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LED lighting for small spaces


cloudbound

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I'm working on a new 1:48-scale dollhouse and I'd like to have plenty of lights inside.  Plus I'd like to have some 'canned lights' coming out of the ceiling in the kitchen work area.  But I was worried about needing the lights in such confined and small spaces that getting the wood walls/ceilings might be dangerous.  I used a 6-light set of battery-operated LED lights for a smaller 1:48-scale house and they worked fine but with this house there will be a lot more lights.  I'm thinking at least a dozen, possibly even up to 16 or more with the kitchen lights.  Has anyone done the larger-scale lighting with battery-operated LED lights?  The 6-light battery-operated set I used had a 'coin' cell battery.  But would that be enough for 16 lights?  Maybe even 18 lights?  I'm still working on the blueprints right now but now is the time to figure this out.  I'd appreciate any hints.  I purchased my last two sets of the battery-operated LED lights from Evans Designs - any other suggestions?

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  I've got a set of 20 really teeny Christmas lights on wire with a battery.  But I will have three stories of house.  Hmm...  No, its not a misprint - I want loads of lights.  Not that they have to be really bright but when its done I would like it to look as realistic as I can.  That's part of fun & challenge - getting it to look realistic.  Like MikeUK does but I want it really small.  I have no room for another big dollhouse. And besides, working on the 1:48 scale is SO much easier.  No going out to the garage to pull my jigsaw out for cutting wood.  All the wood for 1:48-scale houses can be done right on my desk with my little Xacto saw!  Maybe if you see the house that is the 'inspiration' for the house I want to build you will see why so many lights.  There are lights all OVER the place.

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Well Holly - that is my INSPIRATION.  I know ahead of time that I won't achieve perfection.  But I hope to get the 'feel' of the modern lines and rich wood and/or stone surfaces throughout.  Plus all that lighting.  I even look forward to building the tiny furniture pieces.  Oh - I finished the bottom floor staircase and the front door too.

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I bought three sets of them so I can do a little experimenting...  I don't wanna blow the house up :)  I watched video after video this morning hoping to find ONE that dealt with dollhouse LED lighting systems.  No luck.  I'll put on my Dr. Frankenstein lab coat and wield my soldering gun.  

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You can cut them but you can't connect the cut off pieces to a new battery pack or tapewire system without a resistor. However, I didn't try adding onto an existing strip. Let me know how that goes.

They are cool to the touch so you won't have any heat issues.

While everyone in Florida was searching for D and C batteries for their flashlights, I bought a bunch of these. There were plenty of AA batteries in all of the stores. They lit up bathrooms and bedrooms (dark from hurricane shutters) for days. Love these little guys.

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Fireplace and kitchen set-up done.  One of the door handles on the fridge fell off while I was fiddling with the pieces.  Grr...  I faced the fridge with some textured black plastic I cut from a school folder but it is NOT cooperating with the glue.  I still need to figure out the backsplash and wall color in the kitchen - teeny as it may be I still want it to match with the general feel of the house.  This 1:48-scale house is SO much fun to work on.  My Xacto knife and saw are all I need to cut the wood.  

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It is all fantastic - but I AM IN LOVE WITH YOUR FIREPLACE!!!!!!!!!!! WHeeeeeEEEeeee! It is so rare to see unique 1:48 fireplaces and this is a great one!

Fantastic work! You need to put a penny in there for scale - because some won't know how tiny this is. It is so amazingly tiny!!! WOW!

Awesome papers, too!

 

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Mike UK often comes to mind while I'm working on this.  I ask myself, "What would Mike think of this?"  He has that knack for keeping the lines clean.  I was working on ceiling light fixtures last night and I thought of Mike and realized I needed to back up and fix one of them that wasn't quite right.  I wonder at times how he gets things so perfectly squared.  The stonework is just the 'bumpy paper' (eBay seller from Greece sells it) that I used on two of my standard dollhouses and I reduced the size using my printer.  

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2 hours ago, cloudbound said:

Mike UK often comes to mind while I'm working on this.  I ask myself, "What would Mike think of this?"  

I think Mike would love it, and he would be incredibly impressed you were doing it in quarter scale. :) I absolutely love what you're doing.  That front door and fireplace are both gorgeous!  (I tried to comment yesterday, but the comments section was giving me fits.)  Looking forward to seeing more.

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New kitchen pieces.  I thought my first kitchen (black & white) was just a bit 'off' with no focus on the wood and/or stone that I want throughout this house.  So I just finished this new kitchen.  I still need to figure out what the backsplash and wall space above the sink should be.  

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24 minutes ago, cloudbound said:

...what the backsplash and wall space above the sink should be...

MikeUK would be so proud!  I would "do" tilework up to the bottom of the window over the sink, and I would use paint sample chips to make the tiles (using shades of gold, cream & dark brown) and hit it with a coat of gloss sealer when done.

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