Let the sunshine in

Ever since trying out my office puck lights above the layout, I’ve been on the lookout for a suitable product for the layout itself. The ultra-slim LED lights from Globe have been calling to me from their shelf at Rona for a couple of months, and this weekend I finally caved in and picked one […]

RGBW

I’ve never been happy with the wash of lights on the backdrop. Not only is the effect terminally subtle for sunrise and sunset, but when turned to bright daylight white, the colour is much too blue, especially when photographed. A short while ago, I found out that light strips are available in Red-Green-Blue and White. […]

Lighting test

With all the working from home, not to mention additional TV time in the space that Pembroke shares with other family activities, I decided I would add some lights into the sub-layout cubby that passes for an office and photo booth. I had to pick up some other items at Rona and found a set […]

Revisiting the Light Wash

Eighteen months ago, Andrew and I ran some experiments to see if I could improve the effect of light washing up the backdrop. I was disappointed with the result, being too subtle to simulate sunrise or sunset. I was pretty much ready to replace the RGB strips with a simple white strip. This week, I […]

Limned?

So, we’ve established that the RGB strip of lights is a little too subtle as it stands. So, when Andrew was over the other night, I wondered aloud if painting the clouds a little impasto could light them up. You see, you can see the RGB colours on the ceiling, so perhaps they might show […]

Sunrise, Sunset

This week, Andrew and I installed the remaining lights for Pembroke. There are now five strips of LEDs pointing down: three cool white and two warm white. As anticipated, the extra strip of warm white adds a little more – well – warmth. These strips were from a second manufacturer, and I must say the […]

Home Spectroscopy

Since I primed the backdrop, every time I look at it with the layout lights on, it feels awfully blue. So, I decided to see if I could really understand what is going on with the lights. This Saturday, we mostly had rain (go figure, it’s Vancouver!), and so, the kids and I set off […]

And there was Light

Andrew came by last night, and I think it was the first time we have ever achieved what I’d hoped in the time available. At first it didn’t look like we would achieve anything. We opened the container of contact cement that I’d bought on Sunday, and found it had gone off. Looking at my […]

Soldering up LED Light Strips

When it comes to bending, the LED light strips act a little like thick tape. They will go around quite a broad curve, but you have to break them to go around a sharp corner. Fortunately, every third LED, the strips have a line where they can be cut, and little solder pads to wire […]

First strip of lights goes up (temporarily)

Andrew came over last night, and we installed the first strip of LED lights to try it out over the whole layout. As I mentioned previously, one strip is definitely not enough. Also we both agree that the mixture of warm white and cool white is more pleasant than just the cool white (shown below). […]