How to lighten up Modular Houses best?

[GCO]

Hi everybody

I used the search but couldn't find something on lighting up Modular Houses, but I guess it was discussed here somewhere. If yes, maybe you can share the link.

If not, what is the best way to lighten up my city? I found several suppliers but not sure which one would be best for my application. My houses are on a shelf wich is a tiny bit wider than 32 studs and three meters long (yes, I know, I ran out of space for all Modular Houses). On one side is a wall socket. I do not have space for one or more multi sockets behind the Lego buildings and I do not want to modify any bricks!

Can you guys recommend something? Preferably ready.made kits.
Thanks for your help in advance,

Georg

[AFOLguy1970]

Are you referring to something like this?

https://www.lightmybricks.com/collections/lego-modular-buildings-light-kits

I think these are battery based and therefore will not depend on where your outlets are.  I cannot say I have ever tried a kit as they are not cheap, but they might be something to consider.  

[GCO]

11 hours ago, AFOLguy1970 said:

Are you referring to something like this?

https://www.lightmybricks.com/collections/lego-modular-buildings-light-kits

I think these are battery based and therefore will not depend on where your outlets are.  I cannot say I have ever tried a kit as they are not cheap, but they might be something to consider.  

Yes, that's exactly what I meant. There are several different kits around from different companies, some expensive, some not so much and I have no idea which to choose.
I once bought several 1x6 and 1x8 plates with LEDs and USB connection, which are okay, but kind of universal. Would prefer some adapted kit for the respective building.

[Joebot]

Brick Loot also sells individual lighting kits designed for Modulars and other sets. I got this one for Christmas, and it's very cool.

https://www.amazon.com/Brick-Loot-Fishing-Lighting-Included/dp/B07FXTNH4N/ref=sr_1_12?keywords=loot+bricks+lighting+kit&qid=1578067854&sr=8-12

 

It's expensive, for sure, but very high quality parts and a clever design. 

[GCO]

On 1/3/2020 at 5:15 PM, Joebot said:

Brick Loot also sells individual lighting kits designed for Modulars and other sets. I got this one for Christmas, and it's very cool.

https://www.amazon.com/Brick-Loot-Fishing-Lighting-Included/dp/B07FXTNH4N/ref=sr_1_12?keywords=loot+bricks+lighting+kit&qid=1578067854&sr=8-12

 

It's expensive, for sure, but very high quality parts and a clever design. 

Thanks for your assessment, Joebot.

[adwind]

I really like the idea with "IBrix", hoping they are going to develop it because it really needs some improvements. In fact the only lightning system I would spend my money on. 

[ER0L]

On 1/3/2020 at 12:14 AM, GCO said:

If not, what is the best way to lighten up my city? I found several suppliers but not sure which one would be best for my application. 

[...] and I do not want to modify any bricks

Can you guys recommend something? Preferably ready.made kits.

In my opinion the best supplier for devices to lighten up your Lego city is - Lego. Also because it's, well, Lego. Especially the Light & Sound stuff (high quality electric parts still working well today which don't even cost much, see Bricklink) is quite helpful here. This way you don't need any third party parts (and definitely no modified bricks). I'm using a combination of PF LEDs and L&S lights for my City layout, even for vehicles. If you're interested in such things, you may want to take a look here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/er0l/albums/72157646066952981

[ShaydDeGrai]

Maybe I'm just cheap and not especially picky, but when it comes to (uniformly) lighting large structures (like a modular or a City street) I've had good luck with plain old Christmas white LED strands.  I happened across them in an after christmas sale a few years ago  - three foot strand, battery box with switch, one bulb about every 3 inches.  The brand I picked up were some generic made for Ace Hardware the LEDs were a snug fit for a Technic axle hole or the inside of a trans 1x1 round  and the wire was fine enough to bury in the gap created by two palisade bricks side by side.  It's not a great solution if you only want one or two lights; hiding an unwanted light mid-strand is a pain; and, all your switches control lights by the dozen - not the room, but at $3 a strand, I got two dozen lights (with battery boxes and switches) for the price of a single PF LED cable from Lego.

[Toastie]

On 1/9/2020 at 10:00 PM, ShaydDeGrai said:

Maybe I'm just cheap and not especially picky

Same here!

What I do is getting several metric meters or imperial yards of these RGB LED strands. You can cut them every 10 - 15 cm (3.93700787401574 - 5.90551181102 inch) to length. Then I get the required 12V controllers (including remote!) for about $3 each from China. Very little soldering is required - and then you have full control: A TV set is "simulated" by the "fade" program set to fast; in addition all colors can be created easily. Its fun. And cheap. And very powerful.

All the best,
Thorsten

 

 

[LegoDW]

Lot of options for lighting Modulars.  RGB pixels are great, you need some computer control to individually control the pixels  (i.e. light each pixel different color....you can vary they warmth of the light....also you could light any color you desire).  The RGB lighting where the whole string is the same color works well too.  Issue here is all the lights will be the same color....cannot vary the warmth of your white lights.  Going with Christmas LED's is another great option.  LED's tend to be more cold lighting...blue tint.  

Easiest option is to find some Christmas white light you like.  If you can find a set of warm white and one of cold white bulbs then you could make your own string and be good to go.  What really helps is if you can vary the warmth (color) of the bulbs per building.  This helps set things apart and gives a great look.

[Wimee]

Another option is to buy SMD LED's, resistors, thin wire and do the soldering by yourself. It's less expensive but more time consuming. 

[Wimee]

Lego modular building led by Wimee Home, on Flickr

The wire is thin enough to be placed almost invisible between plate and brick.

[Wimee]

I'm using pogo pins (spring loaded pin connectors) and gold plated surfaces (SIM cards) to connect the floors of the modular buildings which each other.

P1070591a by Wimee Home, on Flickr

P1070592b by Wimee Home, on Flickr

[Lion King]

Hello! I just started building Brickstopia (my modular city’s name) since April I have Police Station, Boutique Hotel, Jazz Club and Bookshop. I’m working on Downtown Diner, and I will work on Corner Garage and Parisian Restaurant later. 

So… I just decided that I want to light up my city!

I have read this thread but i see the last post dated back to Feb 2020. I wonder if there are any update on lighting methods as of Oct 2023?

[higgins91]

Hi, there are several options for illuminating your buildings.
There are ready-made kits but they are expensive.
Or DIY, you can buy micro LEDs that must be soldered to very fine wires. Either buy LED garlands (micro LED) that can be cut according to your needs and supplied with 5V (with a series resistor)
I put LEDs in all my modulars, there are photos in my album here are some:

IMG_20220109_150532 by alex peraux, sur Flickr

IMG_20180303_152846 by alex peraux, sur Flickr

contact between floors:

IMG_20180303_153025 by alex peraux, sur Flickr

 

[CoNSpiracy]

On 10/10/2023 at 8:10 PM, higgins91 said:

Or DIY, you can buy micro LEDs that must be soldered to very fine wires. Either buy LED garlands (micro LED) that can be cut according to your needs and supplied with 5V (with a series resistor)

Thanks for this input. Could you please elaborate on the "series resistor" part? Do you mean that I need to add a resistor myself if I cut the LED garlands string?

I am thinking about buying these LEDs (I assume they are 5V since they are powered by USB).

[higgins91]

you need to ad a resistor if you cut the garlands (for the cut part).

The garland on ebay is the one i think, there is a resistor in the USB connector (to be powered into 5V)

 

[CoNSpiracy]

4 hours ago, higgins91 said:

you need to ad a resistor if you cut the garlands (for the cut part).

The garland on ebay is the one i think, there is a resistor in the USB connector (to be powered into 5V)

 

But how come then that you can cut LED strip lights without adding a resistor? 
 

Also, the search result from googling “cutting fairy lights (garland)” suggests that this can be done without any problems?

Edited October 12, 2023 by CoNSpiracy

[Lion King]

On 10/10/2023 at 2:10 PM, higgins91 said:

Hi, there are several options for illuminating your buildings.
There are ready-made kits but they are expensive.
Or DIY, you can buy micro LEDs that must be soldered to very fine wires. Either buy LED garlands (micro LED) that can be cut according to your needs and supplied with 5V (with a series resistor)
I put LEDs in all my modulars, there are photos in my album here are som

I just ask for recommdaiton on ready-made kits rather than DIY ones. I have BlingBrick (I think it’s called correctly) and I like it. But I was told that if I remove any section of modular building (floors plus roof) very carefully or I would disconnect lighting system. I would like to look into other options. 

I’m not sure about DIY since I’m visually impaired so it would be challenging for me to make lighting system myself. So I will pass. 

[Borex]

I do not have lights in my set-up yet. What i do wonder, because i’m interested in using lights as well, things like heat or what it does to the colors of the bricks, do i need to worry about that sort of stuff? 

[MAB]

On 10/12/2023 at 10:19 AM, CoNSpiracy said:

Thanks for this input. Could you please elaborate on the "series resistor" part? Do you mean that I need to add a resistor myself if I cut the LED garlands string?

I am thinking about buying these LEDs (I assume they are 5V since they are powered by USB).

It depends if they are wired in series or parallel. These cheap ones are often wired as a combination of both, so that the voltage is about equal to the forward voltage of the whole thing so they can avoid adding even a very cheap resistor. So if you cut it, you need some extra resistance. For red ones (that have low voltage, there are often two LEDs in series as this gives a forward voltage of about 5V, then lots of these pairs in parallel. However, white LEDs are typically about 4-5V anyway, so you might get away with cutting them without using a resistor. They are cheap enough, just try it. The worst that can happen is you blow the LEDs.

2 hours ago, Borex said:

I do not have lights in my set-up yet. What i do wonder, because i’m interested in using lights as well, things like heat or what it does to the colors of the bricks, do i need to worry about that sort of stuff? 

Heat from LEDs every 10 cm apart is minimal. Personally, I find they look a little better if you cover the LED with a bit of diffuser - either a posh one cut from an old phone or laptop screen or just a bit of scratched up clear or translucent plastic or even a blob of hot glue. That helps to spread the light a little.