For many years, adding lighting effects, such as Object Source Lighting (OSL) has been a technique used to add a little realism to our models. Now, some people are taking it one stage further, by adding
actual lights. Today, I'll be having a look at one of the sets available, from
Blood And Skulls Industry.
The kit I have here, the
Illuminare LED kit, in green, costs $8 (currently £4.81 for us brits. For that you get four 3mm LED bulbs of your chosen colour (blue, red, green, amber, white or a custom set of your design), a battery pack with switch, and two resin light housings. You do not get a battery to power the set, but all you need is a watch battery (type CR2032), and you can get packs of those for around £1.
The mess of wires might look confusing, but it is a very simple process to wire up the kit: red wires to red, black ones to black. Use a pair of needle-nosed pliers to twist the wires together, and there you go. You will need to strip back a bit of the plastic wire coating to access enough wire, and perhaps use some tape to secure the wiring afterwards. You don't want it all coming undone inside of your tank!
The housings are designed to replace the standard ones you might find on a Rhino APC. They are a similar size and shape, and should look right on the model. They can fit onto other models with a bit of trimming. The bulbs will need to be glued in with a dab of super glue, as they can pop out quite easily. Be careful when gluing, too much glue could frost the bulbs.
The hard part of this kit is getting everything into the tank. For the bulbs, you will need to cut out holes in your tank to allow the wires to pass through. Also you'll need access to the inside of the tank, so you can put the switch inside. You could also simply glue it to the underside, but you'll still need to drill holes for the wiring. The best way to do this is to wire up the tank mid-build, when you have access to the internals. Failing that, or if wiring up a pre-built tank, tanks with large access hatches, like rhinos and Land Raiders, are far easier to work with. As an aside, it is probably best to install the bulbs after painting, as to prevent paint covering the bulbs.
The bulbs are quite bright for their price, and will certainly add a extra bit of noticeable detail to your tanks.
This kit is certainly a great value set for those who are new to lighting up tanks, buildings and terrain. It is simple to follow and can be quite customisable to suit your needs. To finish off, here's how the lights look on my Chaos Spartan Assault Tank. The housings have been trimmed
