe


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## slotcarman12078

*Trial and error is a beautiful thing...NOT!!!*

In my travels in and around HT and the web I have noticed something that I mostly ignored. It had to do with Fray cars and the associated rules..particularly the one regarding armature ohms. Up until the nova, all of my lighted projects have been installed on an Aurora chassis. Maybe it's a fluke, but it seems the difference in resistance between the two types of armatures completely throws off my resistance calculations. I redid the Nova today. I swapped out the resistors for new ones, and dropped the tail lights to 330 ohms from 390. And they still do the same thing!! (dim down with a drop in power) It's a good thing resistors aren't that expensive. One thing needs to be said regarding LEDs. Too much resistance is ok, as far as the trial and error stuff goes. If you need to redo it, no biggie, not enough and the LED goes pop! Looks like I need to go resistor shopping again, or swap the JL chassis for an aurora. 

My advice to anyone who dares venture into this realm...get a wide assortment of resistors, and always start on the safe, high side of resistance. The calculator link I supplied will not take into account the resistance of the chassis, unless you subtract it from the inbound voltage. Apparently, this will vary with the chassis brand and the installed armature. Therefore, there are no magic numbers for these applications. The requirements vary by a number of circumstances: The chassis, the brand and color of the LEDs, the number of LEDs, and the transformer or power source you're using. As per usual, my supply of Aurora chassis is almost exhausted, there's one left to play with. I guess it's going in the nova.... At least I figured out a wire routing that works.

One does need to keep in mind that this is new ground that's getting broken, from what I've seen other than the "lamethrower" type of concept this really hasn't been done before, at least in HO scale, and there are way too many variables to make this a quick, easy modification. This is the main reason I am hesitant to start throwing resistor values on here, because as I progress in my experiments I am finding out what works here may not work for you. Back to the drawing board...again!!!

NutherJoe


----------



## slotcarman12078

*Great news!!*

My new improved flasher order is in!! 2 for a meat wagon, 2 for a wrecker and 1 to disect... I'm looking foward to pulling one apart to see what makes it tick!! And even more good news!! According to my regular source of LEDs, a 1.8 mm warm white has been ordered and will be available in about a month!! This will free up a lot of room under the hood for fiber optic trickery!!! There's enough room to double them up, or just plain hard mount them as I do!! They will make the "square headlight" cars do-able, and even the round HL cars easier as they are half the size of the 2.0mm!! :thumbsup: To give you an example of the size difference I'm referring to:










The taillights for the surfer van were 1.8mm..These have been shaved of their "bump", the headlights are 2.0mm. This will open up more possibilities, and being of the warm variety will make lighting look more natural. :woohoo:

If all else fails, Sir Hilltop sent me a nice flasher chassis to tinker with and if it comes down to it my next ambulance will be AFX powered.. Thank goodness for that quick Hilltop tutorial on making AFX body mounts!! Now if I could only resin cast the van....Hmmmm.....


UtherJoe


----------



## Omega

This Thread is great. Good Job on the cars. Looks like I will be trying this soon.

Dave


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## slotcarman12078

Thank for the compliment!! The most important things I need to stress are the most obvious, but I still feel compelled to say them!! 1. Get an assortment of LEDs to play with in red and white. 5 mm ones are a bit too big. Most HO scale cars head lights are in the 1.5-2.0 mm range. Tail lights call for assorted sizes depending on model. Start with junk bodys to get a feel for what you're doing. Don't mess around with vintage stuff!! If you want a vintage car, someone can or has already resin cast it. My best friends on my bench are my dremel, the flex extension, the drill index, the large cutter blade, and the fine and medium engravers. Also my cheapie mini file set. Scout around on fleabay for 28 gauge stranded wire. It's small enough to weedle around the chassis even in tight bodies, and is flexible(for the most part) enough to contour to tight curves. Plan on securing an assortment of 1/2 watt resistors..1K ohm and smaller. Also expect trial and error!! Alot of it to start!!! Make sure you have plenty of ventilation as the soldering fumes can me you ill!!! (lead for 1) Gives me one heck of a short temper, as the kids have found out..they keep their distance during and after a soldering session!! Don't get discouraged if it don't work out the first few times!!! I can't count the bodies I've tossed out due to failed attempts!! Don't be afraid to experiment, and always look for alternate options!! And the most important, "walk away"!!! It is frustrating at times!! Things you think will work, don't always turn out. Put it on the back burner and rethink the process. We'll get it done eventually!! 

UtherJoe


----------



## sethndaddy

slotcarman12078 said:


> Thank for the compliment!! The most important things I need to stress are the most obvious, but I still feel compelled to say them!! 1. Get an assortment of LEDs to play with in red and white. 5 mm ones are a bit too big. Most HO scale cars head lights are in the 1.5-2.0 mm range. Tail lights call for assorted sizes depending on model. Start with junk bodys to get a feel for what you're doing. Don't mess around with vintage stuff!! If you want a vintage car, someone can or has already resin cast it. My best friends on my bench are my dremel, the flex extension, the drill index, the large cutter blade, and the fine and medium engravers. Also my cheapie mini file set. Scout around on fleabay for 28 gauge stranded wire. It's small enough to weedle around the chassis even in tight bodies, and is flexible(for the most part) enough to contour to tight curves. Plan on securing an assortment of 1/2 watt resistors..1K ohm and smaller. Also expect trial and error!! Alot of it to start!!! Make sure you have plenty of ventilation as the soldering fumes can me you ill!!! (lead for 1) Gives me one heck of a short temper, as the kids have found out..they keep their distance during and after a soldering session!! Don't get discouraged if it don't work out the first few times!!! I can't count the bodies I've tossed out due to failed attempts!! Don't be afraid to experiment, and always look for alternate options!! And the most important, "walk away"!!! It is frustrating at times!! Things you think will work, don't always turn out. Put it on the back burner and rethink the process. We'll get it done eventually!!
> 
> UtherJoe


Or just send your bodies to joe for lights


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## slotcarman12078

*Good news X3*

OK!!! Talk about fast shipping!!! Both my latest LED orders are in!! I have yet to tinker with them, but they are on my desk!! In case you missed chat, it was suggested I do up a scooby van. And keeping with the scooby doo haunting scenario, this van quite possibly will be equipped with scary green headlights and even scarier purple tail lights. I won't know until I see what they look like installed. The cool part is they are clear lenses that glow those particular colors!! Also, sitting right here in front of me is my test universal flasher LEDs in red and yellow. My fingers are crossed they will work correctly!! 




As much as my back and neck were bothering me, I spent much of yesterday and a good chunk of this morning cramped up under the table working on the automation process for the RR crossing. So far, so good. To give you an idea of how it's working, check it out!! Sorry, no strip club music today!! 
Please keep in mind I am still missing the remote gate actuator cables so the gates aren't going to move for now, and the delay is set for the gates to go up. 
LED experimentation will resume tonight and hopefully I'll have even more good news!!

UtherJoe


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## Hilltop Raceway

That is too cool Joe!!! Just like the real deal, lights coming on before the train gets there!!! I likes it!!! "Wher's the train, I can beat that train"!!! RM


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## Bill Hall

Punch it Randy...put yer thumb in yer beer and hold on!

Very cool Ujoe! How about a pull back shot one of these days so we can see the whole enchilada? Please!

Given any thought to trying your constant lighting program in yer passenger cars?


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## slotcarman12078

*I'm thinkin..I'm thinkin'!!!*

It does look kinda silly shutting them lights off waiting for the train, don't it?? I am still trying to come up with a way to do it, but no solution is in sight yet. We are talking about a very small amount of room to play with, and at least two extra parts to accomodate. It's a shame I don't have a crew like Randy does!! They got them little hands, can get in them tight spots to solder and stuff. Heck, these cars are like 1:1 to them!!! :jest: Maybe I'll make a little progress when I tear one of these universal flashers apart and see what makes them tick. Because they are equipped with a rectifier, a capacitor may be a feasible addition to the works. We'll just have to wait and see if any of it works.. One step at a time, as they say!! :thumbsup:

UtherJoe


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## slotcarman12078

*One super enchillada plate, no guacamole!!*

Ask and you shall receive!! Well, this is about the best I can do as far as the whole enchillada. The best I can give you is about half at a time. You'll have to do some mental surgery to to put it together. Here's some figures to toss around with the pictures. Back wall lengths are 10 feet. The 4 track section width is 5 feet, the 2 track section is 4 feet. The whole thing is on nice big rubber tired wheels and it rolls nicely out away from the wall. Because the window wall is 11 feet and the back corner is cut on an angle, it pivots out away from the wall allowing easy access to the back parts. Also, the 4 controllers (sadly 45 ohm, and the biggest cause for my JL/AW dilemma..I need 90 ohm) are located 2 on each side of each leg, allowing the drivers to also play marshall. Here's some pictures, and then more blah blah later..















































The last picture has a decent view of the solo operation controller station. The slide out on the left wing holds the choo choo's controllers. The black panel on the elevated holds all the gizmo's to make it all work. These consist of (4 of each) 100 ohm rheostats for speed control, push button momentary on for emergency takeoffs at the RR crossing, and SPDT switches for switching from controller to solo op's. Wiring-wise under the table is a spaghetti mess!!! So is behind the black panel!! Next time, I'm using regular sized switches, them mini micro's are a b*tch. 










By the way, the four train transformers to run the slots are on that shelf under the control panel. The slots run a lopsided figure 8 with a couple wiggles; the trains run double track thruout and it's basically a double folded oval. Nothing fancy here, just like to get it all running on it's own and chill out with a few cold ones, and watch them all go round in circles!!


UtherJoe


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## slotcarman12078

Dang it, forgot to apologize for the sloppy messy table. As you can see it's a work in progress and the work ain't getting done near fast enough for me even!! Here's the situation... I couldn't do the crossing gates until I figured out a way to get the scenery in around them, so I improvised. I used most of the wire I bought for the street lights on the crossing gate electronics so I need to replace it. I need a 6 volt 1 amp transformer for the street lights and the best I've found so far is $20.00 shipped and shipping is half of that, so I'm looking for somewhere else to buy it. I can't do any more plaster cloth until the lights are in so I can wire them. And (I was afraid of this) the TM just informed me that this tax return we're moving out of NY. This means any work I do to the table to make it look pretty will probably be torn up by next March!!!!  Oh well.... Can't fight city hall!! Before I forget again, if the constant light capacitor idea isn't difficult enough already, I will need to find a way to isolate the power discharged at shutdown into the lights only, or the car would move on it's own!!! :lol:


UtherJoe


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## slotcarman12078

*Blink blink blink blink!!!!!*

:woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo: :woohoo:

My new blinky universal LEDs work!!! Even two at a time with four other LEDs on!!!! My lil meat wagon gots a new strobe and looks COOOOL!!!! I've got 4 more...2 for another ambulance and 2 for secret project W.. Honestly, I'm getting cold feet about disecting one..They look so cool!! But what if the parts are readily available???? Hmmm.. I better sleep on it before I decide... For those of you who are wondering what the heck I'm talking about, here's the link for blinky universal LEDs that work in slotcars!!! 

http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/bl-213-f.html

These lil buggers work good. The ones I got were water clear bulbs and flashed a nice deep red!!! It has that nice old pre 70's twin light bubblegum machine look to it. For something newer go for the 2.5 hz model which looks more "strobish". They aren't cheap, which is the main reason I'm delaying the butchering of one, plus I think the meat wagon would look even better with 2. What would be cool is if I could remove the blinky red, and put one I got in my other LED order today. It's a water clear flasher led and it alternates red and blue!! That would be the bomb on a JL fairlane cop car!! I guess I better get used to the fact I'll be painting windshields!!! Thanks for visiting!! 

UtherJoe:wave:


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## slotcarman12078

*More snippets on my table...Or, the history of a L shaped world..*

How plans change!! Please keep in mind my original intentions for the table way back when it was just an idea mostly in my mind and a few scribbles on graph paper.. When the concept was born it was a train table. The slotcar thing was done before, but the table then was 8X12. Talk about a stretch!! My game plan was to run 2 4 lane tracks..half on the table and half under it. I was prepared to get lane fences and whatever else needed to get the cars (at the end of "Main St.") to do a bridge track dive under the train track and under the table do a 180 on 9" curves and double back to the other end of the world. With a few strategically placed junction turnoffs I could run 10+ cars at once. The cars would do a reversal at the other end..hit the lane fenced 9" curves, swing around, up the bridge and there they were.. I started making all the pieces for the puzzle back in March and April this year. Things like the 4 lane Aurora RR crossing, and then my own 4 lane two track crossing. Then I dug into finding a solution to the...as Bill Hall dubbed so perfectly.."Lamethrower" Rudolph..nuke meltdown under the hood.. no taillights doo doo... And there I was.....

Then something happened in April that threw a wrench in the works. My sister in law has been losing a battle with her addiction problem. To keep her grandchildren out of foster homes, we took the two boys in. Three boys in the house and slotcars...Hmmmm.. Out go my plans for my poor boy Faller road system, I changed most of the plans to allow some sort of racing on the table. Somehow I got lucky enough to have the TM give up her dining room for the table!! Obviously, we don't do much racing.. it's pretty much last man standing. The biggest problem is the controllers. I wish I had the resources then that I have now. If I had, I never would have bought 45 ohm'ers..

HT has been an excellent source for information and for finding truly gifted people to associate with!! I'm glad I'm here, and glad you're reading!! If you are reading, that is...Sorry, no pictures with this one!!


UtherJoe


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## bobhch

*B.l.i.n.k. Oh Yeah!*

Joe,

Blink, Blink...I am excited for you...WOW! Those are some cool lights man. Was looking at the link you posted & my mind just freaked out. :freak:

Love your track pictures also. Las Zilla Speedway kinda looks the same as yours. Some day I will finish it...someday.

Bob...Sweeeeeeeeeeet Blinkity Blink Blink...zilla


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## slotcarman12078

*Doing my homework...Yuck!!!*

Well..I did it. I cut the shrinktubing off one of my new blinkys. It's actually quite simple. One small lil black box of a rectifier and one even smaller capacitor. I have part numbers, what I don't know who is the manufacturers are. Until I can determine who makes there parts, I can't do much else. To add to my headaches, I broke off the leads at the rectifier so it's deceased.  Guess secret project "W" is on hold. Naturally, I blew my molding stock money again so the casting project is again on hold!!!  But I did do some cool stuff to the table today.. :thumbsup: Pictures and maybe another short movie some time tomorrow. One other thing I read as far as capacitors storing energy.. Here goes:

And this is where the potential problem lies.. A capacitor is like a battery..sort of.. What it does is store equal amounts of positive and negative current inside it and keeps them seperated by a thin film. The more current you feed the load (motor, light, etc) the more the capacitor stores, up to it's capacity. When the power or voltage drops, the capacitor tries to equalize itself by discharging the stored power from the negative side back through the load to the positive side. Problem is..The power is now flowing in reverse, and I don't know if this will allow a LED to continue working.:freak: I need to restock my resistor supply so hopefully the radio shack gurus will be able to answer some questions for me. I haven't been able to find my 1/2 watt resistors on fleabay lately..


UtherJoe


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## tjd241

*Great Job UJ.... Looking good!!!*

Don't sell that less elaborate layout short either. Elevation changes, landscaping, and trains running around while yer racing???.... priceless. Finish it off, try some new techniques, it'll be fine. Looking forward to seeing grass and trees in place. I remember the feeling when mine was unfinished. You'll feel better when it gets further along. Hey...Give us a new video eh?? nd

BTW: You mentioned you have 45 ohm trollers and don't care for them. Are they Parmas?? If so, you can transplant higher ohm resistors into them. I did it and it helped ALOT. Looks like you have mostly tjets to run?? The resistors are now made by a few outfits. Here's one @ 125 ohm , but there's likely others to be found too.... http://howorld.fsmra.com/archives/review/resistor/resistor.html


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## slotcarman12078

*To finish..or not to finish?? That is the question!*

The TM's ranting about moving has settled down for now..for the better part of two days that's all I heard from her. I am once again decorating. My only comfort in doing this is knowing I'll have a better grip on what works and what doesn't. So if I do need to tear it down, rebuilding will be that much easier. I did some cool things to it in the last couple of days and a video is due. I need to fix one lane (completely dead) and get the track cleaned (yet again). This next video, I want all four cars running, and both trains going. 

As far as controllers, all I have for racing is stock aurora 45 ohm. I think they are later magnatraction controllers. Anything better will need to wait until Uncle Sam gives me back the extra $$$$ I've sent him this year. The ones I have were a step up from the broken steering wheel controllers I had received with all the L+J track I bought.  I just wish I knew better when I bought those 45's because 60 and 75 ohm'ers were available at the time. 

All I can say is, in the past couple of days I have started a downtown revitalization project.. And the inner city doesn't look so much like the aftermath of a 6.0 earthquake. "Power" is slowly being restored to the area and some businesses are open, but until the public becomes aware of the city improvements, I guess they're staying home!! :hat:

I am expecting a package from Dynodon in the next week with a bunch of scenery stuff which will help the table come alive; and my next big project is straightening out the country insert (the other inside half of the figure 8). Some track leveling is needed there, and I need to replace a few pieces of track that have issues. This weeks purchases will be the transformer for my street lights and the cable mechanisms to operate the crossing gates. Car insurance is coming due so this is my spending limit for this week. :thumbsup:

I am muddling through all this with my latest physical dilemma. A week and a half ago I started messing with the crossing gate/automation system and being under the table put a kink in my neck. For the past 10 days the entire left side of my neck has been one or more of the following: numb (not bad..this is a welcome relief), on fire (not very good) or on fire, locked up stiff as a board and the feeling of a red hot poker shoved into my throat (the worst).  These symptoms switch back and forth regularly, so if you're thinking I haven't been myself in chat or elsewhere, this is probably why. I guess the 2 million+ miles I put under my butt are starting to catch up with me. 

One bit of good news to add... Xmas came early for me this year. My cheapie big lots office chair (that has been rewelded, and re wheeled 4X) finally bit the dust.  The TM took pity on me and bought me a new chair for my work station!!! Hope this one lasts a little longer!!! An updated video will be up later today, probably after dark. And I'll attempt a pull back view for you Bill, it's just that to get the whole thing in I either need to shoot from the kitchen, the bathroom, or the oldest kids bedroom, and no matter where I do it from, the view is obstructed by something. That's all the news for now!! :wave:


UtherJoe


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## slotcarman12078

*Lights, Camera, Action!!!*

Ok, it's not what I was expecting to get done today, but I made some progress on the seriously cool scale today. The odd thing is, my neck feels better after crawling around under the table for half a day!! Here's some stills, and a short video will follow as soon as I upload it. Use your imagination as you see these, as the lighting wasn't perfect, but you'll get the basic idea..




























































Like I said, a short video will follow after dinner..youtube is slow when it comes to uploading stuff. Enjoy!!


UtherJoe


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## 1976Cordoba

:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## slotcarman12078

*Carpy moovie tyme!!*

Until McWilson's ( a spoof on the TM's family name) starts getting some customers in, they can't book any real decent bands to play there. Playing tonight is a never heard of jazz band called "milkshake" or some stupid thing like that. And the bar is empty. Down town is deserted, even the firemen are afraid to respond to fires, the IRS being targeted yet again by some crazed arsonist!! The residents of this somewhat rundown section of town won't step foot on the street after dark, hiding in their flats until sunrise. Only in the the light of day will most folks venture out their front doors. Wow..what a dramatic an intro for a 2 minute movie!! JEEZ!!! :tongue:






I fried one or two (Not sure yet) of my reed switches tonight with a short slot session with the kids.  I need some other parts to cushion the jolt of the on/off process. The reed switches are welding themselves closed!! Someday, God willing, everything will work at one time!!!


UtherJoe


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## slotcarman12078

Oops, I plumb forgot to add one little interesting bit.. That firetruck is a static model now.. but it does have a tjet chassis on it. That is the way my lighted firetruck is supposed to look when it was running. The beacons won't light up when the truck's running with the current LEDs. But, with a little surgery on them new LEDs I found, lighting them up like that is now very possible!!!


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## bobhch

*love the blinking blinkies man...*

UtherJoe,

Those lights in the video make your layout look so real. What a fun set-up you have to run your trains and cars on...LUCKY!

Bob...fire, fire, fire...let the mother burn...zilla


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## slotcarman12078

Bill Hall asked for it, so here is the whole enchillada video. Turn down the volume!!!!!






Enjoy!!

UtherJoe


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## NTxSlotCars

WOW!

My track isn't fun anymore

Rich


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## Bill Hall

Thanx Joe.

That was a fun tour! Always nice to get the full scope of a man's insanity.

That, and Coach and I get to case the place to see if it's worth the effort.


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## slotcarman12078

*You 'n coach!!!*

Case the place?? Heck, I'll help ya carry it out!!! :tongue: I'm hiding my prized Pizza Hut and jaguar as I type this...and my vans!!! The rest is AW fodder and some cranky old Tjet track. The TM hasn't seen me sane in 4 years now, so she prolly wouldn't recognize me :dude: ..Mebbe a good thing!!! :thumbsup:

UtherJoe


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## slotcarman12078

*Security issues have forced me to take drastic measures!!*

Due to a tip the city of G'ville has decided to ramp up the enforcement level. They've gone to code tangerine which is somewhere between yellow and red. As Mayor of G'ville, I have made an executive decision to beef up the patrol units to restore peace and security to this one glove town. 

I spent most of the evening blowing up LEDs and ordering resistors. I lit up a static model with a full light package to assist a disabled motorist up on Rte. 30A. Then I started looking at my JL fairlane cop car and off to work I went. I'm stuck deciding between a simple roof light or a fully lighted version. Sadly, I needed to paint the winders black.

Then I started thinking (a hazardous pastime for me) That there was something missing on the surfer van. I know it's only a matter of time before the next HOHT auction comes and I wanted it as perfect as I could with what I got to work with... soooooo










A pair of sidepipes were scoffed off an old diecast. Makes all the difference!!



















I didn't get to take the pictures of my new additions to the police force as my camara battery was about to die, but tomorrow is another day. 

UtherJoe


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## slotcarman12078

*The story you are about to see is true..*

As promised, here's a short video of my police force additions. The diecast's flashers are heating up and get stuck in the lit mode, so it will require some more work. The JL cop car has one of them new flasher LEDs in it, and will work fowards and backwards. I am still undecided if I want to attempt a fully lighted conversion on it. I think the next step is see if the seller of those flashers will sell me the individual parts, and hopefully can tell me if the rectifier/capacitor combination will handle more than one LED. I guess I should be happy with what I've found so far, but the potential for better lighting conversions is out there, and these don't have a resistor wasting space. Anyway, here's the link!!! 




UtherJoe


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## slotcarman12078

Adding another vendor to the frey. This seller has lots of resistors..30 for a buck. Way better than the 5/$1.00 the "shack" charges, and easy to add an assortment for a decent price. http://cgi.ebay.com/RESISTORS-1-2-Watt-5-CARBON-FILM-ASSORTMENTS-NEW_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp1742Q2em153Q2el1262QQcategoryZ4664QQihZ023QQitemZ360030563028QQ He ships fairly quick, and shipping for the second purchase and more is only .25 each. I got 210 resistors for $10.25 shipped. And don't let the picture mislead you..they come sorted in nice envelopes!!

UtherJoe


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## bobhch

*Hey do you have a Christmas Tree in ho scale????*

UtherJoe,

A slotter and train guy on a misson. WOW! 

Everyone has different interest here on Hobby Talk and If I added this light thing to mine it would just take away from my painting and building. As cool as these lights are I will just have to settle for coming back to this thread for my lighted slot car visual needs.

If I win the Lottery I am so going to make time to light up my life. 

Bob...love your lighted cars and buildings...zilla


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## slotcarman12078

*Oh Christmas Tree!! Oh Christmas Tree!!*

Well, since the outskirts of town have a nice layer off freshly fallen snow.... I know where I can get the stuff to make them!!!! There is a seller on ebay who sells colored and clear fiber optics. About this time last year I started thinking about doing a Christmas themed table... It's happening again!!! Let me see what I can come up with!!! Check it out..about halfway down the page!! http://cgi.ebay.com/300ft-COLORED-FIBER-OPTIC-MODEL-LIGHTS-Custom-BuildEZ_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ1194QQihZ024QQitemZ370106836605QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVWQQ I had thought of alternating the colored strands under the roofs of the buildings and houses and lighting them with a white LED. A single orange strand in each window for candles, and lighting up the bushes and shrubs around the house. The best part is, I can keep them LEDs on seperate power so around this time of year I can lite them, and give them a rest in, say April, when the tree comes down!! :tongue: Thanks, Bob!! As if I didn't have enough to do!!! 


Uther...Santa is a hippie too.....Joe


P.S. Due to my new found facination with horrorclix I missed two mini lindy vans on fleapay tonight!!! At least one went to a good home!!! Now I gotta get that Evil Santa!!! :thumbsup:


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## bobhch

*Eeeeeeeew kewl lights man...*

UtherJoe,

Greeeeeeeeeat you are newly addicted to HorroClix and now I have seen all those colored Fiber Optics in your link. Me thinks me needs the 500 ft of clear and the 300 ft of colored...watching the Auctions and waiting till pay day now.

I may have a Christmas tree on our layout now...LOL This thing they call a Hobby is lots of fun and now these lights just say Las Vegas in my Mind!!! Yeah Baby!

Bob...I like shinney bright things...zilla


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## slotcarman12078

*In a pinch, call the Chamber of Commerce!!*

That's what they said, so I did!!! Got some work done on the outskirts of town today...Actually looks like alot more work than it was! Since the future of this table stands in the gallows waiting for either a stay of execution or someone to pull the lever, I decided not to get too crazy with precision in the detail department. The sister in law is a hemmeroid that just won't go away..and since she rented the apartment upstairs the "roid" has gotten more annoying!! I'd rather listen to fingernails on a chalkboard all day!!! 

Anyway, back to my story.. When I picked up a 4' X 4' X1/2" sheet of foamboard at the lumber outlet last week I had no idea how handy the stuff is!! This is what I used to build up the downtown area, and I had 2/3rds of it left over.. So I put it to good use today.. 




















Things are looking a bit more on the level now!! A quick dose of plastercloth tomorrow and the holes will be filled. I also filled in the eyesore raised portions of RR track, except for the tunnel entrance. This area will need a bit more thought as one lane in particular stalls alot in there. I'm thinking of just using the foam board for it too as it is bendable to an extent (alot of small kinks add up to a bend).. 





















After a quick run to wallyworld, with visions of sugarplums dancing in my head I decided that the chamber of commerce should do something to help with the revitalization process!! It being that time of year, all the Xmas stuff came out of mothballs and the decorating commenced!! Only one chamber staff member was shot this year, a drastic improvement over last year!!




























Thanks to Bob...clue UtherJoe in on Horrorclix.....Zilla I now have ordered my first grouping of them lil critters!! Let's just say..I have plans!!! Most of you already think I'm disturbed.... This idea will simply prove I'm certifiably insane!! :freak:


Uther....sniffed too much soldering fumes.....Joe


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## Bill Hall

Mmmmmmmmm! Soldering with Rosin core....smells like..... victory!

Great progress Ujoe. Always fun to watch! 

BYW: Drop some preperation "H" in her mailbox. Sign it, "With love, from Gus"


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## slotcarman12078

*Yippeeee!!!*

Great news today from my new supplier of my flasher LEDs!!! According to them, The rectifier/resistor/capacitor combo will fire off up to 4 regular LEDs and maybe even a flasher or two to boot!! They are willing to sell the individual components if I would like, although I was informed they are a bear to solder. They are also willing to custom make the whole she-bang with four LEDs with 3" leads off the rectifier so a passenger compartment mounting is feasible. The only catch is they don't stock 2.0 mm LEDs, so either that will need to change, or the DYI option is the only option. This is great news for me, at least!! Now if I could only get the 2.0mm LEDs light shaft (lens) offset mounted instead of centered,  I would be in LED heaven!!

I also have an idea I sort of borrowed from Claus' web site. He has a couple lighted vehicles on there, and one sparked an idea. I can utilize the posts for power transfer from chassis to body. By using small ring terminals attached to the posts and the chassis' post locations, the body can be completely removed for maintainance, and when assembled the post contacts will allow continuity for the electronics. Mounting of the rectifier would be done in the passenger compartment or under the hood.

I spent much of the day cutting up more foam board to fill in the low spots and holes. I'll snap some pictures when there is enough new stuff to show the difference.. My gas station is sitting a bit higher now, as are the vacant lots behind downtown. I think the next table I build will have alot more foam insulation. This stuff is so much easier to work with.. Later!!!:roll:

UtherJoe :wave:


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## slotcarman12078

*Very cool Ebay item*

Some of you might find this interesting!!! This guy is doing HO scale Fire trucks, and this one just knocked my socks off!! I can't even imagine the amount of time to create one of these.. Their estimate is weeks of work, and I'm sure it was longer than that!! 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm37%26satitle%3D380067150297%26category0%3D%26fvi%3D1&item=380067150297&viewitem

There's an incredible amount of labor in this, and parts to boot.. It's worth every $$$.. I wish I could afford it, but that's more than 1/2 a weeks income for me... 


UtherJoe


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## WesJY

slotcarman12078 said:


> Some of you might find this interesting!!! This guy is doing HO scale Fire trucks, and this one just knocked my socks off!! I can't even imagine the amount of time to create one of these.. Their estimate is weeks of work, and I'm sure it was longer than that!!
> 
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fsearch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm37%26satitle%3D380067150297%26category0%3D%26fvi%3D1&item=380067150297&viewitem
> 
> There's an incredible amount of labor in this, and parts to boot.. It's worth every $$$.. I wish I could afford it, but that's more than 1/2 a weeks income for me...
> 
> 
> UtherJoe


i think it should be more than 150 bucks!! thats awesome man and looks like lots lots of work!! 

Wes


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## slotcarman12078

*Scooby Dooby Doo...Where are you???????*

After some consideration over last weeks late night chat, and a chance to get a peek at what's shipping in the Xmas exchange, I decided to do something new and fun. This is my first attempt at a mystery machine, and it'll be a mystery how it comes out until it's done. I'm going with the scary green headlights and purple tail lights, and using some artistic freedom in the design and color choices... Heres what I got going on here..























































Well, that's it for now!! I fudged up some decals, they aren't the sharpest in the world, but they'll work. I tried to download some new software to clean up my decal process, but it froze up my puter so I dumped it. Sorry, but they'll have to do..


UtherJoe


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## slotcarman12078

*Oh yes, one more little tidbit...*

I don't know who the artist was that did this, or I would no doubt buy him (or her) a beer and thank'em!!! For those of you who don't think the scoob is cool...










I think he looks wicked!!! Almost looks like he's ready to go at it with a norse god/ cheese head /westler dude in a tricked out yeller chebby!!!:tongue: If I could have found a small enough scooby, I prolly woulda gone for it..top heavy or not!!

UtherJoe


----------



## 1976Cordoba

slotcarman12078 said:


> I don't know who the artist was that did this, or I would no doubt buy him (or her) a beer and thank'em!!! For those of you who don't think the scoob is cool...
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I think he looks wicked!!! Almost looks like he's ready to go at it with a norse god/ cheese head /westler dude in a tricked out yeller chebby!!!:tongue: If I could have found a small enough scooby, I prolly woulda gone for it..top heavy or not!!
> 
> UtherJoe


:lol:


----------



## bobhch

I love the Mystery Machine....go for it!

Bob


----------



## Hilltop Raceway

Yea go for it!!! Always liked those "Cartoon" drawings. I just never could draw that good...RM


----------



## slotcarman12078

Bill Hall said:


> Mmmmmmmmm! Soldering with Rosin core....smells like..... victory!
> 
> Great progress Ujoe. Always fun to watch!
> 
> BYW: Drop some preperation "H" in her mailbox. Sign it, "With love, from Gus"


OOOh man is the mailman pissed off!!!  He thought the prep H was meant for him!! He's delivering really late now (5:00 PM)... My only guess is, he'd like a lil rondezvous with ole Gus!! :tongue:

I got my new reed switches in, and I'm having trouble getting all of them to work properly. Looks like I'm needing to rewire the whole shebang to get it right. I'll need something heavier duty to hold the magnet assembly. I'm also afraid I will need to solder the wires to the track to make and keep good connections. 

As predicted in chat last nite, all the cars ran great today..except at the crossing. Some don't stop, and some won't go at all.. Time to tear it all apart and rewire it. 


UtherJoe


----------



## WesJY

utherjoe - cannot wait to see it done!! i am a scooby doo fan!! i still watch the cartoon (the original ones not the new one)

Wes


----------



## slotcarman12078

I used to watch scooby doo as a kid. It was one of those things that was lost in my late teens...and would still be lost..if not for my son. From the time he was walking, he was totally mesmerized by the show. I can still see him in a tee shirt and diaper, bottle in hand standing in front of the tube completely fixated, for the entire cartoon. 

By the time he was 4, he was memorizing entire movies, line by line. I recall watching the fast and the furious with him, and he was saying every line as the actors were saying them, end to end. Unbelievable... I can't remember what I did last week, and he's memorizing entire movies!! 

UtherJoe


----------



## slotcarman12078

*Just a teaser...or 2*

Here's another view of the new mystery machine.. I spent a big chunk of time messing around with windows paint today trying to get the decals right, and I'm hoping they are. Sorry I didn't get too much done to show. 










Just enough to give you an idea how she'll look finished. I also need to add some pearl clearcoat before I start doing decals, so I'm dragging my feet to make sure the base coat is completely dry. I just hope the paints are compatible. 

I'm also happy to report a new tennant has rented one of the vacant business buildings here in town. Apparently, he paid off the Board of Health. We don't care too much, as it's one more tennant, one less empty building!! :thumbsup: He seems like a nice guy..He's from The Bronx...










I would have to say he's adjusted to the area quite quickly!!!

UtherJoe


----------



## slotcarman12078

*Rectifier/capacitor update*

Here is a copy of the latest email from Evans Designs... 

Hi Joe
I am in the process of converting my offerings so I do not have any spare rectifiers here, sorry. All of the electronics are going to be mounted on a tiny board that will come as a 1-piece unit. You have the option of adding your own LEDs or getting my LEDs loose. You are right, depending the color mix, some extra resistors may need to be added. I will be testing and refining this offering over the next few weeks and will have numbers for you. I will be able to sell the units with wire leads for $3 each. You can run upwards of 10+ lights on the one circuit, the rectifier has enough amps to handle it.
Capacitors 
You are right, higher capacitance will keep the lights on. However in my testing it takes a pretty large amount to keep the lights on for longer than 1-2 seconds. Larger capacitance unfortunately equals bigger size. At this time I am not aware of a compact enough unit for your application. 
I will search around and see if it is possible to get a more compact cap from somewhere.

Shelly
Evan Designs


I am curious to see how big these circuits are going to be. The recifier is small..very small and the capacitor is attached to the bottom of the LED..










Also a new teaser picture of the mystery machine.... Boyds Florida orange sprayed RRR wheels came out pretty cool!! The clear pearlcoat is on too!!










I'll be tinkering with this on and off all day.. I want to give the clear some time to cure up before I future it, and I can't start the decals until the future goes on. The lights will go in after the first coat of future dries so I don't get fingerprints all over it.. 


UtherJoe


----------



## Bill Hall

Wow U-joe! 

That's some major headway. Looks great!


----------



## slotcarman12078

*constant (sort of) lighting circuit*

While perusing the dirty web pages, I managed to locate a model RR train lighting circuit for sale in the UK for about $30,00 US. (rough estimate) The lighting circuit will keep the lights on after power down for about 2 minutes. The problems are: the cost, the size, the shipping cost, and no pictures to even try to guess how big they are. As tempted as I am, this is too rich for my wallet, and there is no gaurantee it will fit in a 1/32 let alone an HO. In a related story, I have found schematics that I can almost read that uses ni-cad batteries as a back up. There is also a problem with these as they require 3 different capacitors to make the whole thing work, on top of the rectifier and resistors. Too big!!!

The vendor forementioned also have a different style 2.0 mm white LED that is more akin in shape to a 3.0 mm shape than the ones I've been using. These are ballpark about 3.75 each. Now these I am interested in, as I have been looking for something smaller that will fit up in the corners of the front fenders. Most cars with four headlights, stacked like this 8 (all of them for all I know) the top one is the low beam and they are pretty near impossible to get an LED up in there. These will ease installation as they are more on the round side..Not perfect like a 3.0mm, but way better than a 2.0 mm. They also have some micro lights which is what I was looking for in the first place. 

Here's the links for anyone interested... the "lightstores" are the ones that keep the lights on for ya!!

http://www.expressmodels.co.uk/acatalog/_LIGHTSTORE__DOUBLE_ENDED_LOCOS_AND_UNITS.html


The LED link is the same company. The new style 2.0 mm is available in medium and high intensity.. scroll down to them!! Sadly, I don't see anything warm...

http://www.expressmodels.co.uk/acatalog/WHITE_LEDs.html

Scroll down past the new 2.0 mm and check out the .08 mm surface mounts!!! Now those are SMALL!!
That's it for today.. I want to try to do some decals tomorrow on the mystery mach. I'm almost afraid to put them on.. They don't look so hot.

UtherJoe:wave:


----------



## slotcarman12078

*Mystery Machine Update!!*

Well, the Christmas exchange mystery machine is getting there!! Here's a few pictures so you can see the progress!!! The black decals got crazed for some wierd reason, buit they look different that way. Let's just say I meant to do that!! 



















The JB is curing for the tail lights, the headlights are painted and drying, and the body is about to take a dip or two in the future. Then the assembly can begin!!:thumbsup: Later!! :wave:

UtherJoe


----------



## slotcarman12078

*Almost done!!!!!*

Well, The Mystery Machine..AKA Wicked Scooby Van...is almost complete. I've never used a resistor as low as I have in the taillights on this one, and I'm not happy with the performance. Something must have gone wrong with the LEDs during the trimming process, or the tail panel installation. They have the same problem as the Nova. Dim at low speed. I'll fool with it tomorrow and if need be, I'll have to replace the tail lights with red ones, or I'll need to order some more. Here's the finished (sort of) pic's..



















Scary green head lights and even scarier purple tail lights!!! Reminiscent of the episode where the van was "posessed"!!




























I sure hope I can get the lights working correctly soon!! "C" Day is approaching!! I have also come to the realization that white decal paper would have been a better choice over the clear. Oh well..maybe I'll get it right next time!!


UtherJoe


----------



## bobhch

*Scoooooby dooooooooooooooby doooooooooooooo*

Love the van man...lights, action, camera. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Does this come with some Scooby Snacks?

Bob...LOL posessed van by UtherJoe...zilla


----------



## WesJY

thats so COOL!!! awesome job man! :thumbsup:

Wes


----------



## neophytte

Have a look through our local thread (Perth, W. Aust):

http://neophytte.mine.nu/forum/forum.pl?fid=05&topic_id=1149994830

Cheers

Richard


----------



## slotcarman12078

*Thanks for the link Neo!!*

Now that is truly wicked!! I have been pondering the use of capacitors on the cars, and the capability of up to 30 seconds of light after power down or a wreck is way cool!! I will be studying these pictures over and over again, for sure!!! The time lapse shots rock!!! :thumbsup::thumbsup: Way cool!!!!

UtherJoe


----------



## win43

"Scooby Dooby Doo...where are you........" That is one cool looking van.
Now where did I leave my "Scooby Snacks"?


----------



## 1976Cordoba

I think it's cool too! :thumbsup:


----------



## tjd241

Great job on the van Joe. Great plan and execution. Can't wait to see the finished product. :thumbsup::thumbsup: nd


----------



## slotcarman12078

Thanks for all the kind words!! One of these days, I gotta build one of these customs for me!! The only one I'll have left will be my plain jane green one I started with, after the auction and this one!! 

I ordered 10 more purple LEDs so I'll have some left after the tail light re-do. I can only assume there were too many distractions while trying to work on the original ones.. I shoulda waited til the kids were in school to do this! 

Thanks again Richard for the link!! There's some cool stuff there. One of these days I will need to get over my fear of capacitors and give them a shot. (You can substitute fear with incompetence if you desire).. I have never messed around with them, so I'm leery of them. I do understand their basic principles, I just have a hard time comprehending all the do's and don'ts associated with them. Like alot of us here, seeing it goes way farther than reading it. I'm a 10th grade dropout with a GED and no electrical training whatsoever. I respect what I don't know. Capacitors have the ability to store enough juice to knock ya on your butt. Even the ones that store the power for the flash in a disposible camera can!! Someday I will get the guts up to try them. Judging from the dates on the original posts, you have a couple years experience on me as far as lighting goes. Some day I'll get there..


UtherJoe


----------



## neophytte

Cam has been playing with 1/32nd cars more of late:

http://neophytte.mine.nu/forum/forum.pl?fid=03&topic_id=1210510427

http://neophytte.mine.nu/forum/forum.pl?fid=03&topic_id=1212060817

http://neophytte.mine.nu/forum/forum.pl?fid=03&topic_id=1213712599

Enjoy!

Richard


----------



## resinmonger

Congratulations on the continued gentrification of your down town area. Good tenants are hard to find in these days of economic woes. Did you have to offer 10 years of property tax forgiveness to fill the spot? Also, does Pete sell some good brauts? Those are hard to find here in LA. Carne Asada - not so hard to find... Yummy Road America brauts are a very distant memory. 

Russ the longing for good brauts Hutt :drunk::hat::freak::dude:


----------



## slotcarman12078

*Tax relief??*

We'll just say there there were advantages for him to get out of the Bronx. He decided to move his cattle mutilation operations up north before the NYC Health Dept. shut him down. I can't think of a better time to go vegan. By next week his wife Bertha will be in town. She's a looker!!Considering what I've seen so far of her diet, I think I'll pass on the brauts...

UtherJoe


----------



## Bill Hall

*I'll sock it to ya daddy!*



slotcarman12078 said:


> We'll just say there there were advantages for him to get out of the Bronx. He decided to move his cattle mutilation operations up north before the NYC Health Dept. shut him down. I can't think of a better time to go vegan. By next week his wife Bertha will be in town. She's a looker!!Considering what I've seen so far of her diet, I think I'll pass on the brauts...
> 
> UtherJoe


Bertha ...
Bertha Butt...
One of the Butt sisters.


----------



## slotcarman12078

*Yes, Bertha Butt..*

That was her maiden name.. Bertha Tubbs is her married name.. Sorry I had to digitally manipulate her undercarraige, but there's children around... And Pete can't find skivvies that'll fit her...









Like I said, she's a dream!!!

UtherJoe


----------



## slotcarman12078

*Pepe Le Pew*

Happy to report another business moving into the area!! Pepe's septic service has been working on securing a doo doo pumper truck. This lil project started with a tanker train car from our very own Hilltop (Thanks Randy!!), and after some slicing and dicing, a lil JB and some careful surgery on a broken lindy van roof, the pieces started coming together. I did have some MAJOR problems with this job, as evidenced by the crackled paint. I could barely get any paint to stick to this plastic!!! As long as the contents don't leak out, it'll pass inspection. This truck is an experiment using fiber optics (Thanks to Bill Hall) for clearance lights (a pain to get them right without some sort of reference point) combined with LED tail lights and headlights. As per usual, the decals came out crappy, but with this truck, it fits.. In case you can't make it out, the little decal is Pepe le Pew.... I either need a better printer or better software for decals.. 



















Updates to follow as the project progresses..


----------



## Bill Hall

Nicely done Joeled... the tank fits very well!

Tip: Use you lighter to shape the end of the fiber into a nice round lens. Flick yer bic and ease end of the whip near the flame. Just sneak up on it and watch closely...the fiber end will curl back perfectly into a marker light.

You'll see a little heat will make a small convex end. More heat will roll it back into a good sized tail lamp. There are limits of course. 

Regardless of what yer making it is best to heat the end. It really helps brighten things up. You'll see!


----------



## Hilltop Raceway

The poop pedalar looks good Sltman. Tank seems to fit good. I'd strip the tank and spray again though, "shi... happens" you know. The DOT would definately pull you over if they saw paint flaking like that, must be "corrosive" with no placards. Try placing "Service" underneath "Pete's Septic" and to the right of Pepe. Should give a little more room, just a thought...RM
P.S. Try some primer first. Duplicolor also makes plastic adhesion promoter in a spray can. Spray on a couple off coats, then paint.


----------



## slotcarman12078

*Drill bits and pieces???*

Thanks Bill!! They were falling through the holes. The fiber you sent is half the size of my smallest drill bit. I have 4 projects going on at once and pieces parts are mixed up all over my desk. I have an AW suburban (won't accept my paint) and a VW bus that need the dip tank (..need something to fill it with), the tanker that needs help, and the Misery..oops..Mystery Machine needing new taillights. Picked up a low temp glue gun..gonna try it out with the tanker later.. The Vee Wee bus is gonna be cool if I can get the pieces together.. Bob...addicted to horrorclix...Zilla is gonna love it. I need some decals printed up if anyone has the capabilities to do them right. My inkjet/puter set up can't do them. They're just too small a print and it becomes a big blur on the printer..

UtherJoeLED


----------



## Bill Hall

*Gotcha covered*

Yuppers those lil whiskers are hard on the eyeballs and frustrating to my crazy flipper fingers. If ya dont have the micro bit index here's the cromagnon method approved by the Boyscouts of America.

An easy way to do the pilot hole is heating a needle or pin up and plunging it through the body...close enough for horse shoes and handgrenades. A crack lighter and a small pair of vice grips is helpful if ya wanna do a bunch.

With the pilot hole completed you can then take a 1/16 bit and chamfer a proper seat for the optic lens. The lens should settle nicely into the relief and the whip is secured on the backside with clear silicone. I generally use the bit in hand for pin point control. Ideally you'll not want to take more than about a 1/4 or 1/2 a mm out. Just enough to settle the lens.

So basically smoke a tiny hole through it and buzz a light countersink on it.










That's about 3/4, maybe creepin' up on 1mm deep. Obviously you dont have to french the lens in flush like this for markers on your trucks.










Using the lighter trick you should be able to get the end to look like this. This is about the max I've achieved. For smaller markers... just use less fire.










Looks like this when ya drop it in the hole. Rather than a flush french like the deuce, by limiting the counterbore you can still have the lens mounted proud of the surface, it will also sit more securely and have a nicely finished surrounding edge.


----------



## slotcarman12078

*Thank God I bought a new tip!!! For the soldering gun, that is..*

Soldering in tight places is a bear!!! Especially when those tight places are plastic!! I tried to snap off a few shots as the work progressed, but they were mostly blurry. Probably due to the flux buzz I was experiencing.. Pepe's sewer service is in business..



















Little wires everywhere!! The biggest hassle was the replaced headlight. The LEDs for the 3 clearance lights and headlights share a resistor. In hindsight, I should of ran a forth wire to the headlight for the ground. To make matters worse, the tractor body section had been broken off months ago, and was permanently glued on, so routing wires had to be done the hard way.





































The decals looked cruddy enough, but with the leaky cap on top, the whole truck looks really crappy now. A wash of "shaken, not stirred" rust wash with the appropriate chunks and a wash of grimey black after that makes for a dirty messy pumper truck. Sadly, most of the decals went with the wash. Alchohol based products don't like decals I guess.. I also should have done two extra "whips for side marker lights in the back. Too late!!! Next time I will!! Looks like pepe's has been around for a while! Glad this ones in the books now. Time for something "cleaner"

UtherJoe


----------



## bobhch

*Nice Crud Bud...*

Uther Joe,

I like the CRUDDY look alot! This is a Poo Poo truck and should look this way.

Bob...OH cRuD...zilla


----------



## satellite1

Here you find a "light thread" I found in 1 railroad forum.

http://www.all-model-railroading.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=5205


----------



## slotcarman12078

*OOOOOPS! Belated thank you's are in order!!*

:thumbsup: Thanks for the primer on primer, Randy!! I just wanted that stinky truck done, I've been doodling with it since your package came. I will try to find a can of that duplicolor special primer next time I'm in the "zone". I bought that newer "made for plastic" paint and was hopeful it would cover, but it dispersed like oil on water in certain spots. The tanker did the same thing. I ended up painting the tanker with 2 coats black rustolium and followed it up with the white. I will say it was a pain in the rear to cut that tanker cleanly. The fittings were buzzed off the extra parts of the red tanker and applied with a skim of JB weld. The same for the end cap. The fit is snug between top and base of the tank, so I can redo the fibers a little better, (I put too much nail polish on them) and the hot melt glue won't work holding the fiber in place to the LED ( I tried) there is too much light loss. I also want to add 2 more fibers to the corners on the back, as the tail lights are close together. 

:thumbsup: Thank you Bill for showing me the countersink trick and the flame trick. I am currently watching a few drill indexes with the teeny tiny sizes, and will probably grab one this or next week. Between all these projects, I managed to install and power 22 more street lights, and light up 4 more buildings this week. I also redid the resistors on the Nova and got it up and running as correctly as I can with it's pick up issues. I shortened up the windows on the front of the pickups and it works, but I shortened them too much. There's hardly any travel and I'm afraid if I bend them back they'll break. There is a clearance issue with the 2.0mm LEDs in the nose of that particular car. It also doesn't help the two younger kids had half days for parent teacher conferences 3 days this week. And my neck has a knot in it the size of New Jersey (feels like it anyway). 4 weeks now!! 

:thumbsup: Thanks Satellite for the link!! I'm always looking for new ideas!! I still have that lack of knowledge when it come to capacitors. Sooner or later, I will need to delve into them.

I have a wild idea, but it just might work.. at least on a small scale. I wouldn't try to pump out 500 pieces this way.. I love the control you get operating a bridgeport milling machine. The precision is phenominal, but I can't afford one, and the TM will never let me put it in the living room.  But on a smaller scale, what if I were to rig up a plate with body mounts and a cushioned strap over the car body. This will hold the car body level and mostly vibration free. Then take another plate and mount two parallel sets of RR tracks on it. Connect two flat cars with a third plate with a cradle to hold my dremel magic wand (flex extension) and go to town on a 66 GTO tail light panel... Milling out the tail light slots is the hard part. Once they are there I can either mold the body with the holes pre milled, and make the master taillight lens from the body or mill some more bodies to fit the tail light lens. I really want to light my GTO, 1. Because it'll look cool as hayl, and 2. It'll make it harder for me to swipe the chassis out from under it!! My poor goat is chassisless for the third time in 5 months!! :freak:

The 1.8 mm warm white LEDs should be in by the end of the month to my regular supplier. It looks like he's out of red 1.8 mm and I hope he's reordering them. Water clear just don't look right.I am still waiting to hear back from Evans design on the status of the new board they're working on, and if the individual parts are going to be available as I was first told. That's all the news for now!! Until later!!!:wave:

UtherJoe


----------



## tjd241

Nice Fece-Wagon JoeLed... Looks better with the wash and worn graphics too!! nd


----------



## slotcarman12078

Thanks, Nuther!! I have 1 more set of decals and I'm undecided if I want to leave them or redo them. I'm leaning on the leave them side, and you just swayed me even more that way. The "city" is getting rather grungy too, and the people are starting to hit the streets again  (thanks to Bob... Horrorclix is his middle name..Zilla turning me on to them). I'm waiting for packages..some more than two weeks now and it's starting to drive me crazy. I want to get some more businesses open in town, and I can't without people. The dead center of town will be (literally) when the zombies start arriving!!! C'mon USPS!! Get the lead out!! :thumbsup:
UtherJoe

P.S., Thanks for the link too!!


----------



## NTxSlotCars

Great looking truck mod! Looks gooey and smelly. I'm gonna have to wash my hands when I leave this thread.


----------



## slotcarman12078

*The machine, cat fights and the others..*

The mystery machine is in the bag. Hopefully it will hold up. Just in case, I didn't JB the tail lights in. To whoever gets this, I will replace the LEDs for as long as necessary, until I get it right. Here's how it looks....



















McWilsons has finally got a decent band in house and customers are starting to frequent the bar. Of course, having anything to do with my "outlaws" (inlaws), fights are going to regularly occur (like at my wedding reception). Shown are a few of my horror/heroclix, some in their modified states (arms relocated or props added) to accomodate the situation. I never had so much fun doing a table. This table being "temporary", I'm not going too crazy in the detail department, so please excuse the hot glue where visible. 























































The arsonist has been identified and is in the process of being apprehended, thanks to spider man for the help. The hitch hiker had her arms transplanted so she could be facing the right way while hitchin' a ride, and since it's "cold out" I painted a pair of pants on her. The mystery machine likes to stop at that corner and she's passed at every offer for a ride. My kid likes spidey so he had to find a perch. Four years ago, when my mother in law was in the hospital we used to pass a dairy farm going to visit her. We had my little dude believing that brown cows make chocolate milk, and pink cows make strawberry milk. He'd always miss seeing the pink one!! I had to do a pink cow for the farm just to razz him!! Mrs Farmer is heading out to slop the pigs. Oh, one more thing, Bertha showed up yesterday..If the front view wasn't priceless enough, I almost died when I saw the lollipop stuck to her hind quarter!! Til later...

UtherJoe


----------



## bobhch

*Which cows make Coke?*

UtherJoe, 

Looks like you are having a blast with those Clix dudes and dude-ets. Every time you post picks I just can't believe what I am seeing.

Those pics of the Mystery Van and all are Far Out.

Pink Cow...hahahahahahah 

Bob...Revenge of the parents...muhahahahhah...zilla


----------



## slotcarman12078

*OH oh!! It's all coming back to me!!*

About 5 years ago, I was working for a company called Cannon Express in NW Arkansas. One day while layed over at the terminal, I was in the midst of a 3 hour solo jam session with my guitars when something weird happened. The tendons in my left arm suddenly were tight and then poof! My left hand got numb. A few minutes later all was feeling normal again, except my left thumb :thumbsup: felt funny. It took almost two weeks to realize I lost the movement at the joint mid thumb. I could move it "manually", but I couldn't bend it on it's own, and I had no strength in it. I feel it happening again. The tightness in the forearm, and as I recall the "pain in the neck" was there too. Stress was the major culprit then, and I'm sure it has alot to do with it now. Being cooped up in the house doesn't help any, but the TM can't deal with the extra two kids on her own so she needs me here. Up against the wall kinda stress. Throw the sister in law into the mix and it's pure hell.. I believe my customs are about to get sloppier  as my dexterity is about to hit the crapper. To add to the stress, I found out Tuesday that the $270.00 a week unemployment is too much money for me to qualify for healthcare. I guess I'll be living with it for now.

UtherJoe


----------



## bobhch

*Stuff happens...*

Uther Joe,

If it makes you feel any better I plan on casting up that Chevy-Van (Mini-Lindy) this Winter and a few of them have your name on them at no cost as long as you promise to have some fun with them.....take care man. 

Bob...breath in...now out...in...out...zilla


----------



## slotcarman12078

*Enjoying my vacation...NOT!!*

Not much going on on the LED front lines this week. I'm still waiting for my dexterity to get back in my hands.. But I did get another batch of people to move into the area. Man I love this city!! Dirty, grungy, nasty...you get my drift.





































It's about time the Movie theater reopened.. It's been shut down since the mid 50's...




























That's it for now.. Gotta get more chassis and supplies and start getting better control of my fingers. I got no grip right now. Til later!!:wave:

UtherJoe


----------



## resinmonger

Must be a pretty cool town if Sponge Bob wants to live there...


----------



## slotcarman12078

*Please stay focused on the spongebob!!*

That's what I say to myself everytime the TM goes near the table!! She has been known to have jealous fits any time "other women" are around... And I got a bunch on the table!!  I give them a month...two max.. and they'll be getting ripped up....:lol:

UtherJoe


----------



## resinmonger

Maybe the TM would relent if you had Spongebob and Patrick...


----------



## slotcarman12078

Spongy is just buying me time...tick, tick tick....


----------



## bobhch

*You guys are Goofy Goobers...*

Dirty, grungy, nasty...RALMAO...that is great...hahahahahah

Love what you did and the Night of the Living Dead is a great Re-Opener for your Theater!

Patrick has no nose. That is odd...just saying. I'm a Goofy Goober....he's a Goofy Goober....You can be a Goofy Goober too.:hat::jest::hat:

Bob...you guys are crazier than me...zilla


----------



## slotcarman12078

*Oops forgot 1 picture!!*

This picture starts to tell the rest of the story going on here.. The movie is the hint.. If you look below the theater sign, you'll see one creepin up on the cop.. here's another view... 











Then the movie choice makes a bit more sense... Sadly, the LEDs and the signs in the bar obscure the view in there.. I got the start of a band, a waitress, and uuuuummmm, well I guess it's ladies night too....

UtherJoe


----------



## slotcarman12078

*Brewing for a spell???*

This is a back burner project that has finally gotten pulled up to the front burner. One mini lindy tow truck, one and 1/4 AW chassis and a bit of hacking got me to this point. I plan on lighting it front, back and top eventually. It's a difficult color the photograph correctly, and none of the pictures are right. It's not that blue..It's kinda spruce green..it has a tinge of blue in it.. I may paint it..not sure yet.











Also shown are the two cigar box bodies I am still looking for parts for. I need glass for both and bumpers for the vette if anyone has extras. Bad chrome is OK as I plan on painting it. I can get away with lexan for the willys but the compound curves with the vette make it a bit too challenging for my simple mind..










The Monopoly car is my first victim for resin molding next year. I am going to be experimenting with ways to extend the wheelbase of the chassis to keep the casting simple and maintain the dimensional integrity of the body. 






































I feel like I'm in a time warp here.. Just put up the Xmas tree today and it seems like I just took it down 2 months ago... Yet it's only been 1 1/2 weeks since I worked on a custom slot car, and it feels like a year... Very strange...

UtherJoe


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## XracerHO

*Mini Lindy Tow Truck*

Uther Joe, you are Amazing with LED's and really like the Tow Truck and how you extended the chassis to match the wheel base! Always wanted to motorize this tow truck and now know how to do it, Thanks! The town scenery is great! ..RL


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## Hilltop Raceway

Great work on the wrecker UJ :thumbsup::thumbsup: Those things have lots of detail. The blue looks good to me!!! The chromes make it come alive!!! RM


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## slotcarman12078

*Still tinkering with it..*

Thanks guys!! The chassis extension is only in phase 1.. I still need to tie the two pieces together as the front part swivels on the screw. I'm thinking bridging them together at the pin cutouts. The front screw head is too big so she don't stay on the track very good, and I have no post in the rear yet either. I plan on tricking it out all the way eventually with a sling on the back too.. I just need to figure out how to make the idea in my head a reality, and make it durable enough to handle my driving!! So many projects and every puzzle is missing pieces!!! Sooner or later, they all come together though....

UtherJoe


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## JordanZ870

Nice fab work on the wrecker, Ujoe! :thumbsup: How does it run out?


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## slotcarman12078

*Wellllll.....*

The body isn't very well balanced.. Kinda light in the back end as she sits now, but by the time I put the twin flashers on the roof, the rest of the lights and resistors and the sling on the tail..who knows?? Most of my customs are designed for slow motion travel, but a traction magnet might help with the handling. I put a 9 toother in to slow it down some, but even that is a bit too fast for me. I also want to look for wider pickups, especially for the extended chassis. They don't like curves set back like this.. My fire truck shares the same pickup woes...

UtherJoe


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## JordanZ870

Gotcha covered, Ujoe!

You need a couple pairs of the wide "Power steering" shoes. 

Shoot me your addy in my PM box and I'll send you some!


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## slotcarman12078

*Sometimes you're the windshield..sometimes you're the bug..*

Sometimes it all comes together.... OK..enough dire straits.. Friday nite's chat was fun, and inspirational... and I'm not talking about towel racks... I got to do a little investigative snooping, and in the midst of a little side conversation I got hit upside the head by a wicked cool memory...and an idea scaled down a bit. 

Last year I was scouring the web for building and painting custom guitars (another dream I never got to fulfill) and ran across a video of a guy doing a very strange yet cool paint job on a custom. He took a 5 gallon pail of water, and dripped oil based paint in it. Then he swirled it just a little to make funky patterns in it. He grabbed a stripped guitar body, and proceeded to dunk it slowly into the pail. while it was submersed, he brushed the paint aside with a rag, and slowly pulled the guitar back out. OMG it looked wicked. 
This morning, the TM took my old 8 pack of testors paints off the china cabinet. Holy cow, I thought that was long gone!!!! So, paint in hand, I decided to give it a try.... I had a junk van body hanging around on my desk so I decided, why should Zilly and Hilly have all the painting fun?? Time to take a dunk, Mr. scrap van...










Not bad for a first timer..Needed to swirl the paint a bit more...Hmmmm what else have I got sitting here collecting dust....










One mini lindy missing parts..oh well!!!! I'll try again!!!





































Not too bad for 2 year old paint and a bucket of water!!! Now picture that effect with flourescent day glo...Far out man!! Peter Max painted slot cars!!! My project list is getting longer instead of shorter, but I'll get caught up someday! I swear!! Peace out!!

Uther...my thumbnail and fingernail match the cars.....Joe


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## Bill Hall

*Serious Flashbacks*

How cool is that? Took a trip and never left the farm.

BTW: Regarding yer projects list?..... and getting caught up?...

Yer phunny! Dream on!

We are NEVER gonna let that happen....hahahahahahaha!


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## JordanZ870

Bill Hall said:


> How cool is that? Took a trip and never left the farm.
> 
> BTW: Regarding yer projects list?..... and getting caught up?...
> 
> Yer phunny! Dream on!
> 
> We are NEVER gonna let that happen....hahahahahahaha!


He means it, Ujoe. Even if I wasn't still finding the odd cool bits here and there...

I was down in the slotcave today, trying to decide what to work on. The bench is a disaster and I have stuff everywhere. SO MUCH STUFF! It looks like a slot car factory (a mini one) blew the heck up, yeah? Right!

I have decided that I will never get anything done until everything is in its place. I started on one end of the bench and moved aprox. 16" across in 2 hrs of sorting. (my bench is 6' long and 2' deep) I'll get there. I'll do a bit each day....or else!


As far as your bodies:thumbsup: go, mate, I like the swirly paint!


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## tjd241

*Deja Vu all over again....*

Joeled.... Good idea, I like the Mako. The makers of hunting products have a similar water transfer method for applying camo "skin" to almost anything you can shake a stick at. I've actually seen it done on TV... pretty cool. nd

http://www.camo-solutions.com/camo_process.htm


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## slotcarman12078

*This is just the beginning...*

After sleeping on it, I got some more thought into the process of paint dispersion and swirling methods.. These first few were simple basic plop a few drips of testors paints onto the bucket, swirl and dunk. I am wondering and will try (as soon as figure out my next victims) a few things.. My paint department is woefully understocked so I'm limited in selection, but I want to try spray bomb paint to see how it behaves. I also plan on attempting a more controlled drip and pull method so I can make real patterns instead of the acid trip effect I got with my first few. 

An example of this would be an orange and black combo..If pooled and dragged right, tiger stripes might be do-able.. A GTO tigger car would be coooool :thumbsup: Black and white, well zebra.. A couple jungle themed hummers?? Or a draguir tiger stripe paint job?? Horrorclix has a clown with a sack of noggins :hat: ...Hows about a white rag top clown car with multicolor dots?? I'm not going to dwell on this painting concept forever, but experimentation sure is fun!!! What's cool about the process is how the paint sticks to the body as it gets dunked. And cammo is do-able with the right color paints too!! Use your imagination and see what else we can come up with!!! 

Some very important reminders!!! Make sure you push the paint away before pulling the body back out, or it'll double layer the paint. Too much and you lose detail!! Use an eyedropped to dispense the paint for better control (I gotta get a few), You only have so much time before the paint starts to dry on the water.. if it pulls as a sheet instead of swirling, it's probably too late to dunk. Have fun!!!

UtherJoe


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## bobhch

*Hey Randy check this out man....Grooovy and Very Hippy like...Yeah!*

UtherJoe,

All I can say is FAR OUT!!!!!!!!!!!! Now this is my CUP OF TEA and that last Swirly Vette you did is soooooooooooooooooooooooo Cool man! They are all great but, that Corvette is right outa the 70s man....yeah!

Have this thread on speed dial now. Sweet! :roll::hat:

Bob...I gotta try this...zilla


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## slotcarman12078

*So sad....*

There must have been a weak spot in the paint. After dipping in future I found it. The last vette is in the boo boo tank taking a bath. Some careful experimentation will resume when the kids are in school. I found my next victim to try this with and I'm attempting spray bomb paint this time. A little white, a little orange pearl.. Hope the fisheyes stay away this time.... 

In other news, I some how made it to elder statesman status... Does this mean I need to wear a tie now??? I hope not..it'll look kinda funny without a shirt!!

Uther elder Joe


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## win43

WOW Man :dude: THE COLORS (waving hand in front of face) THE COLORS.

What a long strange trip this is gonna be. Super cool slotcarman. Reminds me of old county fairs with a spinning piece of shiny paper and squirting paint out of ketchup bottles.


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## Bill Hall

win43 said:


> WOW Man :dude: THE COLORS (waving hand in front of face) THE COLORS.
> 
> What a long strange trip this is gonna be. Super cool slotcarman. Reminds me of old county fairs with a spinning piece of shiny paper and squirting paint out of ketchup bottles.


Reminds me of my favorite painting shirt!


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## Hilltop Raceway

*Toys*

Reminds me of a toy kaleidoscope, look in one end, hold the other end up to the light, and twist the tube. They had some cool colors!!! UJ, that's some multitasking paint work!!! RM


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## slotcarman12078

*total bummer!!*

Well, I gave the spraybomb paint a try with the dip method, and what a mess!!! They are way too thin to float right and became a gooey mess the instant the car body hit it. Needless to say, the jag hit the reject bucket almost instantly!! :freak: The testors is the way to go, unless you want to experiment some more. As i said earlier, my resources in the paint dept. are limited. Until tax return time, anyway!! I figured I better post this quick before someone tried this in this manner!! SPRAY BOMBS WON"T WORK!!! If you're going to try this use junk bodies first!!!!

UtherJoe


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## slotcarman12078

*What am I missing???*

Tried to do a red/white/blue swirly job today and it was another cottage cheese mess.. I'm doing something different from the first time, evidently, but what it is eludes me.. The only possible variable was water temp... The poor jag got deep sixed with this one.. the A pillars broke while attempting yet another cleaning. I'm all out of white so until I get more paint this project is at a standstill.. Back to ebay for more paint... Noone sells them around here..  stooopid walmart!!

UtherJoe


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## sethndaddy

Elder statesman just means your old. Bill Halls use ta say "dead", but he made Hankster change it, lmao.


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## slotcarkid12

*Good cars*

Hi I'm slotcarman12078's son. My name is Ryan. Well, back 2 the subject, good job dad. Hey dad how do you do the paint job???? Looks cool :thumbsup:. Have any other cars with cool paint jobs??? I would like to know stuff about it here. If any 1 could tell me thanks.







Ryan


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## GoodwrenchIntim

those are awesome paint jobs, I may have to try that. All florecent colors!!!!!


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## Hilltop Raceway

*Slotman Jr.*

Welcome Ryan!!! Glad to have you here!!! Painting, let's see. Get you a scrap piece of flat plastic and a can of spray paint. Practice making a few passes on the scrap. Lay down a few light coats. Then come back with some heavy coats, just enough so it doesn't run. When you feel comfortable, get one of your Dad's cars to pratice with, you don't want to mess up your stuff!!! I'm sure he'll appreciate your eagerness to learn on his cars. If you do mess up, you can always strip it and start over. I know, I mess up all the time!!! So good luck and have fun!!! RM


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## slotcarman12078

Thanks, Ed.. I feel older already!! And welcome Ryan (kid) to hobbytalk.. Just remember, I'll be watching you!! :freak: 

The method I used needs to be expanded a bit.. Use warm water. This seemed to make the paint kinda "skin" on the water surface. Have all your paints open and ready to drip in, to keep the curing as close as possible. A drop of paint goes a long way!! Use something thin, like a piece of wire, to swirl the paint. Once the dip is started, you can't stop. Make sure you sweep the paint away before pulling the body out, or it'll double paint the body and you'll have a mess!!! I used the brush type paints for this (the small squarish bottles) from testors. I do want to see how them flourescents come out!!! I have a important project waiting for that type of paint to get purchased!!! When you pull the body out of the water, gently shake off the water droplets, and blow off the rest of them. I used a post tapping tool to hold the body, and have a place ready to stick it after dipping to dry. Make sure the body is level while it is drying. The best dip I had was the 70's vette, and I ended up with a blob of paint at the nose, ruining that one, because it wasn't level. And again, experiment with scrap bodies first!!! Have fun!!

UtherJoe


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## slotcarkid12

Thanks for telling me you guys. See you guys later.







Ryan


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## Bill Hall

*Hiya Jr.!*



Hilltop Raceway said:


> Welcome Ryan!!! Glad to have you here!!! Painting, let's see. Get you a scrap piece of flat plastic and a can of spray paint. Practice making a few passes on the scrap. Lay down a few light coats. Then come back with some heavy coats, just enough so it doesn't run. When you feel comfortable, get one of your Dad's cars to pratice with, you don't want to mess up your stuff!!! I'm sure he'll appreciate your eagerness to learn on his cars. If you do mess up, you can always strip it and start over. I know, I mess up all the time!!! So good luck and have fun!!! RM


What Randy said!

Practice practice practice! Plastic cuttlery is great to practice on. The frontside and backside of a spoon or spork is great to learn about film thickness and runs. On the backside it will run to the edges...on the front side it puddles in the middle. The little reinforcement ridges on the backside of the handle teach you about coverage. The little Barbie end tables that come in a pizza box work good too 'cept ya gotta wash the grease off 'em.
I use plastic doohickeys like above to get my air brush set up too. 

If you do some searches about painting in our archives you WILL find tons of info from many talented people.

Randy's right always lay a proper tack coat! Subsequent passes should be heavier. The secret to great paint jobs is an EVEN film build.

THE four most important things to remember are...

#1. THE ROADRUNNER rule: Always always always have your paint slightly warmed.

Why? No arguements kid ....just do it!

#2. THE MODEL MURDERING rule: "Always point your bombcan/airbrush at something unimportant first!

Why? BECAUSE I told ya so!....LOL....and because the first third of most paint jobs are killed on the first pass when the bombcan nozzle misfires, you dont have your paint mixed right, or your airbrush isnt adjusted correctly!" 

#3. THE BOB-ZILLA rule: "Just walk away!" I repeat! "Just walk away" 

Why? Cuz Bob sez so!...and because another third of the aforementioned paint jobs are killed on the last pass because ya got greedy, tried to drown that piece of dirt thats right on hood or roof, or you get cocky and start thinking yer Chip Foose.

#4. THE HILLTOP rule: For that last third of paintjobs that actually survive the process, learn to find the "awesome paintjob" setting on yer camera. It's never clearly marked, but it's there....ya just have to look for it. 

Why? Cuz even if it is the perfect job...when the picture is fubar then we assume yer hiding something....LOL!

I've cited the moron rules here because these are the ones that I personally need to remember. I've been screwing up paintjobs for forty plus years and I'm here to tell you that it's not because I dont know how....it's usually because I have forgotten to heed or practice one of the painting fundamentals.

Do the search, pull the trigger, and always remember that the devil is in the details and he will bite yer butt if ya break the rules. Some paintjobs just arent meant to be ....and thats what pinesol is for!


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## slotcarman12078

*You forgot one tiny lil important detail...*

If you dad is doing it, it's probably being done the wrong way!!! :tongue: At least that's how it feels.. sometimes. Lately I've been getting one out of every 5 close to right, and the other 4...rejects!! I got me a can of Adhesion Promoter, and still got fisheyes on the suburban body... I do have a few projects in the works, but still waiting for parts so I'm stuck for now.. 

Here's a few pictures of current and future projects..





































Yes, the "Roaming Gnome" has made an appearance before in another thread, but now he's behind the wheel!! This slammed lindy bus still needs paint, some sanding and filling, And Gnomey needs a little trim off his bottom so he sits right. I'm still waiting for my Vincent wheels to arrive, and without them, I don't know if the slam will work. The RRR's were trimmed, and still rub. When I order the bumpers for the vette from RRR, I'm getting a set of decals he has... "Terminal Velocity" is on the set!!!!

The half slammed vette is the stripped cigarbox car I need the chrome for. Funky stains on the body means a coat of paint will be done, after all the mods are complete.. I'm thinking blower... 










Is there a safe way to reposition decals without destroying them?? This wrecker looks sweet in it's banana yellow pajama's, and the decals are worth saving. The green wrecker is on hold until I can look at a Mega-G powerplant. It'll probably be too fast, but I won't know until I try. Until then, I'm still looking at ways to extend the axle length, and these wreckers are even too long for the Mega-G..

UtherJoe


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## win43

Welcome to the boards slot jr (Ryan). You can learn a lot here.


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## Bill Hall

If your hubs are getting thin Ujoe , one can always take a few thou off the frame rails to buy a smidgen of clearance. Granted it doesnt help with the cornering/handling but if they're rubbing your not even getting down the straights anyway.

The vette's looking great so far. I'm seeing red!....candy red that is!


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## Hilltop Raceway

I think someone mentioned Microset/Microsol will loosen decals. You might also try a little vinegar and water. Mix you up a solution and let the body soak in it. If you have cleared em, then we gotta another ballgame altogether...RM
P.S. when in doubt read the directions, doh!!! Micro Set directions: Brush MS on the decal, keep applying until it looses, then remove. I'd still mix up a vinegar/water solution and just dunk it, let the decal float off, to save it, then reapply it in the correct position.


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## krazcustoms

Back to the 'swirly dipping' method for a minute......have you tried submerging the body first, THEN putting the paint on the water and pulling it out? You would have to have the body hooked in a way that it would pull straight up (level) or put it in a basket but it seems you would have more control over the final effect.


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## slotcarman12078

I'm hoping that the skinny Vincents will clear the vette and the VW bus body.. I won't know until they show up.. that and maybe a trim on the frame and comparable trim on the axles should do it.. I had a can of Duplicolor garnet metallic in my hand Bill for the vette, but my wallet said put it back.. I hope next week to place the order with RRR for the bumpers and decals..

I'll give the vinegar and water a shot Randy. I don't think there's clear on the body, but I didn't do it, so I'm not 100% pos. 3mm blinkies fit right into the roof on these wreckers, so even if I don't head and tail light them, they'll still flash..

I haven't tried the car in first, kraz.. these were an experiment, and my paint supply was old and nearly exausted.. lighter colors would probably look better. I'm not sure if the body being wet will affect the paint adhesion coming out. I had very limited success with dipping these, but I will try more probably in a couple months. Results will be posted here when I do..

Utherjoe


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## Hilltop Raceway

UJoe, Since your just experimenting, try a little latex paint mixed with enamel paint. The latex will not blend with the enamel. You may need to thin both. Same principle "trunk splatter paint" is made from if I'm correct. If I remember correctly, I did this with a 1:1 car once upon a time, but I was using a spray gun...RM


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## Bill Hall

Understood Ujoe,

WHAT is the deal with these new talking wallets? I didnt EVER request one of those...must be something the TM's dreamed up!

Funny that the price of oil drove everything up...and yet it all still defies the laws of gravity and refuses to come back down.

Pehaps the Nasa poindexters could study the economy and finally perfect antigravity!


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## slotcarman12078

*It wasn't talking literally....*

More like reading a fuel gauge on the dashboard... My "cashometor gauge" was reading dang near empty.. And I had just filled up that morning.. Think my spending habits need a tune up..

UtherJoe


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## slotcarman12078

*It's been a while...*

I guess it's time for an update... After a few weeks off due to colds/flus and a problem with dexterity due to my previous neck problem, I have finally been able to get back to work... I'm still a bit shakey in the coordination dept, but am taking my time and finally making some progress.. Here is the lindy VW bus I've had on and off the burner for some time...



















This, as mentioned in the slam thread, is my first attempt at a Hilltop inspired two tone paint job. Provisions have been made for tail lights, and 3mm LEDs fit the lindy made headlight holes. The tail lights are a bit smaller than I'm used to grinding the 1.8mm down to, so if I need to , I might have to make the openings a bit bigger. This is back on the back burner as I await the reopening of RRR for the required decals and bare metal foil for the bumpers. 

Also unfinished, is my Dash Xmas present 55 Chebby. I have tinkered with this on and off since it arrived, and is also awaiting decals to finish..



















Not the smoothest painting, but the future should smooth it out..:freak: I hope..

Also, while not a "light up", here is an before and after slam shot of the 63 vette I've been messing around with..



















Oh, and yes, that is the same VW bus pictured above....until later:wave:

UtherJoe


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## bobhch

*Rub a dub dub another V-Dub in the club!!!!!*

UtherJoe,

Lookin' good man! That VW van in 2-tone is very kewl. Yeah Randy...has some nice ideas...zilla

The police 55 and Vette look great also but, I am a VW Freak-a-zoid and like Mr. Two-tone van the best by D-Fault. :freak:

Bob...I should be building right now...zilla

P.S. I feel a song coming on...lol


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## Bill Hall

Slama - rama

Great stuff Joe! The 'Vette came out sweet.


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## slotcarkid12

*Cop car, Bus, and Vette*

Good job on the vette, Dad. The cop car came out sweet. The bus came out nice and good job on the cars.


Ryan


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## HadaSlot

This one will certainly be chasing the 'vette. Take a stomped squad car, a cheapo ligher that flashes and a thin piece of plastic for a light bar. At one point someone had the "Cops" theme attached but I lost it.


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## slotcarman12078

I will eventually be doing a newer type PD car.. I just haven't decided on the model yet.. If you check through my links on this thread, you will find one for Evans supplies. They sell a rectifier equipped flasher LED that will work on a running slot. Also check some of my videos, and you'll see a JL popo car with one of them modified for an alternating red/blue strobe on the roof... I'm hooked on blinkies, I guess!!!!!!

UtherJoe


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## slotcarman12078

*OK, I'm way overdue for news in the LED world!!*

After a short hiatus for recooperation from my spastic finger syndrome, I have finally got back on track. The Terminal Velocity roaming gnome VW Bus is back on the burner (almost literally..LOL) and nearing completion!! I am attempting a new method of powering the LEDs, which will make lighting and body removal of lighted cars much easier. This method utilizes brass spacers (available from RRR 4 for $1.00) and a different wire routing. The left shoe is positive and is wired to the front, the right is negative and is wired to the back. By using 4 spacers, current is carried to the body via the posts. There is a slight issue with this, as the posts need to be shortened to bring the body down to a satisfactory height, but I would be trimming the posts anyway. 



















Wiring this way will make disassembly for maintainance easier, and after the job on the nova making me pull my hair out, making assembly easier too!! The LEDs wiring harness is assembled out of the car, and installed as a complete unit. Resistors can be JB Welded to the underside of the hood, or in the passenger compartment (gotta paint the windows for that..) 

In related news, my LED supplier.. dmmwem has 1.8mm warm white LEDs in stock now!!! From my request, he researched the market and has stocked them!! 1.8 is the 2nd smallest size I've found for white ones, and the smallest warm white I've seen. I'm still tossing around methods for lighting Xtractions in a way that will allow body removal, but haven't come up with anything solid yet. I am also still trying to find a match for the full wave bridge rectifier that evans mfg sells with their flashing LEDs. I don't have the resources to look up parts by number and find out the stats for them, or what is comparable. If someone out there has cross reference material by part numbers for small electronic "chips", please let me know. 

Way back when I was 18, there was a 68 barracuda gasser body sitting at a gas station, with the wildest paintjob I had seen at the time. Since dipping bodies in the florescent paint flopped too many times, I decided to try something different, and somewhat reminiscent of that cuda. 










I painted the body the lightest color (yellow), and followed up with spots of the remaining colors. Then I cut strips of pinstripe up and taped random designs on the body. I then followed up with a couple coats of white. What's really cool about this job was after the black light got plugged in..



















The fisheye express ( AW suburban) that gave me so much trouble finally got a coat of paint that worked!! This will be lighted also.










A last minute stay of execution saved this body from the garbage, so I could practice doing two tone paint jobs. I'm really not happy with the BMF I used. Maybe it's just the way I did it.. More experimentation is needed, I guess... By the way, the pinstripe tape was removed as I felt it was too wide and too thick. Luckily, the paint stuck this time.. More to come later!!

UtherJoe


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## videojimmy

what;s a good source for 12 volt LED's?


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## yankee_3b

Very nice work, Joe! And the black light...I thought I was having a flashback to the early 70's. Cool stuff!


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## slotcarman12078

Thanks!!! Here is a source for LEDs that will work on 5 up to 19 volts http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/ledfaq.html They are pre assembled, with a built in fullwave bridge rectifier and a small capacitor which helps correct the flashing LEDs are prone to on a slotcar. They also have flasher LEDs which will work on a slot. These are the only ones I've located that work correctly on a slotcar. A bit pricey, but the results are worth it..


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## mmheyho

That Van is great I did not think I would like it as well as I do. I usually prefer the more 
realistic paint schemes.


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## videojimmy

thanks for the link Slotcarman.... I ordered a few to give them a try


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## slotcarman12078

videojimmy said:


> thanks for the link Slotcarman.... I ordered a few to give them a try


No problem Jimmy!! The rectified version can carefully be modified to handle more than one LED. The requirements for the LEDs need to be equal (same type) to mix them. You need to carefully slit the shrink tube and cut off the LED that it comes with, and then solder wires to the rectifier, and run the wires to the new LEDs. You can bend them right below the LED, but use caution. Too much bending will break the rectifier.


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## krazcustoms

That van looks SWEET!!!


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## bobhch

*That van has the High Pro Glow but, it aint no dog for sure!!!!*

Uther Joe,

Neon paint with a white and pinstripe trick is Great...Love it!!

Bob...love groovy vans...zilla


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## Bill Hall

Love the new service friendly design Ujoe!


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## slotcarman12078

*Lights, camera, aaaaaction!!*

Hoooooray!!! Making progress again on the VeeWee!!! Had to redo the taillights a couple times, but Mr. Gnome finally got his bus through inspection and he was ready for his maiden voyage!!! I heard rumblings that a shear toting Gnome was going to pass or "heads" will roll!!!! Without further adieu, here are the pics and a very, very short video.. Please turn down the volume, one of the kids was banging something, and I didn't see the sense of putting 18 seconds of music on this lil vid!!!




























I did learn a good trick with these LEDs. There are 3.0mm warm whites in front. I shaped them with the dremel and they got kinda opaque from the grinding. I quick coat of brush on instant krazy glue brought them right back to the clean clear look they had. 






UtherJoe


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## bobhch

*Every thing you did to this is just Cool Beans all the way!!!!*

UtherJoe,

That video realy shows the way your handy work makes this van a "Fun Times Machine"!

Bob...Fletcher & Bree are gonna freak when they sees this thing...zilla


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## JordanZ870

Awesome Lil van, Ujoe! The lights are perfect. Thanks for the cool Vid! :thumbsup:


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## tjd241

*Let there be light....*

Fine handywork there joeLED. :thumbsup: Looks like yer back in the saddle!!! Keep up the good work. nd


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## win43

OH WOW MAN the colors the colors.......Great looking van. And the other stuff is great. Swweet looking Suburban.


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## slotcarman12078

Thank youse to all!! Kraz, the van was an experiment.. The florescent bottle paints were to thin for dipping, and too thick for brushing. I think the frisket would be a better masking medium for this concept, and airbrushing the base colors on would yield better results. I'm tossing around all kinds of ideas with this concept, like 3 fade florescent flames, etc.. Thanks for your patience win!! Yours is still in the concept phase.. And them lindy vans prices are on the rise again.. Next one coming up on the bay topped 21.00 already... Geeez!! I have so many ideas for them vans, it'll be the first casting project I do for sure, along with a modified version with flares and a spoiler too!!! You ain't seen nuttin' yet!!! 

UtherJoe


----------



## Bill Hall

Very nice slammo bus with working eyeballs Ujoe. 

I like seeing your creations in action.


----------



## T-Jet Racer

The van comes with a micro dot for mind expanding purposes! LOL!


----------



## Hilltop Raceway

slotcarman12078 said:


> Hoooooray!!! Making progress again on the VeeWee!!! Had to redo the taillights a couple times, but Mr. Gnome finally got his bus through inspection and he was ready for his maiden voyage!!! I heard rumblings that a shear toting Gnome was going to pass or "heads" will roll!!!! Without further adieu, here are the pics and a very, very short video.. Please turn down the volume, one of the kids was banging something, and I didn't see the sense of putting 18 seconds of music on this lil vid!!!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I did learn a good trick with these LEDs. There are 3.0mm warm whites in front. I shaped them with the dremel and they got kinda opaque from the grinding. I quick coat of brush on instant krazy glue brought them right back to the clean clear look they had.
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdy0mbBtia4
> 
> UtherJoe


I really like them little red taillights UJoe!!! Both front and rear lights look good. Looks like you're on track again!!! Nice striping on the VW, you seem to be on track with that too...RM


----------



## slotcarman12078

OUCH!!!! I really need to start casting these! This is NUTS!!! 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...name=STRK:MEWAX:IT&viewitem=&salenotsupported 
Just outrageous!!! And I almost pulled the trigger for 27.50 until I thought that's half the cost of molding and casting supplies... Whew!!


----------



## coach61

slotcarman12078 said:


> OUCH!!!! I really need to start casting these! This is NUTS!!!
> 
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...name=STRK:MEWAX:IT&viewitem=&salenotsupported
> Just outrageous!!! And I almost pulled the trigger for 27.50 until I thought that's half the cost of molding and casting supplies... Whew!!


And you missed the Lafrance Fire truck for 9.99.. good thing I caught it .. Har!


Dave


----------



## slotcarman12078

coach61 said:


> And you missed the Lafrance Fire truck for 9.99.. good thing I caught it .. Har!
> 
> 
> Dave


Yes, I did miss the fire truck.. I just don't care for them!!!  But you missed the jaguar for 3.25 new unassembled!! Har right back atcha!!:tongue: I just hope that insane van price brings some of them crawling out of the woodwork... I have been trying to add to my collection so I don't dip into the one perfect body I have set aside for casting. When I do cast, I want the molded van to be as flawless as possible, so nothing but the best master will do. I did get stupid crazy with them Vincent wheels last night.. 3 auctions worth. Sorry if I stepped on someone here's toes!! But someone has to go nutsy once in a while on them wheel auctions.. If they don't pay off once in a while, he'll list them in Germany only..


----------



## coach61

slotcarman12078 said:


> Yes, I did miss the fire truck.. I just don't care for them!!!  But you missed the jaguar for 3.25 new unassembled!! Har right back atcha!!:tongue: I just hope that insane van price brings some of them crawling out of the woodwork... I have been trying to add to my collection so I don't dip into the one perfect body I have set aside for casting. When I do cast, I want the molded van to be as flawless as possible, so nothing but the best master will do. I did get stupid crazy with them Vincent wheels last night.. 3 auctions worth. Sorry if I stepped on someone here's toes!! But someone has to go nutsy once in a while on them wheel auctions.. If they don't pay off once in a while, he'll list them in Germany only..


t'was my toes you poacher...and I have 5 Jags right now I let it go.. lol...I'll wait for you to mold the van though.. 22 bucks yikes...


Dave


----------



## bobhch

*The Gnome Terminator has arrived....Thanks Uther Joe*

Joe,

I just want to say Thank you for sending me this Sweet Lighted VW Van man! :thumbsup: You do some nice work and this thing is just plain fun to drive in the dark.

The only reason the lights are on here is because, Godzilla has a hard time finding all the green Jelly Beans in the dark. After he piled up all the green Beans we flicked the lights off last night and ran the wheels off of this VW 










What is so Kewl about this van is that the LED lights stay at a constant lighting and not bright to dim depending on the power put to her. The headlights realy light the track up as it cruises around....WOW this is a neat van.










Thanks again Uther Joe and a care package is coming to you by snail mail. I'm sorry but, I forgot the Zotz...I have been doing that a lot lately & only 44 years old. I need to write a note to send Zots in care packages. Also better write a note to write a note....lol

Bob...You light up my life, you give me hope to cary on...zilla


----------



## WesJY

ohhhh mannn thats a sweet looking van!!!!   

nuther joe you need to make mopars!!!!! 

Wes


----------



## slotcarman12078

Working on it Wes.. I'm working on it!!! Still looking for a small male/ female plug to detach the body wiring from the chassis wiring... Once I get that, I'm gonna light up some xtractions too.. Plans are in the works for a charger, and challenger.. and a rework on the camaro lame thrower....and maybe the torino too... and lets not forget the ram pick up..


----------



## slotcarman12078

Good thing you had them green jellybeans handy Bob!! Or the gnome would have found himself a home...... cooked dinner.. and not in a good way!! LOL


----------



## WesJY

slotcarman12078 said:


> Working on it Wes.. I'm working on it!!! Still looking for a small male/ female plug to detach the body wiring from the chassis wiring... Once I get that, I'm gonna light up some xtractions too.. Plans are in the works for a charger, and challenger.. and a rework on the camaro lame thrower....and maybe the torino too... and lets not forget the ram pick up..


whhoooaaaaa!!! cannot wait to see that!!! Hurryyyyyy up!! just kidding !! 

Wes :thumbsup:


----------



## Bill Hall

Love dat bus Ujoe!


----------



## JordanZ870

Now ya can race in the dark AND see where yer goin'!

Ujoe, That is sweeeeet! :thumbsup:

Oh, and Bob..ya lucky bastage...zilla....ya better tell the big lizzard to lay off all of that candy. He is gonna get fat!


----------



## Hilltop Raceway

Cool Termintor!!! "You'll be back", as long as I don't run off the track!!!. Never cared that much for lighted vehicles because of the light power inconsistancy, but I like those Ujoe. I believe you've solved the problem!!! Nice work on the striping too...RM


----------



## win43

bobhch said:


> What is so Kewl about this van is that the LED lights stay at a constant lighting and not bright to dim depending on the power put to her. The headlights realy light the track up as it cruises around....WOW this is a neat van.


What fun is it seeing where your going....:lol:

Cool V W slot!!!!!


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## slotnewbie69

nice!


----------



## slotcarman12078

*the "Sinister Administor"....*

So far, so cool!!! New project in the works... Once I get through with this one I'll have at least 5 more to do.. So, without further Adeiu...














































Recipe so far... Take one purple Dash lead sled. Add 4 holes. Scuff, prime and paint flat black, then hit with a mist coat of Testes clear pearl coat. 4 dips in the future bucket brings the shine level up. I had to "mill" down the headlight LEDs to fit the holes properly. Kind of archaic method, but all I could do mechanically challanged as I am. The original purple taillight concept fizzled when I saw the lack of room around the chassis, so an attempt will be made with red LEDs with blue sharpie to try for the blue dot effect. I have blue LEDs ordered so I'm hoping the blue with a coat of red will have the correct effect I was looking for. I also recalled the wicked scooby van purple taillights were a bit too bright, so the red may be the only way to go. I really need a more precise way of drilling holes on a blank panel. A pin vise wouldn't have faired any better, I'm afraid. The eyes just not what they used to be, and the lighting on my desk is far from suitable. The right taillight hole is off by a mile in macro vision.. So far off I had to deleted the picture just to avoid the embarrassment. I either need to make some sort of jig/guide, or shop for a small drill press and some sort of clamp to hold the bodies when drilling. 

In other news, I believe (read hope) I have found the secret recipe for the bridge rectifier/ capacitor combo. The parts are ordered and will know soon enough. The easy access chassis wiring configuration has been put on hold so I can look for an alternate to the washers. Getting the solder to stick to the washers is tough. Making the washers come out level is even tougher. Keeping the wires attached to the washers has proven itself a waste of time. I need some ring terminals about the same size as posts to take another stab at it. I believe the size listed on the washers is 2. I've tossed around other concepts, but nothing I can deem as durable, and I want my stuff to last a long time, not work a week and quit. I want to make this work for the long run so I must take the time and do it right.. Update to follow when I get somewhere with this one....UtherJoe


----------



## bobhch

*Only 5 more? I've heard that before...keep dreaming LOL*

UtherJoe,

Nice Mercury man! That paint job looks Mercurific and is lighted also...Sweet!

Bob...5,4,3,2,1,None...zilla


----------



## Bill Hall

Looks REALLY sharp Ujoe!!!!

Try tinning paste. Works pretty good for me.


----------



## JordanZ870

Ujoe, if your washers are plated, you will have a bugger of a time getting solder to stick.
(I solder alot) The zinc coating will need to be scuffed. 
Bill mentioned Tinning paste. I am guessing that he is talking about soldering flux. Are you using a core solder?

That merc sure is going to be the cat's meow, mate! :thumbsup:


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## win43

Great looking Merc.....:thumbsup::thumbsup:

And only 5 to go????.......yeah like we believe that...LMAO.......
Slot...I will not stop til every slotcar has lights....carman.


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## slotcarman12078

I used flux and and core solder. The washers are brass. I'm trying to keep washer thickness to a minimum so I don't have to take too much off the posts. Planning to upgrade the soldering iron soon. I want something a bit more professional in the temperature control area, and hopefully with a smaller tip. :thumbsup:

I corrected the taillight misalignment issue with a small rat file (made them oval), which is good, but put a nice scratch across the lower trunk area (spastic arms!!) and I hope the future will hide most of it. This one is the guinea pig for testing.. Hopefully the rest will fair better in the booboo department!! 

For the good news!!!! Thanks to Joez for inspiration, I have become the proud owner of a new airbrush kit!!! :thumbsup: The package came with two airbrushes, compressor, regulator and water trap. Once the tool shopping frenzy settles down, hopefully I'll have enough money left for paints!! :lol: Now if I could only find a new set of arms!!!


----------



## Bill Hall

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. Uhhhhhhh...having slept on the matter.

Perhaps you could try a small electrical ring connector of the crimpable style. The lil' red one are what's coming to mind. Ya may have to pork the center hole to accomodate the screw. Then just fold the spilt crimp tube at 90 degrees and solder the wire. One could also grind away the sides of the crimp tube and shape it into a flat tab for easy soldering should there not be enough room. In most cases this will move the soldering tab into less annoying position.

Some 1:1 cars have this exact application on the starter solenoid where clearance is tight.

As for the tinning paste, a small tub will last a hobbiest a lifetime. I use it with or without flux core solder. I consider it a "flow facilitator". If you've never used it... give it a whirl.


----------



## slotcarman12078

I've been thinking the same on the crimp fasteners. I just haven't looked very hard for them yet.. Guess no time like the present!! :thumbsup: I've procrastinated long 'nuf!!


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## slotcarman12078

*The third time's the charm!!!*

With two failed attempts at lighting the sledster, the third time looks good!!! I had to change my methods of lighting a bit, and bump up the resistor for the head lights because 10 laps and lights out just don't cut it!! I have noticed one thing with the AW chassis vs the Aurora. The ohms of the arm do make a difference in the required resistors for the LEDs. The AW arms ohm out lower I assume????? 

Here's a few shots lighted..




























The only good thing about the LED screw ups is I'm getting better at doing the LEDs... Practice, practice, practice!!! :lol:


----------



## mmheyho

*Lead sled*

:thumbsup:THE sled one of my favorites. Keep going on this one. I see the future and I see a predrilled van mold in it. 
Mike


----------



## 1976Cordoba

Looks like something out of an old Batman comic book Joe -- cooool :thumbsup::thumbsup:


----------



## slotnewbie69

*she's a looker!*

nicely done!i dunno how ya do it'but i like it!those leadsleds are awesome,gotta git me some to play with when the TM ain't lookin!
love to see one of your short vids like ya did on the bus!great job joe,keep em comin!:thumbsup:


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## Hilltop Raceway

Lights are looking too cool Sltman :thumbsup::thumbsup: I like the background scene also, much better than the keyboard. Nice light reflection on the streets. Hope you didn't water down the streets like the TV guys do ...RM


----------



## bobhch

*That looks great lit up*

Ooooooooooooooooooh nice Mercury!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Light my butt and call me Shirley:woohoo:

Bob...not sure what I said but, love your lighted stuff...zilla


----------



## slotnewbie69

okay,bob...we'll call ya shirley from now on...zilla!


----------



## Bill Hall

Killer!


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## slotcarman12078

*Ooooooh the pain!!!*

I just got an email from my LED source, and the nice yellow tinged 3.0mm LEDs are sunshine white. And I promptly ordered 30 more. I am going to wait until my R&D is done with the rectifier/cap set up to revisit these. Right after I posted these pics, one of the head lights went out. I took this lil bugger apart 3 more times last night to try and figure out what went wrong and have no clue. Trial and error is soooo much fun!!! *** I'm out of 3.0mm until my order arrives (the seller's pretty quick.. should be this afternoon unless my mailman get another bug up his butt) and the rectifiers should be showing up too. :thumbsup: 

I just don't understand the inconsistancies from one chassis to the next. How a set up works on one chassis and appears to be just right doesn't work at all on the next. There is such a large power curve for the LEDs to deal with that it's hard to calculate the exact resistance needed. Add in the differences of a smooth running chassis vs a tight one and even more variables appear. I just hope the mouser conversion hooks me up with something usable. These rectifiers are supposed to be good up to 25 volts, and other than honda, I don't think anyone exceeds that!! LOL :jest:



*** trial and error gets expensive too... The colored LEDs are cheap... Like .10 cents a piece. The white variety are about .60 cents a pop. They get a bit pricey when you start burning out 6 an hour!!


----------



## win43

Slot,
That Merc is awesome!!!!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

" All lit up and someplace to go".........


----------



## slotcarman12078

Hilltop Raceway said:


> Lights are looking too cool Sltman :thumbsup::thumbsup: I like the background scene also, much better than the keyboard. Nice light reflection on the streets. Hope you didn't water down the streets like the TV guys do ...RM



I wish I could attribute the lovely shine to snow melt!! It was just the right time of day with the light from yon kitchen window!! LOL


----------



## Dslot

Looks terriffic, Joe. 

But you know, if you're going to be doing lead sleds, that you're going to have to figure out a way to blue-dot those taillights.

-- D


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## slotcarman12078

Working on it Dslot!!! I have blue LEDs on order and with a coat of transparent red should do the trick. I initially tried to fit purple leds in there but they were too big to clear the chassis. The ones in there now are 1.6mm and there's plenty of room. The purples are 1.8mm, but are a different design and and are thicker. The purples were too bright anyway as I discovered on the mystery machine. I did try a feeble attempt to blue dot them with a blue sharpie, but it didn't work. I'm still waiting for all my goodies to arrive so I can resume my mad scientist acivities.. I wait all day for the mailman and all I get is junk mail!!


----------



## Dslot

slotcarman12078 said:


> Working on it Dslot!!! I have blue LEDs on order and with a coat of transparent red should do the trick. ... I did try a feeble attempt to blue dot them with a blue sharpie, but it didn't work.


Joe, 

I was just joking, but if we're talking for real, I don't think you're going to get very far trying to overlay red and blue filters - they'll end up blocking almost all of the light. Filters don't put color into light; instead, they take all the color out of it except the color of the filter. For a miniature blue-dot taillight, I'd start with a white or maybe purple LED, and give it a good heavy coat of clear red. Use a tiny drill to drill through the red into the clear LED plastic, and take a piece of tiny diameter fiber-optic thread, heavily coat the end blue, and cement it into the hole, flush.

You might be able to get away with only drilling thru the red layer, and then dotting the clear dimple with the blue Sharpie - no fiber optics. 

I suspect the white LED is going to be larger than the red ones also, since they have to have three generator-point-thingies (I forget what they're called) instead of one. The purples only have two, I think, and you say they're too big.

It's just a mental exercise for me, but _you_ might be dedicated enough to actually do it. My hat is off to you.

But either way, you've got to start with light that has both blue and red wavelengths in it - like white (or purple). The red filter will stop the blue and pass the red; the blue filter will do the opposite. As long as they're next to each other, you see both colors. But if you put one over the other (painting red on top of a blue LED or dotting blue onto a red LED) you stop both colors, i.e. practically all of the light.

I've been doing a bit of playing around with LEDs also, but taking a different approach than you're using. If I have the perseverance to get it to a conclusion and it turns out to be practical, I'll write it up for the forum. Meanwhile, I'm in awe of the amount of skull-sweat you've been putting into this project.:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Lazy-boy D


----------



## slotcarman12078

I gotcha Dslot!!! Kinda like the 3D glasses effect.. I will be tinkering with clear resin in the near future, and it can always be tinted. Little dabs in the tail light holes of purple tinted clear resin might be the trick. White LEDs are available in the required size, but are way too bright so the tinted resin should tone it down a bunch. I also have a plan of molding tail light lenses for those complex tail light cars (I really want to try a cougar) and if I can swing the tools required my tail lit 66 GTOs will be feasible. A lit mustang, fairlane, road runner, and others are possible too. I also haven't given up on fiber optics. But you don't get the same quantity of light emitted from them. I like lighting up the track as real headlights do. The pictures make the LEDs look brighter than they are. They really are pretty realistic direct as I am doing them.

This is all new to me. It's less than a year since I started tinkering with this stuff. I do have the ambition to keep it up. I just hope I am physically and mentally capable of seeing it through.


----------



## slotcarman12078

*Up too late, up too early...*

This scenario can be mentally productive or counter productive. :freak: By the third cup of coffee the haze lifted and an idea popped into my head. We have a deep fryer in the kitchen that has a rather unusual plug on it. For whatever reason (safety, UL requirements, whatever) This unit has a plug with a magnet inside it. There is a magnet in the cooker, and put the two together and you get power. I've been struggling trying to come up with a method of getting power to light up Xtraction bodies for a while and the answer was in the kitchen all along.

Mind you, this is just an idea, completely untried. T Jet Racer sent me a bunch of magnets.. really strong ones, small compact design. It's fun playing with them.. 1 1/2 -2" away and zip... they're together!! They are pole sensitive so as long as they are matched plug end for plug end the plug will be polarized. A couple of spring loaded contacts on one plug, and some regular contacts on the other set in a in a pair of nesting resin bases and the detachable body plug is born. There will be issues to deal with though.. These magnets are strong, and the possibility of ripping the wires out instead of disconnecting is highly likely. This concept will be simmering on the back burner, waiting for the remainder of the puzzle pieces to come together. 

In other news, I finally have my slotcave back. I've made a few purchases that will make a big difference in my lighting operations, starting with a drill press and a milling plate. The overwhelming desire to light a model motoring 66 GTO was just too much and I broke down and bought them. Hopefully I can make the milling bits last. Them suckers are 'spensive!!! And they are very small, so the likelyhood of bit failure is high.. We're talking micro here.. .015 and .020 cutting width. Needless to say I'll be going slow and taking my time. If all goes well, I'll be adding to the bit collection with some larger sizes for bulk milling op's. The game plan is to mix milling with resin casting and make taillight inserts. This will make the following cars do-able:

AW 59 Chevy
AW 67 Cougar
Dash/MM 55 Chevy
Dash Fairlane
Dash Galaxy
JL Mach 1 
JL Boss Mustang
AW Torino
AW 67 Firebird

These are on top of all the other lighting projects I've got brewing. One step at a time is all I can do. First step is getting all the tools in house. I'm anxiously waiting for these to show up so I can get busy. I just hope the good response is there when these start to hit the bay...


----------



## JordanZ870

Oh boy, Oh boy,Oh boy,Oh boy,Oh boy,Oh boy! :thumbsup:

I am excited for you, Ujoe! It will be really cool when you get this going and start selling.
Please mark me down for one of each!


----------



## T-Jet Racer

Stop playing with the darn led's already!!!! get er dun!


----------



## bobhch

Love the L.E.D. sled! This is going to be neat to watch!


----------



## win43

slotcarman12078 said:


> In other news, I finally have my slotcave back. I've made a few purchases that will make a big difference in my lighting operations, starting with a drill press and a milling plate. The overwhelming desire to light a model motoring 66 GTO was just too much and I broke down and bought them. Hopefully I can make the milling bits last. Them suckers are 'spensive!!! And they are very small, so the likelyhood of bit failure is high.. We're talking micro here.. .015 and .020 cutting width. Needless to say I'll be going slow and taking my time. If all goes well, I'll be adding to the bit collection with some larger sizes for bulk milling op's. The game plan is to mix milling with resin casting and make taillight inserts. This will make the following cars do-able:
> 
> AW 59 Chevy
> AW 67 Cougar
> Dash/MM 55 Chevy
> Dash Fairlane
> Dash Galaxy
> JL Mach 1
> JL Boss Mustang
> AW Torino
> AW 67 Firebird
> 
> These are on top of all the other lighting projects I've got brewing. One step at a time is all I can do. First step is getting all the tools in house. I'm anxiously waiting for these to show up so I can get busy. I just hope the good response is there when these start to hit the bay...


"..........You light up my(insert the word slotcar instead of life here)life........You give me..."


----------



## slotcarman12078

*Testing has resumed!!!*

After last week's fiasco and the move into my old, yet new and improved shop, I have finally been able to get back to testing. I took the ole lead sled out and redid the headlights yet again, and put them on another chassis. I kinda messed up the AW chassis I had in that body, so I guess it's a parts chassis now.  Anyhoo, here's a couple pics on the testing station.. 




























Once the secret formula has been established, and my drill press and stuff shows up, I can start popping these out a little quicker and a lot more precise. This one does dim down a bit at lower speeds, and it doesn't have the rectifier/cap combo in it either. I need to address the wire routing/ resistor issues to make it all fit neatly, and I haven't figured it all out yet. Still working out the small details. Will keep y'all informed as progress gets made! :thumbsup:


----------



## 1976Cordoba

Nice - that lead sled looks huge.


----------



## Hilltop Raceway

For some reason, when I saw the bottom pic, the movie "Thunder Road" came to mind...RM


----------



## bobhch

*Randy = Tennessee = Moonshine = a song so, here we go (sing it loud)*



Hilltop Raceway said:


> For some reason, when I saw the bottom pic, the movie "Thunder Road" came to mind...RM


Crank it up!

http://www.univie.ac.at/Anglistik/easyrider/data/av-files/bthundrd.wav

BALLAD OF THUNDER ROAD 
Let me tell the story, I can tell it all
About the mountain boy who ran illegal alcohol
His daddy made the whiskey, son, he drove the load
When his engine roared, they called the highway Thunder Road.

Sometimes into Ashville, sometimes Memphis town
The revenoors chased him but they couldn’t run him down
Each time they thought they had him, his engine would explode
He'd go by like they were standin’ still on Thunder Road.

(CHORUS)
And there was thunder, thunder over Thunder Road
Thunder was his engine, and white lightning was his load
There was moonshine, moonshine to quench the Devil’s thirst
The law they swore they'd get him, but the Devil got him first.

On the first of April, nineteen fifty-four
A Federal man sent word he’d better make his run no more
He said two hundred agents were coverin’ the state
Whichever road he tried to take, they’d get him sure as fate.

Son, his Daddy told him, make this run your last
The tank is filled with hundred-proof, you’re all tuned up and gassed
Now, don’t take any chances, if you can’t get through
I’d rather have you back again than all that mountain dew.

(CHORUS)

Roarin’ out of Harlan, revvin’ up his mill
He shot the gap at Cumberland, and screamed by Maynordsville
With T-men on his taillights, roadblocks up ahead
The mountain boy took roads that even Angels feared to tred.

Blazing right through Knoxville, out on Kingston Pike,
Then right outside of Bearden, they made the fatal strike.
He left the road at 90; that’s all there is to say.
The devil got the moonshine and the mountain boy that day.

Bob...Thunder Rooooooooooooooooaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad...zilla


----------



## slotcarman12078

Looks are deceiving... They are long, for sure, but they're as long as a JL boss mustang, 1/8" longer than dash fairlane, and about 3/8" longer than a falcon or JL firebird. I'll post up comparison pics tomorrow. :thumbsup:

Nice singing Bob!! Next time, I'll get the guitar tuned up and we can do it together!! LOL :woohoo:

I know someone's gonna mention the "high beams"...:tongue: LEDs are like that when you look directly in them. These will light up the track for about 6-8" ahead of the car when driving in the dark. You'll get a glow on the wall when you're pointed at it. What I did notice today is the meatwagon flasher does light up the ceiling a little.. I can fix that by milling the top flat and putting a circle of foil on top, or painting the top red, or blue... maybe not with the multi colored flasher. Hmmm, foil will be the only way with that..


----------



## Bill Hall

LED Sled....huh huh huh.....huh huh huh.....huh huh huh.

Cool Joe!


----------



## slotcarman12078

Doh!!! Never thunk it that way befur!! LOLOL :tongue:


----------



## win43

Hilltop Raceway said:


> For some reason, when I saw the bottom pic, the movie "Thunder Road" came to mind...RM


........and maybe a little "Cobra" with Stallone.


----------



## slotcarman12078

I'm thinkin' the pharoh's 51 merc from american graffiti too... Candy red with lake pipes.... So many sleds... :thumbsup:

http://images.search.yahoo.com/imag...&sigi=11g2e15mm&sigb=13hq6rhrc&sigh=1171bq0se


----------



## bobhch

*How bad do you have it?*



slotcarman12078 said:


> I'm thinkin' the pharoh's 51 merc from american graffiti too... Candy red with lake pipes.... So many sleds... :thumbsup:
> 
> http://images.search.yahoo.com/imag...&sigi=11g2e15mm&sigb=13hq6rhrc&sigh=1171bq0se


Yeah the red one! 

My Dad has a bunch of sets of hubcaps from the 50s like that...and the 60s, and the 70s...all stored away. He has a nice hubcap collection for sure and is fun to see them when he gets them out from time to time.

He took the bus to work and would look out the window for hubcaps laying on the side of the road. Then when he got home he would pull out his little yellow72 Super Bettle to go retrieve them.

Bob...cars are in my blood...zilla


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## slotnewbie69

nice work utherjoe!


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## slotcarman12078

*Wow!! I actually got sumthin' done!!*

It felt pretty good having the soldering iron in my hands today, but the aftertaste still hasn't gone away. I need one of them fans with a filter on it to draw the fumes away from me. Seems they always end up right in my face!!! Most of you will remember "Wildthang"!!! This was a JL body I had nothing but trouble with fisheyes in the paint. I believe it saw the pinesol bucket 3X before I got a coat of paint on it. Sadly, in the process I did a major boo boo to the body and the scars remain visible through the paint, though the decal hides a good chunk of it. 

This was an attempt to use short fiber optic sections to span the body thickness and make use of the smaller 1.8MM LEDs I got in. I used a hot melt glue gun to bridge the light path from LED to F.O. chunk, and then JB welded the LED in place. The hot melt glue prevented the JB from obscuring the light. Well, it worked for the most part. One headlight is brighter than the other, and I'm not sure if it's an LED ready to fail, or just the difference in thickness of the F.O. chunk or the hot melt not filling right. Testing continues to see how it survives....



















I felt rather productive today.. Aside from the suburban, I also managed to fiddlefart this little frankenstein creation. I was suprized to find the cab is diecast. the remainder is plastic. It did make 3 full laps before deslotting so I guess I did something sorta right! 





























And a reply to Doba's statement that the leadsled looks huge. Yes it is a bit longer than most Tjets, but here's a graphical picture to show how it stacks up...









About the same length as a MM GTO, 1/8" longer than the Boss Mustang, 3/16" longer than a Dash Phairlane, About 1/4" longer than a firebird or a Phalcon. The dunebuggy is the pipsqueak of the bunch.


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## tjd241

*Good stuff jLED....*

Thanks for posting up. Would you say you've found "the" formula or "the" combination of parts to light most cars? or... Does each car require a different approach? nd


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## slotcarman12078

Well, unfortunately, different cars require different techniques to light. You just have to wing it from body style to body style. I haven't even skimmed the surface yet, but only dabbled with the easy ones. The first thing to look at is head light size. The lead sled headlight measures in just under 3.0mm, and I have over drilled it to shove a 3.0mm in there. The drill press I have will allow me to fit up to a 5.0mm LED in the chuck so I can mill them down neatly to the size I want. The lindy van uses 2.0mm LEDs. There are other factors to take into consideration though. The base of the 2mm is very big, and accommodating it on the inside can be a royal pain. I was quite fortunate the guy who I get my LEDs from worked with me to carry the smaller 1.8mm in a warm white. The issue with the 1.8 though is the lack of a light shaft, it having just a bump. The compact size makes up for it though. I have had some luck sanding the bump on a 1.8 and attaching a small bit of fiber optic to it to extend the light shaft.The nova was really, really tight using 2.0mm LEDs with a repositioned light shaft. It may seem like a miniscule amount, but the 1.8mm will free up at least 1.0mm of space in a conversion like that. That's alot of room when you're looking for clearance between the pick up shoes and the annode and cathode (where the juice goes in and comes out) on the LEDs. 

The tail lights are even crazier. Again, I've only dabbled with the easy stuff so far. What I would love to find is a cross between a gel style superglue and a clear casting resin that can be tinted red, self levels and cures within minutes without leaking past casting clay or JB weld. The lindy van uses 1.8mm reds, the suburban has 2.0mm with the light shaft, the nova used 2.0mm without the shaft, and the lead sled has 1.6mm reds. It varies based on two things. The shape I think will fit best, and the space inside the body. 

OK, on to speculations on future projects... The JL and most likely the MM mustang should be do-able by making a mold of the tail lights, and casting them in red tinted clear resin with a 1.6mm LED imbedded in the cast. The same pretty much for the 59 chebby tail lights. The 55 will need something smaller so colored fiber optic may be the way to go there. The 66 MM GTO and the 68/9 JL and MM GTO can be done by milling out the lens areas of the taillight lenses and reverse casting the lens to fit in from the inside of the body, and the same LED imbedding process will occur. I'm just not sure which size led will light them properly, and until I get there, I won't know. JL Boss and Mach 1 mustangs can be done this way, as well as cougars and chargers. The trouble with the covered headlight cars is the headlight area will need to be milled to look like the headlight covers are open. 

I'm not sure if fiber optics will be enough to illuminate cast taillights. I've experimented with a piece of taillight lens (yes it's really thick) and all I noticed is a small dot of light in there. There's just not enough light emitted to do the job. As much as I'd like to run and get these whipped up, I need to take baby steps and handle one project at a time. I have managed to keep the scrap pile to a minimum, and would like to keep it that way. The cost of milling bits (2 bits = $40.00) for the GTO has me nervous about starting with that project, and I really don't want to accidently wreck the only MM GTO I have. I guess I need to give Harrison a call and order some before they're gone. 

I also need to come up with an adjustible clamp to hold the body tight without deforming it. I have an idea of using model RR foam roadbed for body protection, but need to accomodate the roof area, and be able to extend the clamp the length of the body. The milling clamp I have is only about 1" high. I have a plan that will hold the body snug, and will have seperate stops to prevent the vise from smooshing the car. 



Enter the little shop of HOrrors!!!!!!










































Everything in it's place and now I can't find anything...LOLOL


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## 1976Cordoba

:thumbsup:Looks organized


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## bobhch

*Gooooooooooooooooooooo Joe!*

Uther Joe,

Seeing the picture of the size difference in slot car bodies and your description of the L.E.D. sizes realy puts this whole lighting them up thing in perspective. Holy Moly you got lot of work cut out for you. No worry as you can Shirley handle it with no problems...well maybe just a few wrinkles.

Well that shop is looking good. That Milling set up you have is a huge step above a Dremel. There is no turning back now so, go for it Dude!

Bob...is it break time yet?...zilla


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## slotcarman12078

Now if I can only keep my nose to the grindstone!! Sounds painful.. Maybe not!! LOL


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## bobhch

slotcarman12078 said:


> Now if I can only keep my nose to the grindstone!! Sounds painful.. Maybe not!! LOL


This is what the little shop of HOrrors looks like at night. Scarry very scarry...quick turn on the lights. 











Pain is the least of your worries Other Joe...Buhahaahahahahahahah!

Bob...L.E.D. the fun begin...zilla


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## WesJY

Joe, 

wowowow.. i can see alot of work done on every body!!! just plain awesome man! :thumbsup:

do you ever do on tyco bodies? (LED?)

Wes


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## slotcarman12078

What a way to start the day!!! ROTFLMAO!!!!! Beautiful, Bob!!!! :lol::lol::lol:

Not yet Wes. I'm still trying to master one type chassis. When I can figure out a way to plug and unplug the wiring between body and chassis then I can tinker with the AFX/Xtraction/TYCO chassis stuff. The other thing with the TYCO's is finding a suitable, durable place to tap the wiring from for the lights. I haven't messed with them other than my one US1 dump truck.. I hope to get around to them one of these days!! :lol:


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## slotnewbie69

cool post utherjoe!it's always neat to see the shopspace guys are working in too.nice drill press setup!i imagine its tough to keep those little bodies stable for drilling.couldnt you use a third hand tool and a pinvise,and drill by hand?might be easier and improve accuracy,no?
and that 12 string..yamaha?


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## win43

Somebody's been very busy.....
And leave it to Bob....turn on the lights...Zilla.....to put things in prospective.


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## slotcarman12078

Yes SN.. I can and do now use a pinvise.. now that I have one. The real reason I got the milling plate and the drill press is so I can mill out the tail lights on my favorite body, the 66 GTO. Drilling holes is easy enough. The tail light slots on the GTO are only about .020 of an inch and there are 8 of them on the tail panel. I'll get to them when I get over the fear of breaking the bits (very expensive) and have the body clamp to put in the vise. I did find out one bad thing about the press (I had a feeling before, but found out for sure today) is the chuck has a minimum 1/8" bit restriction. My milling bits are ok, but the smaller bits in my index will be dremelable only. I do have some other bits coming that are the smaller sizes with a 1/8 shaft so it's all good.

As for the Yamaha 12 string, I picked it up in a pawn shop with case for 125.00 down in FL. As with all my guitars, it needs a neck adjustment. The action is a bit too high. She has a beautiful sound and I had gotten quite good at making some noise with it until my hands started giving me problems. My fingers are so weak now I doubt I can make a bar chord on it. I used to have fun making up my own chords (half open stuff and odd ball stretches). I haven't really been able to play it in 3 years..


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## slotnewbie69

i also own an old 12 string,a daion 80/12...if the action is a problem,try shaving the saddle down carefully,and the nut aswell.a truss rod adjustment should be done professionally,as you can really bugger it up if you don't know what you're doing.another way to go is to tune it down to D standard,giving more give to the strings.
oh yeah!and just to keep the slotties happy,is there a conversion collet available to recieve smaller bits,that you could retrofit to the drill press chuck??


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## videojimmy

I have a Danelectro 12 string, and it rocks! That things has really nice actions and stays in tune for weeks. 

I'd ike to get an acoustic 12 string, but I already have 8 guitars and they're not as easy to hide from the wife as slot cars are

hehehehe


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## slotnewbie69

i would like a danelectro baritone electric,but i still got a tele and a fender hotrod deville 60 w tube amp to pay off!


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## slotcarman12078

As much as I would love to have a Jimmy Page signature double neck Gibson.... Oh.. never mind.. you know the rest!! :lol:

By request, here's a picture of the MM 66 GTO so you can get an idea of why I blew so much money on a drill press, milling plate and bits....









This is my ultimate favoritest car in my fleet. It's not perfect, there's a slight defect in the paint on the hood, but it is still perfect in my eyes. IMHO Harrison Woodrow did an exquisite job detailing this car. If I could shrink myself down to HO scale, this is what you'd find me driving!! I just want to finish it so I can cruise it at night!! :thumbsup:









I would also like to take a stab at this one too. It actually should be fairly easy once the tail light lenses are milled out.. They are slightly larger than the 2.0mm LED base, so some sort of filler will be required...


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## slotnewbie69

ok,wait a minute!yer gonna mill out the entire back end of the gto???????


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## slotcarman12078

Nope!! Just the tail lights!!! LOL The 4 slots on the left, and the 4 slots on the right.


Here... This will explain it way better than putting it in words..


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## bobhch

slotcarman12078 said:


> Nope!! Just the tail lights!!! LOL The 4 slots on the left, and the 4 slots on the right.
> 
> 
> Here... This will explain it way better than putting it in words..


Holy Toledo....that is gonna be Sweeeeeet!

Bob...That is going to be one nice rear end...zilla


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## slotnewbie69

oh only the four,eh?oh,well that sounds much simpler!


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## slotcarman12078

I checked out Bob's Moons, and now he's checkin my rear end too!! What is this world coming to???? :tongue:


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## WesJY

Sweet job on them!! WOW!.. :thumbsup:

Wes


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## Hilltop Raceway

Sltman, I'll admit, the tailights do look good, but man that's looks like a lot of work. Not much room to play with!!! Go ahead a drill out the backup lights too. It use to big a thang, to drive forward with your back up lights on. I had a switch for mine. I remember seeing cars go down the strip with the backup's on...RM


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## Bill Hall

hot knife?


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## slotcarman12078

Hot knife maybe for someone who doesn't shake like a 7.5 on the richter scale like I do. I estimate the taillight slits to be between .020 and .025. My milling bits are .015 and .020 so I should be able to squeak these out. The only thing holding me back from doing anything is the need for a clamp being fabricated to hold the body rigid while milling. With work this fine, the slightest bit of vibration will throw off the whole process. I have the design for the clamp pretty much down. I just need to find a machine shop who can make it happen. It's pretty simple really. I need two 2" X 3" X 1/4" steel plates with 2 holes drilled in each corner on one, and one hole drilled in each corner on the other. One set are tapped on one with the corresponding holes oversized on the 2nd. These will be the clamping holes. The extra set of holes are tapped and the machine bolts in them are the stops. Those will keep the milling vise from crushing the body, and the other bolts will make the clamp tighter.

All the cars will require some type of milling operation on them so the clamp needs to be fairly rugged to handle the constant use. Something like the 59 Chevy will need the AW taillights to be removed so the resin cast ones I make can fit in. The older Mustang is an easy project too by making a mold of the tail lights and removing the factory ones and casting 1.6mm LEDs into the new lens. On those, 2 slits will be milled into the body to run the electricals to the inside. These processes are clear in my mind but trying to put them into words is tough, and I'm sure trying to translate them into something you can visualize is even harder. All I can say is be patient, and we'll see how many screw ups I can knock out before I have something worth posting pic's of. 

Speaking of pic's.... Here's a quick peek at the production line so far...









































































I been busy with the LED sleds!! Nothing lit yet other than the black one, but that's tomorrow's job.. By the way, the pinkish/ purplish one is magenta. The colors are off and I'm not sure if it's the camera, my monitor, or the kodak software that's causing it. The bluegreen one with the scallops is a bright aqua color, the 2 tone is a mint green with a medium metallic green. I adjusted the colors to look right on mine. Hopefully they are correct on your screens too.

I am really liking this new spraybomb paint I found at autozone, etc. that is fun to experiment with. It's called metalcast and is intended to paint chrome, but all it really is, is a candy transparent paint. It has proved compatible with duplicolor silver and gold when used as a base coat. It comes in a rainbow of colors: purple, red, blue, green, orange, gold, yellow and silver. I've got the purple (on the magenta car.. would have been darker with more coats), and the orange on the (duh) orange car, and a can of blue which I have yet to try. I really want the green so next trip it's on the list. I just wish I could get around to getting the lacquer thinner so I can fire up the airbrush. I believe these paints used with that will be really cool!! They all still need at least a dunk or two more in the future to help hide the decals.


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## hojohn

*very nice slot*

:thumbsup:wow an electrican and a painter you are way to talented for me


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## WesJY

WHOOOOAAAAHHH!! SWEET PAINT JOBS !!! :thumbsup:

Wes


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## Hilltop Raceway

hojohn said:


> :thumbsup:wow an electrican and a painter you are way to talented for me


Plus an apprentice machinist with a musical background!!! RM


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## JordanZ870

The two-tone paints are killer, Ujoe!
Hide the green ones from Bill if he comes over for a visit....and ya better hide them from me too, hey! LOL

The flamed s'Led looks magenta enough to me. Maybe my screen darkens all the colors?
At any rate, it is a great looking car! :thumbsup:

I see where you are going with your clamp design. I hope you find someone to help.


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## Bill Hall

Just to fool Joez I'm gonna go with magenta and the flame stripes....that .....and cuz I likes it! 

I'm gonna guess that you have too much light for that shot. I've found that a little less light or a backlight effect helps when trying to get a good pic of a metallic. 

Even then those darn metallic paticles cornfuse your camera's tiny brain.


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## slotcarman12078

I promise to try some different lighting soon! don't have enough natural light in the shop to get a decent picture, and it appears to only be a couple colors that are off. It don't like anything in the green family (make them all blue) and the purples are screwy also. I had a feeling there would be a color shift somewhere along the path!!! LOLOL!!

The Dash purples, blue and pink took a bath in the bucket today as I'm having way too much fun painting. I still have a couple colors to try on the sleds and I'm going to shoot a couple more two tones with them. I will be trying to do 2 simple colors too that aren't really in Dashes arsenal to make a couple certain individuals drool.. I know your colors and I can fight dirty when need be..:tongue:

In the meantime, I decided to give the milling plate a little exercise (myself too) since it has been a good 20 years since I really played with one. I got my cheaper milling bits in yesterday and have been tinkering with a JL cobra with the possibility of lighting it. The one thing I didn't like about the JL cobra is the grille. Now I don't know if I butchered a JL masterpiece by doing this, but I couldn't stand to look at it as it was. So off came the grille, and into the vise it went. I broke a bit right off the bat Doh! and remembered it's a slow process.. I'm not cutting cheese with this thing. No troubles after the first bit bit the dust. Here's a peek at the final result....




























I still gotta light it and it will require some thought in the taillight dept. We'll just have to wait 'n see what develops..


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## bobhch

*slotcarman you have definitely earned your name...you are a one man slot car factory*

Phssssssssssssssssssssssshting Fan-tas-tic! 

You are a busy bee Mr.slotcarman...bit bit the dust guy...who makes lots of neat little cars.

I love the silver Cobra with the green interior and scallops. Oooooooh and it has lights...Whooooooooooooah!

Bob...beep, beep,_______beep, beep the car went beep, beep, beep...zilla


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## tjd241

*Nice paint work jLED,,,,,*

Bob's right... you have been busy. All looking good :thumbsup::thumbsup:... now let there be light. nd


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## JordanZ870

Progress in the milling department! WOOT!

Ujoe, beyond the broken bit, did the milling work out like you thought it would?

Looking great so far! :thumbsup:


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## T-Jet Racer

Grille Is Sweet! No Light Shining Thru It Will Be The Ticket With The Led's


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## Hilltop Raceway

This looks like a ledsled dealership!!! So many to choose from or order your own color possibilities!!! Looking good Sltman!!! RM


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## slotcarman12078

Yes Joez, worked out great. The old days playing on the big Bridgeport came back to me rather quickly. I never did an extensive amount of work on it, just odds and ends when the model guy wasn't busy. He was trying to steer me in that direction and I should have listened. Sadly, while I was working at this company, they would have paid for *ANY* tech school training or college as long as I passed the courses; they would have footed the bill. Stupid me and my even dumber priorities nixed that idea. At the time the mill was just a big toy to play with when my regular duties were caught up. I was the engineering dept. gopher, odd job man, display maker, circuit board potting compound maker, drive these parts to UL in Melville, NY guy, and blueprint tech. I wore a few hats at that job. I also got to play on the CAD/CAM modifying blueprints for the specials dept, and helped out in the model shop and the test lab. 

The most important lesson learned was the one I forgot which led to the broken bit. Take little bites and go slow. It takes a bit of getting used to working the cranks to move the mill.. especially doing the curved parts which requires cranking both at once to have the mill go on an angle or mill out a curve. This was primarily an excercize to get myself in the swing again. And yes, it was fun!!!

There should not be any glow with these LEDs TJ, other than where there is supposed to be. The silver paint blocks the light quite well, and therein lies the reason I stripped all the sleds except the flamed ones. On them I will need to paint inside the bodies to keep the light from leaking. I was shocked to see how badly the solid blue, purple and pink bodies glowed just with a desk lamp. The magenta one is candy over the factory pearl so this will need a touch up inside too. I will not create another version of a "Lamethrower"!!! Never!!!


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## slotcarman12078

Quote joez870 "The two-tone paints are killer, Ujoe!"

Yes they are when they work!!! When they don't though, what a mess!! I finally have the last 4 painted up, after yesterday's snafu with the two tones. Thankfully, the TM sent me to KFC which just happens to be one block away from Autozone and Advance Auto... Heeheehee!! One little detour won't kill me!!! I snagged a can of Metalcast red and green basically completing the set and got a good sized can of acetone and lacquer thinner!! Good thing I stopped as I soon learned Pinesol don't touch lacquer. It'll eat up enamel good nuf, but lacquer just kinda laughs at it. The lacquer thinner and a paper towel and a few minutes scrubbing and I had both bodies stripped again. Rather than take a chance of another screwed up two tone, I decided to dig right into the new "candies" and promptly shot one of each. OF course, my colorblind camera has a hard time making it look green so you'll have to trust me on the color descriptions. (I kinda fixed the green in the group shot, but the magenta looks purple in these so again, I'm sorry you'll just have to take my word!!









Here's a breakdown on the colors from top left: Dark blue flake, 2 tone mint /medium green, black/multicolor pearl, std dash orange/yellow flames, std dash yellow/red flames, yellow/ red flames, candy green, candy red, candy orange, candy magenta/gold flames, aqua/silver scallops, red/ maltese crosses.



















I'm really going nuts about these paints as if you can't tell!!! I shot the red and green over silver duplicolor out on the front porch and when the sunlight hit it I amost stepped on my tongue they looked so good!!! 

I can't resist tempting a couple people here so watch out you two!! (you know who you are):lol:






































Tomorrow I'll finish dipping in future and start the lighting process.. I am going to give it my best shot to have these all lit by tomorrow night.. Can't promise anything, but I'll try.


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## 1976Cordoba

Those look awesome 


:thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## NTxSlotCars

I like the ambulance. Can you put some numbers on the lead sleds?


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## CJ53

Looking good UJOE.. the flame jobs look killer.. 
Chris


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## Hilltop Raceway

Are we having fun or what??? I can see you got all excited!!! Those got me a excited, looking good...guess I'll go to the parts store!!! RM


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## bobhch

*me likes the red one...ALOT!*

UtherJoe,

You are simply driving me nuts with that Red Merc Slickster with the Iron Cross theme...aaaaaaaah man wait till Wes sees this!! Only wish that I would have thought about doing one up like that myself now. Holy Shietzkas that is Kewl.










You are on a roll with all these fine paint jobs with holes in them. Love them all.

Bob...Iron Cross decals forever...zilla


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## resinmonger

Next on Fox, Mercury lead sleds are invading Up State New York! Keep the kids inside or they'll never ride in your Prius again!

That is one fine looking herd of sleds, SCMan! When you've got 'em all lit up and on your city streets track, it's goona be a Frank Miller graphic novel moment!!! I'm talkin' a build it and they will come full of villians and super heros kinda moment!

_12!_ the movie - 12 brave and outrageous sleds take on the boredom of modern day econoboxes... Based on the Frank Miller graphic novel which was based on a *TRUE EVENT*.

We don't use sano any more but back in the day, we would've all shouted SANO! I'm just sayin...

:drunk::hat::freak::dude:

PS: mixing vicodin and tequlia is reccomended to best understand the preceding ramble. Kids, don't try this at all.


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## WesJY

yep! i like the one with iron cross!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! honestly they all look SWWWEETTTT!!!! cant wait to see them done!!! :thumbsup:

Wes


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## tjd241

Nice Joe.... Colors are bitch'n. I gotta try some of that auto paint soon. :thumbsup::thumbsup: nd


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## JordanZ870

Great goddess, man!

I think those paint jobs look fantastic through the PC! WOW WOW WOW! :thumbsup:


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## slotnewbie69

hey uther!those leadsleds rock!really nice work!:thumbsup::thumbsup:


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## slotcarman12078

*Time to dust off his thread..*

Been a while since I posted anything here, so I guess it's time to bump it back to the first page.

I am almost LED Sledded out!!! There are 3 more on the table and all have destinations in mind. The happy new owners will either let you know or they won't.. It's up to them!!! (One of them is ME :lol While I can't please everyone here, I do my best to accomodate special needs cases on a car by car basis. I can't picture honda driving anything but a Camaro...Sooooo....





















I had done this body back around October in an ill fated attempt using fiber optics. After ripping all the F.O. cable out and a thorough cleanup the LEDs were installed (3rd time was the charm) and I think it came out alright. 



















Testing continues because I'm always fearful of something going wrong on it's first few laps at a new track!! 

In other news, I am releasing a couple previews of my LED Sled, and a Bad Dawg project I'm fooling with... Both are almost ready for the phssssssssssst treatment, and they deserve it as they have both been taunting me!! :tongue:



















Yes, it's the roaming gnome!!! Teminal Velocity II is in da house!!!!
I'm still itching to try out my new airbrush, but I'm awaiting a telephone lesson from the master painter. (Yes I am pathetic when it comes to trying something new!!)


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## CJ53

Ujoe..
That should make Honda happy... lookin good!!!:thumbsup:
CJ


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## bobhch

*Surf boards on slots are always are Kewl...*

Uther Joe,

O.K. Honda is going to be doing back flips when he sees this Camaro...Boing, boing, boing...Yippeeeeee!!! You are da man.

Love that Gnome Terminal Velocity II and chop top Merc!! :thumbsup::thumbsup: You can't make everyone happy but, at least you can try...screeeeew em' if they can't realize that.

Fletcher has been wanting to race slot cars all the time since his M & M Lifelike racer came in the mail a few days ago. After seeing the real deal at M & M world in Las Vegas I just had to get it...he wanted me to make one up for him...for about $13.00 From tubtrack on the bay it was just easier to buy it. Ooooh and a few other parts while I was in the world of everything slot stuff for sale land.










Bob...Going to call you today (right after Fletcher and I race Slickster I)...zilla


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## slotcarman12078

*Updates on a couple unfinished projects.. and sad news...*

I guess I 'll start with the bad news.. Honda's camaro died. Well the body did. After performing it's 6th LEDectomy the body done gave up. They can only handle so much abuse before the finish says "enough"!!! Chrome red was peeling off in chunks so I gave Darrell the option of another color and he accepted. At least the body graciously donated it's chassis so another camaro can live!!!

OK, now the mostly good news... It seems to be a Monday night into Tuesday thing lately.. Couldn't fall asleep and after 2 hours tossing and turning I crawled into the slot cave for some late night antics. I got all the details painted up on the Terminator II Bad Dawg LRW, and got the detail work (for the most part) done on the drop top sLED.. Here we go!!


















Other views are available on the Bad Dawg Sexy Party Thread..




























Paint recipe for the LRW is available on the sexy party thread for those interested.. I did a little experiment with the sled too.. Silver base coat followed by 2 coats candy green, 1 coat candy blue, and 1 final coat candy green. This metalcast paint really knocks my socks off!!! The multi colored layers add so much depth to the paint, and the effect is very close to a flip flop. The blue shows up without the direct light and aqua's out the green just right where the light hits it. Sadly, as previously determined, my camera just can't figure out the blue/green differential and it all looks the same.


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## bobhch

Surfs up! :thumbsup: I'm lovin' it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## oddrods

slotcarman12078 said:


> Been a while since I posted anything here, so I guess it's time to bump it back to the first page.
> 
> (Yes I am pathetic when it comes to trying something new!!)


Would you be intersted in some clear wheels? I have turned a couple of sets of wheels from Lucite plastic. I thought it would be cool to have the tires look like they were floating. Turns out the clear rims just took the color from the chassis. I always wanted to backlight a set for a cool look but never got around to it.
Rob
Mongrel Racing


----------



## win43

Great stuff slot!!!!!!:thumbsup::thumbsup:


----------



## slotcarman12078

Clear wheels would be different, but finding a place to locate the LEDs would be challenge... Do you have a type of car in mind Rob?? Rims fit Tyco/AFX/TJet?? 

Thanks guys!!!


----------



## oddrods

slotcarman12078 said:


> Clear wheels would be different, but finding a place to locate the LEDs would be challenge... Do you have a type of car in mind Rob?? Rims fit Tyco/AFX/TJet??
> 
> Thanks guys!!!


Nothing in particular comes to mind. I can make the wheels any size for any car. I just would like to see it done. I'd show you pics but they don't show up well.
Rob


----------



## slotcarman12078

*Drop top Sled has hit the streets!!*

Well I finally made one for me!! As seen previously, the teal green convert Sled is finally finished!! QC is continuing on the last 3 sleds as I ran into an LED blow out party here with the previous two. Here's a couple pics of the ragtop sled..





































Also, I have finally got going on doing some scenery on the table, starting with the easiest section (and the greenest also). 





































OK!!! Kastleburg it's not! But it's been a while since I did this kinda stuff!! I'm glad it came out as good as it did! Next time I'll need to find a better way to do the transitions between track and grass, but for now it's good enough. I promise to do a much cleaner job on my table's next life!!


----------



## hojohn

*drop top sled*

wow is all i can say about that. and your scenery looks great too keep posting pics as you go down the road:thumbsup:


----------



## Gear Head

Nice sled, great custom.:thumbsup: Kudos on all the scenery as well.
Is that Barracuda in the back a slot car? If so where did you get it?


----------



## slotcarman12078

Gear Head said:


> Nice sled, great custom.:thumbsup: Kudos on all the scenery as well.
> Is that Barracuda in the back a slot car? If so where did you get it?


The cuda is a JL diecast, but I believe the mead brothers make a resin cuda for T Jet.. Here's where to find them...

http://www.tm427dragbodies.com/TMMUSCLECARS.html

Not a bad kit for sure. I'm not tickled with the lexan window material, and there was an issue with wheel alignment on the older kits. Before you drill the posts check to see how the back wheels center in the wheel wells.. A slight trimming on the back post may be required especially if using larger wheels. They do make nice bodys though, and I would let it stop you from getting one. I did one with no major issues. The back isn't perfectly centered but not really noticable. An Aurora chassis will fit better than an AW so keep that in mind if getting one..










I have one more of them left and plan on making a top down version one of these days...


----------



## bobhch

*The guy with the gun...hahahaahhaha great job!*

UtherJoe,

Great Scott you Mercury Surgical skills are Fantastic! Looking good in the ho neighborhood....yeah baby! That convertible conversion is a cool idea man. No Gnome in the rear seat so, the driver doesn't have to worry about the snipping affect.............aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah :freak:

Bob...Slickster III is almost done & yes it is a Mercury...zilla

P.S. Gonna keep the Slickster III for myself to race against the Original Slickster you sent Fletcher. Yeah it will be some fun racing. Feels good to keep one for yourself once in a while huh?


----------



## JordanZ870

Landscape looks great, Ujoe! :thumbsup:

As for the sL.E.D with the top down.......
Dang! that looks amazing. How do I get the top to go down on mine?


----------



## Hilltop Raceway

Cool sledding L.E.D. man!!! Looking good with the soft lights glowing down the highway. I like the country setting with the red barn out back!!! If you would paint "See Rock City" on the top, it'd be perfect, (that's a southern thing you see on barns, referrring to visit Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, TN)...RM


----------



## Gear Head

Thanks for the the link to the cuda source. One problem though...there are too many bodies that I like that are listed on the site!


----------



## slotcarman12078

bobhch said:


> Bob...Slickster III is almost done & yes it is a Mercury...zilla
> 
> P.S. Gonna keep the Slickster III for myself to race against the Original Slickster you sent Fletcher. Yeah it will be some fun racing. Feels good to keep one for yourself once in a while huh?


Yes Bob, It does feel good to make one for me!! And it isn't a total reject either!! :lol: I think I'm going to take the enamel silver off the windshield posts and try some BMF. The enamel isn't holding very well.



joez870 said:


> As for the sL.E.D with the top down.......
> Dang! that looks amazing. How do I get the top to go down on mine?


Sorry I didn't put the easy button on yours Joe!! Maybe on the next one!! 



hilltop Raceway said:


> Cool sledding L.E.D. man!!! Looking good with the soft lights glowing down the highway. I like the country setting with the red barn out back!!! If you would paint "See Rock City" on the top, it'd be perfect, (that's a southern thing you see on barns, referrring to visit Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, TN)...RM


Ahhh yes!! Lookout Mountain!!! See 7 states!!!! One of them tourist attractions I must have passed by 100 times and never had a chance to see.. I am pretty sure there are dry transfer decals for that.. I'll look into it!! 

And Gear Head, There are too much of everything on that site!!! Hide your wallet and check out the add on accessories like motors, hood scoops, and decals... I'm supposed to be saving money for a trip to FL and it appears every week my balance goes down instead of up!! :wave:


----------



## Bill Hall

Love the new Avi Joe!


----------



## win43

Cool conv. Cruising on a saturday night WOOHOO!!!!!!!


----------



## slotcarman12078

*Rolling in the green...sort of...*

Scenicin' a track sure is messy!!! And fun!!! But more messy than fun... I finally have gotten around to laying out the green on the table... I got tired if looking at snow covered plaster cloth.. Spring has sprung in Stump City!! :thumbsup:




























































I still have a bunch to do, and then the whole grassy areas need to be sprayed with another shot of watered down elmers just to help keep it in place. Once that is done, a major track clean up will be needed, and then we can go back to running!! It's not the most detailed job.. It's hard to put any real effort into something I'm sure will be getting ripped up in the next year or two.. But at least it won't be bare white plaster anymore!! :wave:


----------



## 1976Cordoba

Great start!


----------



## bobhch

*hahahaha I got the Kermit prase in before anyone else..hahahahahahahahahahahhahahahha*

Just looks like green snow to me...JUST KIDDING...lol :lol::jest:

Hey I noticed Barney has a chainsaw....Rrrrrrrrrrrrrr, rrrrrrr,rrrr he is already to help you tear this down ...rrrrrrrrrrr,rrrrrr

Bob...it isn't easy beeing green...zilla


----------



## slotcarman12078

The chainsaw toting Barneys were to be part of a mini diorama with a space ship. I was looking for a cheap fiber optic hippie lamp but one never materialized and the project faded from memory. It would have been good too.. kinda reminiscent of the Flintstones episode where the space ship lands in Bedrock and the alien take on Fred's form and walks around saying nothing but "yabba dabba doo". But in my version, all they can pick up on TV is a Barney marathon and TX chainsaw massacre...and the rest use your imagination. :tongue::lol::jest::thumbsup::wave:


----------



## resinmonger

*Don't go to the slot cave...*

Just when you thought it was safe to run your slot cars, Interscope Pictures presents _Night of the Living Barnys Chainsaw Masacre_ directed by Tobe Hooper and George Romero. Just keep repeating "it's only a movie", it's only a movie"...
What's on your layout?


----------



## slotcarman12078

You got it Russ!!! I just wish I had gotten all the pieces of the puzzle!! :lol:


----------



## win43

Looking good slot. :thumbsup::thumbsup:


----------



## Bill Hall

Trick 'vert sled Ujoe!

I was following along awaiting the end game and lost track....day job ya know. Sorry I missed the debut. 

Excellent choice for mayhem...duh... completely obvious when ya see it! I like the rake and height on the glass. It really sells the whole package. Great execution. :thumbsup::thumbsup:


----------



## slotcarman12078

*Brightening up a dimly lit corner....*

One corner of the track (city portion) needed a little help in the lighting department. Even an extra lamppost wasn't helping. So out comes the soldering iron and a handful of 1.6 mm LEDs in a variety of colors and "Voila!!" instant Used Car Lot lighting. This method of stringing LEDs can also be used for year round trailer park lighting, bar/club lights and of course, Xmas! 

Here's a before peek at the corner...











And here's a couple of after shots...










Granted, the before shot was taken at night, and the after shots taken mid afternoon, but I think the effect is pretty dramatic!!! I need to put together a couple more strings!!!! I think a more subdued bar will be in the downstairs level of the hotel I'm building for across the street...


----------



## resinmonger

Officer Sponge Bob has the situation under control. The cool lights were a cool idea, SCMan. Of course, you are an idea kinda guy so it shouldn't be a surprise that you had a nuther one.

Rock On, SCMan!


----------



## bobhch

*2 slots if by day and 1 if by night...*



resinmonger said:


> Officer Sponge Bob has the situation under control. The cool lights were a cool idea, SCMan. Of course, you are an idea kinda guy so it shouldn't be a surprise that you had a nuther one.
> 
> Rock On, SCMan!



Bob...Yep the slotcarman does it again...light up if yah got them...zilla


----------



## Hilltop Raceway

Nice lighted car lot Sltman!!! Gives you that Christmas feeling, all those cars under the lights. Those are the lights I wanted to use for track conditon lights - green, caution and red flag. Looks good :thumbsup::thumbsup: RM


----------



## slotcarman12078

Those LED light strings are easy peasy!!! :thumbsup: The only hard part I ran into was some of the LEDs aren't marked for the + or - so I had to break out the magnifier to see which end was which. They use 2.0 volts each X 9 = 18 volts.. No resistor required.. I simply soldered them in chains of 9 and fed the power to the + ends (soldered together) and grounded the other ends.. I had more trouble putting them on the table than making them because they are right over a cross brace, which is my usual bad luck!!:lol:


----------



## win43

Cool lights:thumbsup::dude:

AAAHhhhhhhh the colors the colors..................


----------



## slotcarman12078

*Stump City Hotel is open for business!!*

After putting it off for a year, Stump City Hotel has finally re-opened it's doors. This is my first LED lit building, and was placed to supply me with an excuse to get much needed light on crossing gate photo sensors. I really need to work on my modeling skills a bit more, as it didn't come out anywhere near as good as I hoped.... Here's a few pic's for you visual type guys...






























Conveniently located close to the RR Station, Stump City Cinema, my refrigerator, and Pete's Meats.. Wait a minute..that's not a good thing!! :lol:


----------



## 1976Cordoba

Looks seedy with those red lights :thumbsup:


----------



## slotcarman12078

As seedy as the rest of the town is, I guess it's a good thing!!!! The LEDs for the rooms are white, the red curtains are creating that seedy effect. The only colored LEDs are in the tavern on the 1st floor right half. When you rent rooms by the hour..... seedy just comes naturally!! :lol:


----------



## Hilltop Raceway

Kinda what I thought with all the red, a 3 story above cat house, "No Animals Allowed"!!! I do like it lit up though!!! Lights just add a little livelyhood...RM


----------



## Bill Hall

Full occupancy!

Looks like a busy saturday night!


----------



## bobhch

*Roxanne....you don't have to turn on the red light...*

Ujoe,

I Just had to make a Roxanne reference to this before the Hutt got here and beat me to it. :roll::roll::roll::roll::roll::roll::roll::roll:

Bob...You don't have to wear that dress tonight...zilla


----------



## win43

Great Flop House Slot!!!!


----------



## resinmonger

*Zilla is making me work*

Curse you with your bllinding speed Bob Zilla! Now I gotta think of another song reference and Schiziod man is locked in my brain!!!

The town is looking good, SCMan. It's the kinda place that would look good as a backdrop for a Frank Miller story.

All the lights are white
And the curtains are red
Sponge Bob's walking the beat
streets filled with living dead

visions of ghouls and goblins
dancing all through my head
Stump City dreaming
That's what I said

Thinking of songs and looking at slot cars is thirsty work. Uno mas tequila por favor!

Hutt:drunk::hat::freak::dude::tongue:


----------



## slotcarman12078

I spent a good portion of the day working on my RR crossing gates, so that they'll operate as designed.. I finally dug out the brackets, the tortoise switch machine and the cables that make the gates move. Everything is mounted on the table, but with the running around I also had to do I ran out of time before I could finish. Hopefully, tomorrow I will be able to post up a video of the whole shebang in operation. Fingers are crossed it all works as planned!!


----------



## sethndaddy

and post 372 clearly shows the kitchen fridge in the backround, slots cars in da kitchen, weeeeeeeeeee dogggie

and notice, not just 1, but 2 killer Barney's.


----------



## slotcarman12078

Actually, there's a third killer Barney around somewhere.. He's on the shy side!! LOL. Yes, as I said... Stump City is conviently located close to the RR Station, Stump City Cinema, my refrigerator, and Pete's Meats.. 












Room 201 is especially popular, as you get a great view of Pete's lovely wife Bertha (as in Big Bertha...Bertha Butt) through Pete's upstairs front window....












And on a fun note, my brother in law stopped by with my niece this weekend!!! She's only 3 1/2 years old, but that didn't matter!! It took a few laps to get things moving smoothly, and a few more laps to get the hang of the controller, but within 10 minutes she was cruising around the track pretty good!!!!!


----------



## slotcarman12078

And before you ask, .....
1. No Bertha ain't wearing any clothes... Although she did have Omar the tent maker over for dinner last night, I don't think there's enough left of him to pull a needle.. 

2. I got my doodads and gizmo's in today, but my resin stuff won't be here til next Tuesday.. I don't want to say anything looks promising for fear of jinxing myself further...

3. The crossing gates are, like everything else I touch lately, are messed up and more work is required. I did spend 3 hours on my back under the table trying to get everything working, but one set of gates broke on me, and rigging it up half @zzed isn't cutting it.


----------



## PD2

I've been cracking up about the Pete's Meats. Here in Houston, over off of Richmond, there really is a place called "Pete's Fine Meats." They are probably one of the only true butcher places left around! They also have some great lunch specials too! Ah yes, Pete's Meats are always the finest meats. LOL!!!

PD2:thumbsup:


----------



## bobhch

*Keep working on it & you will get it fixed right eventualy.*

Ujoe,

That picture of your 3 1/2 year old Niece smiling with that controler is priceless!

Just remember that your track is waaaay more detailed than about 99.99% of ours so, you got special thingys that can go wrong. You'll get it in time.  I love your layout man. Far Out! Keep the pics coming please! :thumbsup:

Bob...try, try and try again...zilla


----------



## slotcarman12078

*About time I tried something....*

Well, my parts came in... I looked at them, and put them down... Looked at them again... and still couldn't bring myself to try them. Well today I finally gave it a shot.. 1/2 way to sucess is better that not at all I guess!!!

This is a homemade module with a 1K ohm resistor and full wave bridge rectifier with a small capacitor. It'll drive the headlights ok, or the taillights ok. But for some reason, it won't drive both... YET. I think I need to adjust the value of the resistor down a notch, and put a small 1/4 watt 120 ohm into the taillight circuit. The LEDs are in series for the front, and the back also, but require different resistance to work properly. I guess because they share the resistor now it's throwing it off.. Back to the drawing board as Wile E says....





























P.S. I also got these thingamajiggies in too.. They are still a bit big, but a little trimming and it may be the answer to the lighted snap on AFX style easy access lighted body, and they also are ok with the TJet posts for easy access too...


----------



## Hilltop Raceway

Dang Sltman, that's some small engineering!!! By the way, How's the windshield wipers coming??? 12 volt should run them maybe??? Jus ragging ya a little. That's a lot of work, but the lights do look good, much much better than factory!!! RM


----------



## slotcarman12078

As soon as I can find a supplier for the wiper blades, I'll jump right on it!!! LOL!! Me and my fat clumsy fingers working them little parts is tough for sure. It ended up too thick and even at the long wheelbase holes it hits the axle. The resistors are expensive , which is one of the reasons I dragged my feet on this exercise.. I was only able to swing four of them this time around. The price per drops at 100 pcs., but then I'd still need $170.00+ to get them at that piece price. Until I know for sure the correct values I need to make this all work right, I'll need to just get 5 or 6 of a couple different ohm resistors and try to get the mix right.

Adding to my frustration is my desire to make a circuit board set up for these, and eventually encapsulate them in potting compound to shield them electrically from shorts, help dissipate heat, and to keep my secret formula as secret as possible. Hey, the colonel does it with his 11 herbs and spices... The parts being used here are designed for robotic assembly, so making my own PCB's may be the way to go down the road. I need to experiment with a couple other mounting positions as they sit taller than the gear plate on this set up. The excessive thickness is mostly my own doing, by putting the capacitor on the back. 

I did snip the wire for the tail lights and add another resistor to the mix, and got all the lights working, but I think they need a little more juice. The 820 ohm resistor is on my next shopping list... along with 120 ohm 1/4 watts for the tail lights. Some day I might just get it all down!!  Also, my clear resin and silicone putty is scheduled to be delivered tomorow.. Fingers are crossed... Almost time to fire up the mill and make some tail lights!! :thumbsup:


----------



## bobhch

*11 herbs and spices...hahahahha*

Ujoe,

Who is Herb? 

Bob...you are a Genius Wy-lee-ky-oat-ee...zilla


----------



## resinmonger

SCMan, you don't do any thing by halves! Man, that is some sweet citcuit work. The main empressive thing is that it is really really small! I worked for a small electronics job shop in the early 80's. Nearly all of our employees were small young women due to their small hands and good dexterity. I know it would be tough for me to get my 10 thumbs to work on anything as small as the parts you're trying to honcho around that PC board.

Most awesome work, SCMan! :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

Since the system won't allow me to give you 10 thumbs I'll stop at 4.


----------



## Bill Hall

Can I order my next car with a working ciggy lighter and glove box lamp?


----------



## slotcarman12078

Bill Hall said:


> Can I order my next car with a working ciggy lighter and glove box lamp?


Well...... Can we just go with a T Puff chassis and use (as Sponge Bob and Patrick say) " our Imaginaaaaaation"????? :lol::jest::roll::tongue:

I'm getting close to getting this right so bear with me guys!! :thumbsup:


----------



## win43

Way too tiny for me to work with. Hope you find theright combo soon.


----------



## slotcarman12078

You know, it's got to be my luck.. It's a holiday weekend, I go to mix my first attempt at resin tail lights, and I find out the colorant I received is blue instead of red. Maybe I should go into the smurf casting business instead.. :lol: I talked to the owner on the place I purchased from (he actually answers his phone and even supplies his cell phone on his website) and a new bottle will be next day mailed to me. But in the meantime, I am trying out the lenses in blue to see if it'll even cure up in the tiny amounts I'm using. Only time will tell...


----------



## resinmonger

slotcarman12078 said:


> You know, it's got to be my luck.. It's a holiday weekend, I go to mix my first attempt at resin tail lights, and I find out the colorant I received is blue instead of red. Maybe I should go into the smurf casting business instead.. :lol: I talked to the owner on the place I purchased from (he actually answers his phone and even supplies his cell phone on his website) and a new bottle will be next day mailed to me. But in the meantime, I am trying out the lenses in blue to see if it'll even cure up in the tiny amounts I'm using. Only time will tell...


All is not lost, SCMan. Search back in your past and find the movie _Heavy Metal_. Channel Stevie Nick's contribution to the sound track and you will have use for the blue lamps. :freak:






Russ the Hutt


----------



## slotcarman12078

*Good news, and bad news!!*

The second attempt at doing a camaro for honda has it's bright spots, and ends on a glowing sour note!! I had good luck using my new electrical connectors, and managed to make an easy access electrical connection.. Nice not having an umbilical cord tying the body to the chassis!! Here's a couple pictures, and check back tomorrow and I'll post up a couple more.






















This works out good set up as the body is.. I figured because I'm using red fiber optic plugs in the tail light holes, I can use white LEDs throughout. This means an easy hot at one post, a simple chain of LEDs in series, and the neg down the back post. 1st attempt with the yellow camaro was a dud. I had a bad LED and nothing worked. I went back to the bench and found out where the problem was, and redid the fronts. I still have one LED out in front, and I'm not sure the cause. All it takes is a drip of solder to bridge the annode and cathode of the LED to bypass it. Here's the big problem though... 










I done made a double ended "Lame Thrower"!!!!! If I wanted glow in the dark cars, I'd buy them without all the hassle!! :lol: I need to redo the whole thing again, and silver paint the entire interior before installation.. Two steps fowards.... 1 1/2 steps back....


----------



## bobhch

*Ooooooooooooooh dang it!!!!!!!*

Hey Ujoe,]

Will come back an check this Honda/Camaro deal out later. Maybe a Nissan/Mustang would have been easier?  LOL

Don't worry dude...just grab a Jelly Filled and it will work out for yah!

Bob...I never get the Jelly Filled (it is alway that white filled long johns or a plain glazed)...zilla


----------



## roadrner

SCM,
You could leave it that way and use it for "Night Racin".  rr


----------



## tjd241

slotcarman12078 said:


> If I wanted glow in the dark cars, I'd buy them without all the hassle!! :lol:


.... Save this one fer Halloween joeLED!!  nd


----------



## slotcarman12078

Hmmmmm.... A Camar-O-Lantern.......

Maybe this one should have gone in the shop!! :lol: :hat: :jest: :freak: :roll:


----------



## resinmonger

This is what happens if you leave your car near the San Onofre plant too long... Give nuke 'em 'till they glow a whole _nuther_ meaning.

Russ the Hutt :drunk::hat::freak::dude::tongue:


----------



## win43

slotcarman12078 said:


> Hmmmmm.... A Camar-O-Lantern......


TOO FUNNY:freak:


----------



## slotcarman12078

While my painting, futuring, gluing and milling capabilities need some serious improvement.. ( I think I got the same cloud hanging over me that VJ did), I did manage to make some more headway in the easy maintainance fully removeable chassis!! The Bad Dawg LRW is equipped this way, as was honda's dud camaro.. Here's the inside skinny on it....

This body gave me some room the work with, so all the chassis needed was a diode to keep the current flowing one way only. If you think of the flow of electricity as water, this diode is like a check valve.. current is only allowed to go in one direction. This is the same diode installed on the Xceleracer chassis. The resistors were attached to the body so this made the whole package easy to mess with..




























The only tricky part is getting the connectors lined up.. I still need to trim the posts a bit and level the body off a little; then I can glue the connectors in place.. 










Everything fairly neat and orderly underneath.. Slowly but surely it's getting there.. I had a streak start like VJ just went through with the partridge family bus and got some glue on the tonneau. I'm hoping a couple more coats of future will make it go away.. Fingers are crossed..










Throwing a couple different pics on the CLM thread..


----------



## Bill Hall

Looks great Ujoe! Clearly the adapted Faller method was the way to go. 

Appears to be neat, reproducable for production, and best of all achieves the goal of a properly lighted t-jet car ...WITH A CHASSIS THAT'S EASILY REMOVED FOR SERVICE ! :woohoo:


----------



## win43

Too bad about the cloud. Just take a break from it all. Very cool looking truck :thumbsup::thumbsup:


----------



## T-jetjim

Electrician, I am not. I understand wiring the LED's in series, but in the picture of the underside of the body, it looks like too many wires. It looks like the left front headlight has wires going to the left rear and the right rear taillights. I see how the the front wires would be attached to the chassis, but I don't see where the rear chassis connection meets the body wires? By the way, the rear wiring on the chassis is very neat. Great spot to run a wire through.
Jim


----------



## slotcarman12078

Ok Jim.. I'll 'splain it to ya... The LEDs are wired in series. The white headlights are one string, and the red tail lights are another. The only thing on the chassis is a diode to help keep the power going one way. The reason for splitting the LEDs front and rear is the red LEDs require less voltage / more resistance than the white ones. They share the power through the posts, but have a different resistor (I changed the back one after the pic was taken) on each series. Looking at the underside pic, the white wire is the hot which is fed through the front post. The grey wire is the neg and if you look carefully it goes from the right tail light to the right head light and back. It would have been easier to figure out if I had the ring terminals on them, but I can't make it that easy for you guys!! :lol: Now that I look at it, I guess I could have just run the grey wire from the right front to the right rear and out the post..  ooops!!


----------



## JordanZ870

My big fingers are getting cramps in the joints from just LOOKING at that wiring roadmap, Ujoe. Fantastic work! :thumbsup:


----------



## PD2

I sure wish I had my old AC/DC electronics books. We used to do these circuits and setups in class and I cannot for the life of me remember any of it. I know, a lot of good I am, huh?

If I can find it I'll post up what we did. Sorry man.

PD2:thumbsup:


----------



## slotcarman12078

*A little change occured after Weds chat...*

While in chat Weds the LRW was brought up and my sloppy glue mess was discussed. After a few minutes of gentle persuasion, I decided that this could not go out looking like it did. I wasn't about to try to respray 3 layers of paint on the tonneau to try and match the funky mist job, so it was suggested I go with black. Before I got off chat the bed covr was stripped and ready for paint. I first attempted to brush it on, but it looked worse than the glue did!!! :lol: I restripped it, taped it off.. (only lost one decal on tape removal) and shot it a nice matte black. Now this brought up another problem. Surfboards on a soft tonneau just don't look right. I dug into my bag of tricks (spare parts for train set buildings and slots) and found the window bars from the IRS building on my table. I used them for the roof rack on the yellow surfer van also, so I knew they would work... Anyways, here is the final version of the LED Red Wagon as it sail off into the sunset.. Mailed out this AM...




























Thanks to you guys who gave me the shove to make a boo boo better!!! I would have regretted not fixing it forever had I not. There still was a tad bit of CA bleeding on the flat black paint, most of which I touched up. Macrovision always has a way of bringing this stuff up to the forefront..


Adios, Mr. gnome!!!! Enjoy your new home!!!


----------



## 1976Cordoba

Looks awesome Joe. :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup: A little Testors dullcoat would fix the CA bleeding out I think.


----------



## slotcarman12078

I've got a friend out there!!!! A while back, someone got ahold of me through youtube about lighting slots, and I gave him a little info on some lights... I think he did an awesome job, better than me for sure, and he put together a wicked cool video to highlight his creations!!!!! I've invited him to HT to check us out, and I really hope he joins in our mayhem here!!! Here is a link to his video..







Dang nice job Cap't!!!! Really nice!!!


----------



## resinmonger

That video is really cool! I didn't see Peter Yates in the credits as the director. Would have sworn that he had to have directed...


----------



## coach61

Video was awesome, but no way that old rusty Dodge was gonna beat the Stang, I cheered when the Copstang dumped his hemi off the overpass..lol...


Dave
Have you Driven a Ford Lately? oh wait you now have no choice.


----------



## bobhch

*Thanks for Sharring this...*

Ujoe,

This is an awesumly done up video. See what you have inspired. :thumbsup: What a car chase!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Loved it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :woohoo::roll:

Bob...Those blinking lights usualy mean pull over to most of us...zilla


----------



## resinmonger

Hey man, those blinking lights like mean the man is after you. Yah know? So like it means you like hafta drive like faster man. :freak::freak::freak::freak:


----------



## T-jetjim

Thanks for the wiring clarity. SIlly me, I should have known that the red LED's took less power. The video was great. The buildings were really unique, but fit the scene perfectly. I like how even the LED's light up vs. traditional grain of wheat bulbs, not to mention how the whole car lights up with the old bulbs.
Jim


----------



## slotcarman12078

*6X??? or should I say 6x??*

I wasn't sure where to put this... It's not a custom car, so it shouldn't go in the CLM thread.. So here it goes!! 

I'm putting together another 6X chassis, but did a bit of experimenting with the gearing this time around. The problem using the second idler gear is it leaves a huge gap between the drives. A spread axle trailer is not an uncommon sight, but a spread axle tractor is unusual to say the least.. Luckily, between parts ordered off the bay and a big box o' parts from hojohn I had the bits and pieces to give this a shot. This is by no means perfect, nor is it assembled or tested other than a few spins of the arm gear with the add on section snugged up behind. This was more an experiment to see if the concept is feasible, and what the axle spacing would look like finished.

I used a JL set up initially, but the hypno gears don't work right without the added stress of 3 extra gears so that idea was rather quickly scrapped. A NOS aurora was then utilized. I also scrounged up a tough ones pinion and a brass driven gear to complete the puzzle. This was, as I said, a quickie experiment. My initial concept was to drill a pilot hole for the new idler and then melt a brad into the top plate to hold it. Sadly, the pilot hole I drilled was off thanks to the totally out of round plastic JL TO pinion I started with. Drilling the new idler hole oversized to make the brass gear fit better made for a sloppy fit, so care must be excercized in placement. Because of the sloppy fit, a pinion shaft / gear are being used to hold the new idler in place... I still need to do a final trim of the top plate extension and glue it on. I might redo the top plate extension before I do anything "permanent" as I hate to waste a good top plate for a good experiment gone wrong. Here's how it looks so far....



















By the way, The truck is a 1/87 Norscot Peterbuilt. There's a few of us who are tinkering with powering these.. Kinda of a slow motion shoot out to see who can finish first..:lol:

I'm not sure if a 9 tooth pinion would work instead of the TO gear. It might put the tires too close together. I was thinking of powering an AW semi with this chassis, but TJets are taller than AFX chassis.. It won't fit right.. Bummer!!  It was fun playing with it though!! :thumbsup:


----------



## clausheupel

*My endurance night racer (lighted ´40 Ford coupé)*

Hi folks,

I "lighted" one of my custom resin Tyco ´40 Ford bodies (HP-7 chassis) for last weekend´s races my son and I attended. 

Although my car was the heaviest in the field (due to the voltage regulator and "goldcap" capacitor) and our team finished last (of 3 teams) she was pure fun to drive. The coupé was the only car you could always locate easiliy because of the permanent lighting and the added blue/red-blinking LED I added behind the windshield (removed that yesterday before taking these shots).

One of the guys liked my car so much that he ordered a set of four lighted bodies cast in lane colors... 

I used "sunny white" 3 mm LEDs for the headlights, the next ones will get smaller LEDs (1.8 mm) in the rear.

So here´s the pix:








































Have a great weekend all!

Greetings from Germany,

Claus


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## 1976Cordoba

I really have to get into this lighting thing.


----------



## slotcarman12078

Sweet lighting job Claus!!!!! I never had any luck running a 5 volt regulator in a car, but I didn't have the diode at the time either.. I agree with the smaller tail lights but I would suggest going 2.0mm rather than 1.8mm.. The 1.8's I've been getting are on the brittle side and the slightest bend on the anode or cathode makes for a 2 piece LED. Another suggestion I want to throw your way is to sand or grind the headlights dome off. It makes the LED's light more directional, and a bit more realistic. After grinding them, a quick brush with CA smooths them right out and brings back the clarity to the lens. That is a pretty big capacitor in there.. Just out of curiosity, how long will the LEDs stay lit after the power is off?? I like the plug system you've utilized, and have been mentally tinkering with different methods of power transfer. Looks like you have a nice durable, race proven design there..:thumbsup::thumbsup:

You can do it Doba!!!! You know you want to!!! Take the plunge!! :thumbsup:

P.S. For those of you (like myself) who have never messed around with them super capacitors.. Handle them carefully!! They store power and can pack a wallop that'll knock you on your butt. :drunk::freak: Make sure you discharge them before handling!! At least this is what I've read about them.. I want to try one, but my mental limitations and respect for the unknown prevent me from taking the plunge.. :tongue:


----------



## JordanZ870

1976Cordoba said:


> I really have to get into this lighting thing.



LOL...or, you could just be REALLY nice to Ujoe!


----------



## bobhch

*Germans are people too...(Hovendick = Huff and Dick from days gone by)*

These gals just getting off of work from Hooters?

Nice job on the lighted FoRd Claus! 










Very cool and thanks for sharing the pics of it with us. :thumbsup:

Bob...light on you silver diamond...zilla (Bob Hovendick)


----------



## Hilltop Raceway

[quote










[/quote]

That is a good looking picture!!! That'd make a good movie scene, " Highway Pick-Up". I'd stop for those hot babes too!!! ... RM


----------



## resinmonger

Hilltop Raceway said:


> [quote


That is a good looking picture!!! That'd make a good movie scene, " Highway Pick-Up". I'd stop for those hot babes too!!! ... RM[/QUOTE]

Too bad you can't see the chain saw the one on the right has behind he back...


----------



## Hilltop Raceway

resinmonger said:


> That is a good looking picture!!! That'd make a good movie scene, " Highway Pick-Up". I'd stop for those hot babes too!!! ... RM


Too bad you can't see the chain saw the one on the right has behind he back...[/QUOTE]

Uh, That sounds like a different movie, "Highway to Hell" ... RM


----------



## resinmonger

Hilltop Raceway said:


> Too bad you can't see the chain saw the one on the right has behind he back...


Uh, That sounds like a different movie, "Highway to Hell" ... RM[/QUOTE]

Or it could be a scene from Route 666. Here is a portion of the Title Song:

http://falconband.net/sounds/route666clip.mp3

The Hutt has rocker friends because I can BE THE STAGE!!!


----------



## slotcarman12078

Fingers are crossed as I attempt to make the funkiest LED in my arsonal work on a slot car chassis. This little puppy flashes 3 different colors (red / blue / green) and then fades from one color to the next. At least the body this will be going in is big enough to accept a battery is I have to go that route. I'll keep you posted as I have information.. Also, one is going in the bar because it does replicate stage lights better than the cruddy red/blue I have in there.

P.S. Russ, that song you posted makes me think of Warren Zevon.. I don't know why...:freak:


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## bobhch

(red / blue / green) in the bar...Disco Fever!!!


----------



## slotcarman12078

*Shame on me!!!*

This thread has fallen into obscurity, due to neglect!! I haven't done much in the custom lighting department lately, in large part due to the heat and humidity... neither of which is a friend of mine. I do have a couple thing for show and tell, that I received here and there that I am proud to say are in the highest level of my display case. These top notch cars came from my hobby talk friends, and are considered priceless treasures..











These are the cars in the spotlight!!!









This little bad boy came as a total suprize from nutherDave. I just bout broke into tears when I saw it. This is a Bauer Alfa done up in screaming yellow, fully nutherized chassis, exquisite decal work and flawless in every detail. 










It's friend is a win43 gas wars stang that is equally flawless!! Trading with Jerry always tends to be lopsided, and I owe him big time. One of these days I'll get caught up.. 









The punkin' stang is also tops on my list of favorites!! 

These guys came through trades from Bob... The Paintmeister ...Zilla. Unbelieveable decal work, paint and detail!! The red baron is my fave of the pair, and I'm still tossing around the concept of making the yellow one a sopwith camel.. 



















A couple weeks ago I got a parcel from CJ containing a Mel's Drive in, and I was going to try to fit it on the table, but just couldn't squeeze it on there. Rather than have it just sit there I decided to make a little bit bigger diorama out of it.. 










I still need to fix the backdrop. My error, I painted the sky first, then did the grass. Now there's "grass clippings" aloft and can't get rid of them. Next backdrop will be better, with a curve as opposed to a sharp angle in the corner.. and in case you're wondering.. I did make me one car. Herbie has joined the fleet!!!










Thanks for stopping by!!!


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## tjd241

*I just adore a penthouse view...*



slotcarman12078 said:


> I do have a couple things for show and tell, that I received here and there, that I am proud to say are in the highest level of my display case


What Joe does _NOT_ mention is that he's sent out some *really* slick ( l.e.d. lighted ) little beauties to _MANY_ of us. At his own expense, on his own time, and unsolicited he sent out some one of a kind pieces to us tards... just because ! ! All on chassis mind you... and chassis don't exactly grow on trees these days. He even fixed mine when it had a problem!!! 

So Joe??... Let this be a lesson to ya. That's what ya get for messin with us. :roll: .... Friendship is the heavy price you'll pay if ya wanna get on our good side like this... and you will pay dearly. Consider yourself warned!!!! :lol: nd


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## XracerHO

Some great viewing! Really like the background, too!! :thumbsup: :thumbsup: ..RL


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## bobhch

*priceless treasures...*

Yep U-Joe,

Know exactly how you feel. Getting that LED Slickster from you was my inspiration for the Slickster II. Make that yeller guy a Camel man...just do it! Every Red Barron needs a Snoopy. :devil: Didn't forget about the Van either as that thing lights up our track as well now and then. :thumbsup::thumbsup:
Fletcher loves the lighted stuff you sent to Nebraska man!

ND put the tack on the wall with the generosity of your LED creations and now you deserve a little YOU time! 

That yellow ND Alfa is one fine machine and that Mustang is right there with it too. Glad you got them along with that CJ Mels Dinner. You are certainly "get a slot car in the mail" worthy my friend. 

Bob...it is good to be you...zilla


----------



## win43

Great Stuff!!!!! And yeah what 'nuther said


----------



## Hilltop Raceway

I likes that Mel's Dinner diorama, especially with all those cool looking cars gathered around!!! Must be Saturday night!!! RM


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## slotcarman12078

Hilltop Raceway said:


> I likes that Mel's Dinner diorama, especially with all those cool looking cars gathered around!!! Must be Saturday night!!! RM


Not sure if I'm going to make it a zombie free zone or not!!! The funny thing about it is I went through all the extra work to get a lightbulb inside the building, and never lit it up when taking pictures.. 

Thanks for the kudo's guys, but the inspiration to keep the lights lit came from you guys!! My little break has to end one of these days, and when it does, look for some better stuff coming out of CL&M!!


----------



## slotcarman12078

*OK... Vacation is over!!!*

I am about ready to get back to work!!! I have to now!!! I just placed a good sized LED order from Mouser Electronics!! Look out slot car body stash!!! None of you are safe now!! Hahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!:devil:


----------



## win43

WOOHOO

chop chop drill drill solder solder


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## NTxSlotCars

I'm bumpin up this thread for a friend of mine.

Enjoy!


----------



## slotcarman12078

Thanks Rich!! LOL


----------



## slotcarman12078

*While we're bumping, I'm thinkin'*

Over the past year plus a bit I have learned a little bit. Sadly, mostly the hard way!! :lol: I just want to add a few reminders to this, especially to the few who only read the first few pages and then try to do these. 

First and foremost, it is worth the space usage to have some sort of a rectifier diode in the power series. Either a small 50V full wave bridge rectifier, or a simple 1N4001 type (also for up to 50 V). This will help cut the reverse voltage from frying your LEDs.

Secondly, if you are going to use flasher LEDs, Rich :lol:, you will need a small disc or other type capacitor to keep the current to those flashers steady. Just be careful with electrolytic types, as they are polarity sensitive, and can kinda explode. You don't need anything huge as the current draw on most LEDs is in the 10-30 milliamp range. A super cap can store enough juice to send you flying, so unless you know what you're doing, I would use caution with the big ones. I still consider myself an "amateur" so I shy away from the big ones. 

I have found most plastics to carry a lot of light through them, so I paint most of my light ups inside and out. Silver does a very good job of keeping the glow down. Black resin seems to mask the unwanted light OK, but then most of the time you will want to paint it anyway. It takes a steady hand to solder inside a body, and I try to do as much of it on a helping hands. It is better to have to solder a couple times to get the spacing correct than doing it in the car body and melting something. And as a bonus, the gator clips act as a heat sink to help keep you from damaging the LEDs.

Always try to pay attention to the LEDs when you're setting them up for soldering. The long prong (anode) is the positive side, the shorter (cathode) goes to ground. I never did try to wire flasher LEDs in series so I don't know if this will work. I would think the fluctuations in the power feed would throw things off. Trying to keep the power flow at a 10 - 15 milliamp flow is difficult enough with the varying rate of power from the track as it is, so any other electrical disturbance can only make matters worse (I'm guessing here..) so I would set them up direct, and depending on the resistor requirements either go with a solo resistor on each, or maybe 2 flashers into one resistors if the need isn't for a huge one. The size will depend on the voltage feed, the amount of voltage used by the LED, and the amp requirements of the LED. The higher voltage you throw at the LEDs, the bigger Ohm and wattage of the resistor will be necessary. 

There are some short cuts you can try, I really haven't yet. For plain LEDs, you can generally mix the sizes (shapes) without an issue. White and blue LEDs require more voltage than red, yellow, green, orange and purple. You can save a ton of room with head and tail lights by using all white LEDs, and painting the tail lights with a few coats of candy red. How this helps is at 3.5 volts used by each LED, you can wire them in series. That's 14 volts worth of juice being used by the string, so the resistance needed is low, and the wattage requirement is smaller too. It also makes for a much simplified wiring schematic. I'm still learning everyday. It's fun to experiment. Even when I blow something up!!:lol: I see it this way.. For a high school drop out with no electrical training what so ever, I can do it (most of the time). And if I can, anyone can!!! :thumbsup:


----------



## tjd241

*Well???*

How was Slotcarman's and Partspig's Excellent Adventure??? Did old Eleanor pull through?? nd


----------



## slotcarman12078

Other than a few (like 15) visits to the shoulder of the highway, she made the trip OK. It was nerve wracking not knowing if "this time" would be the one that left us stranded.. Funny thing though, after the first visit to the shoulder on the way home, I fiddled with plugs for all the sensors under the hood, and we cruised home without a hitch... :thumbsup:


----------



## partspig

I will say it was definitely an adventure! Had a good time at the show too! Give Eleanor a kiss for me, Joe!


----------



## slotcarman12078

Bumping for jt!


----------



## alpink

OK, take pity, I would like to read this entire thread, but not right now. anyway. I have bought some red/blue flashing LEDs that have resistors(for 12 DC volt usage) already soldered on. I replaced the lights on top of an Aurora(overheads chassis replaced with Tomy Turbo) state police car. on power supply at even only 9 volts, the lights (two of them) flash nicely. when placed on the track, they simply come on, usually red and won't flash. what rate resistor will work to allow enough voltage or whatever to allow the lights to flash as designed? I have tried even high power, 18 volt, power supplies on friends track and no luck. I have a very limited knowledge of electronics, but can follow directions and solder fairly well. I am certain this can be easily fixed, just need the knowledge. thank you all in advance, and I am prepared for the onslaught of teasing about not reading the whole thread. my answer is probably burried in there somewhere. al


----------



## slotcarman12078

Welcome to my nightmare Al!!! First off, let me say thanks for giving this a shot. I've had so so luck with making flashers work on any slot car, and the Tomy chassis seem to be the hardest to make right. I don't know what the deal is, but even regular LEDs give me trouble. I've only had decent luck with one flasher LED set up, purchased from Evans Designs. http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/bl-213-f.html These are the ones you want for slot cars. They have 2 versions, one for transformers (which sounds like what you have) and the ones for AC/DCC (which are the ones you need). The differences are the ohms of the resistor, and the full wave bridge rectifier and capacitor set up. The AC?DCC are good from 7 to 19 volts. 

I've disassembled one, and did as much homework as I possibly could going by part numbers, and still have yet to find the magical combination of parts to make my own that work. For the 3.00 a pop price (2.80 if you buy a certain amount) they're well worth the cost. They even come with a 2 year warranty. They ship quickly, from CO to NY I had them in 3-4 days. I just got a batch in early this week, and I'm happy as usual with their service. Other good points about these LED sets are they can be wired either way (thanks to the rectifier) and the wire is very thin, strips easily with a thumb nail, and is easy to conceal inside the body. I would use caution when putting the body on to make sure the wire doesn't get into the arm area. Another hint for you. Red light won't show very well through a blue lens, and blue won't show through red. If the over head lenses on the car are clear, then the blue/ red combo will work good. If they are one red, and one blue, I would get one LED of each color and match them red for red and blue for blue, or get white flashing LEDs for both. 

Best of luck on your adventure, and if you have any more questions, feel free to hit me here! I am no electrical genius by any stretch. I'm just crazy enough to keep on experimenting.


----------



## alpink

thanx slotcarman/dude. if I come up with any magic, I'll be sure to let you know. thanx for the link too. carry on lighting!


----------



## slotto

GREAT thread Slotcarman. So much info here. I plan to add light to my makes.


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## slotcarman12078

It's fun and frustrating at the same time, slotto! Back when I got into slots in the late 80's, I was tinkering with LEDs, but at the time I was technically challenged (no computer) and too lazy to get a book!! Needless to say, I burned them out quick! :tongue: I was lighting my own cars, though the techniques were sloppy. I was using train light bulbs and clear plastic model sprue for head light lenses. Basically, I was making my own versions of flame throwers. 

This time around I had the web, and info at my fingertips. I would have never gone down the LED path had it not been for the total disappointment with the AW version of flame throwers. Glowing hoods just don't cut it, unless the car is powered by flubber! :lol: I make it a point to do everything in my power to have the light exit the body where it's supposed to, and not anywhere else. It makes for a lot of work, extra layers of paint, and care to make the holes as close to the proper shape and size. Then I have to fit the LEDs to the holes, and I have a secret weapon for tail light lenses that works pretty good too. ( Hot melt glue for hair extensions is the trick... go for the redheads!! ) For big lenses (like a 59 Chevy) I make a silicone mold of the back of the car, and use the mold when I squirt in the hot melt. 

I was choosy about what bodies I light, before because of the tail light issues, and now because of head light issues. Fitting the LEDs isn't always simple. Cars like the 59 Chevy I did were great until I tried to get LEDs in the nose. Darn things just don't fit no matter how you put them in. I'm still searching for different LEDs, smaller packaging and shapes. I know there's more choices out there, but finding them hasn't happened yet. The search continues!! Any questions, ask away!!


----------



## Joe65SkylarkGS

I will speak for scm for a second. I have an older lit up GMC Burban and a newer 67 nova and they both work sweet. The nova is unbelievable with the red's out back and the super bright halogen's up front!! I love doing laps in the nova. It really lights up the track!!!Thanks for doing these builds and also for offering them to us slotheads.

Thanks scm.:thumbsup:


----------



## slotcarman12078

My pleasure Joe! I think the hardest part of lighting these is due to the fact that I have to paint them before I light them. It's difficult to keep the outside clean and shiny when they get handled as much as they do. I figured out one thing today that I already knew in the back of my mind. I have to use lacquer paint on these!! I've been playing around with enamels (due to the color selection) but they just can't handle the handling! The latest process into lighting goes like this:

1. drill out head lights.
2. drill out tail lights and sculpt to the proper shape. ( I still need to fine tune this process as they often come out a bit sloppy.)
3. clean the body good and either prime or paint silver.
4. paint on the color coat.
5. paint on a clear coat.
6. Fit the LEDs to the holes. Headlight LEDs might need to be shaped down a bit to fit the holes, and the dome taken off the tip.
7. fill the tail light holes with red hot melt (the kind for hair extensions as it's translucent)
8. Make the circuit board and put all the good stuff on it that makes it work right. This includes tapping 1/16th ID brass tube to accommodate a 2-56 brass screw.
9. Make another brass tube with some sort of "T" at the top for the back post.
10. Solder wire to the back post for a ground. Got to do it before mounting in the body or it'll be a melted mess! :lol:
11. JB weld the head light LEDs is place.
12. Hot melt glue the tail light LEDs in place, and then JB weld over that to make sure light leakage is at a minimum. 
13. Take the wired board with post soldered in place and mount to the chassis. mount the back post to the chassis also and set ride height. Once everything is set good, JB weld the board and back post to the body. 
14. Once that sets, take off the chassis and prep for wiring. I take brass strip and drill 1/16th holes in it, and tap for 2-56 screws, and then cut the block off of the strip. These get wire soldered to them and the chassis gets drilled for wiring. (one of the things I'm having trouble with is finding a good method of mounting the blocks to the chassis. JB and CA type glues don't stick very well to the chassis material. 
15. Once all that is done I solder the wires from the board to the LEDs and test.
16. If the LEDs pass the test, I remount the chassis and fine tune the ride height again. You have to take off the equivalent of the blocks. remount and check gear clearances in the back. This is critical, especially in low slung bodies like the cobras. Sometimes a little JB has to be removed to make room for the gears. You'll know because you'll see the gear imprint in the JB.
17. Testing time. Run the heck out of it to make sure the LEDs aren't duds. I had a batch that just drove me crazy. I'd get anywhere from 2 to 10 laps out of them and one would crap on me. 

That's the whole process in a nutshell. It's very time consuming lighting a car. Keep in mind, I also have to hand etch the circuit board on both sides, and drill all the lil holes for the wires. This drives my carpal tunnel wild, and makes it rather difficult to do much else for the day...


----------



## Joe65SkylarkGS

Jeez!! You even make your own boards!!! WOW!!:freak:

I never opened 1 of the 2 I have and won't. I am afraid to screw them up.

What a process bud.:drunk:


----------



## WesJY

WOW... i will have to go back and re read it again. maybe 3 times. LOL! :thumbsup:

Wes


----------



## bobhch

Enamels just can't handle the handling...hahahahahhaahhaaha

Bob...that just struck my funny bone...zilla

P.S. The Slickster is still getting driven lots & the lights work like a charm!


----------



## 1scalevolvo

:thumbsup::thumbsup:



:dude:


----------



## vansmack2

Old thread, but great info. Thanks so much. I want to try my luck with two old police car bodies, and run them on TOMY chassis with flashing LEDs.

These are the only MagnaTraction cars I have, and running them makes me remember why I got rid of my MagnaTractions when the G-Plus cars came out, and the G-Plus cars when the Super G-Plus and Turbo TOMYs came out. I like my cars to go fast and stay on the track most of the time, and the mags can't do that.

The first slots I ever had were 1/32 scale Eldon cars and they were terrible at staying on the track, but I did have a lot of fun with them. Forty three years playing with slots (never stopped), and still going.


----------



## joegri

scman i,d love to see your collection of drills n taps and glues and so on. there is so much that goes into your builds. alway enjoy your stuff.


----------



## slotcarman12078

Holy thread resurrection Batman!!  

It can be done easy enough vansmack!! 

http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/ledlights1.html 

These guys are great to work with. For a little extra they will set up 2 flashers on one circuit to save you space, and custom make it to the length wires you need, Be sure to measure your wire lengths right, and add a little for a fudge factor. Depending on the color lenses on your police cars will determine what color flashers you can use. If the lenses are clear, you can go red/blue alternating. If the lenses are red on one side, blue on the other, get one red flasher, and one blue flasher. Red won't show through a blue lens, and the other way holds true too. Tomy chassis should work, but use caution when soldering the wires on. If you go too long with the heat the plastic will start melting. Make sure you scratch the solder points first (I use an exacto to do it) and presolder your connection points. Also keep in mind your body will be tied to the chassis by the wires, so leave a little extra on the leads from the board to the chassis. Excess wire can get wound up under the hood. Attaching the board can be done in a few places, but if I recall right under the hood seemed to be the easiest location. A low temp hot melt glue gun will work for securing the board.

Good luck and have fun!! :thumbsup:


----------



## vansmack2

I would either take the Tomy chassis apart to solder wires, or possible manufacture some sort of metal strips that make contact when the chassis is installed. The metal strip contacts is the way the lighted Porsche 962s like the Blaupunkt work.

I checked out the link posted, contacted them and they have some other lights that work up to 25 volts. I will edit this later and put the link, but I have to leave now, so no time.


----------



## vansmack2

vansmack2 said:


> I would either take the Tomy chassis apart to solder wires, or possible manufacture some sort of metal strips that make contact when the chassis is installed. The metal strip contacts is the way the lighted Porsche 962s like the Blaupunkt work.
> 
> I checked out the link posted, contacted them and they have some other lights that work up to 25 volts. I will edit this later and put the link, but I have to leave now, so no time.


Here are two links that ModeltrainSoftware.com sent me.

These LEDs are good up to 25 volts:
http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/ledoutdoor.html

More lights, the page says for 1:43 scale vehicles. I will send them another email to ask what size LEDs they use on them.
http://www.modeltrainsoftware.com/1-43-emergency-lights.html


----------



## slotcarman12078

I'm pretty sure they will use whatever size you request. Here's a link you might find helpful as far as getting an idea of shapes and sizes. 

http://www.led-switch.com/

This is my source for non blinking LEDs, but as a reference site it's still useful. The flashers from Evans will be either 1.8mm. 2.0mm. 3.0mm, or 5.0mm. While 1.8 is smaller all the way around, it's a little structurally weak and care must be used when bending the anode/cathode wires. 2.0mm are a bit more solid, and the long light pipe might come in handy. If skipping the lenses on some bodies, a 3.0mm or 5.0mm might be an easy fit in the holes in the roof. 

I've yet to figure out the magic of Evans' lil boards. I've took them apart, done my best to figure them out, but still haven't got flashers to work without a big electrolytic capacitor on board. They are still to this day my blinkie LED gurus!! :thumbsup:


----------



## slotto

_This_ should be a Sticky!
-ahem


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## slotcarman12078

This is old skool compared to what I'm doing now...:tongue: That's why I let it get buried. It's fun for nostalia sake, but my early stuff is crude by comparison.


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## alpink

whatever, 
I have a stable full of lit cars/trucks and a couple blinkie police vehicles that Joe fixed/completed for me.
whatever it is called, keep up the great creations. 
and
THANK YOU


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## Redwater slot

Bump! Keep that info coming Slotcarman.:thumbsup::wave:


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