I thought about the time factor, I will be experimenting with the same stuff I coated our living room table with, would take numerous coats and yellowing of the blues and green hue of the painted substrate may not be noticable,Good luck with the water! I'm leaning toward using an acrylic medium. Supposedly, it dries clear, and is water soluble. I'd be worried about the polyurethane turning yellow over time. But then... water has some yellow tint, so maybe it wouldn't be bad if it did.
Thanks, Kleiner; these lights came with a two part feeder wires with tiny plugs for connecting. Made the under the bench work pretty much of a snap as I could connect one end to my accessory feeder bus then just plug it into the wires that came down from the lamp post.Love the lighting - really helps the layout come alive! I bought a similar set of street lights from eBay and they work great. The only nuisance is that you have to be super careful in threading the wires under the layout.
All the small details like the liting is something I’ve always had a hard time with. Have you ever given any thought to painting a backdrop on the walls?
I use to be terrified about painting a backdrop and then I met Chris Lyon online and became friends and even travelled to Ottawa to go out on a backdrop painting mission and to this day both my rooms that house my layout have painted backdrops, I do have to touch up some of the conifers a bit but otherwise it looks good. I think this link will work https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLooCgu3lwlGd6HjZBG-rfJ-DxTwc5KvnpThere will be some clouds probably, also considering putting some flat structure fronts by the Wyoming depot. The blue color is supposed to be the sky, but you probably noticed the texture on the walls, not sure how I will proceed.
I know I for sure will not be purchasing a pre made backdrop.
I seem to go in fits and starts, also have so much stuff I purchased while living in an apartment I will put something on my work bench then gradually incorporate it. Still have 3 other lights to place, then can cross that project off!
Thanks for commenting, Lynnb!
I use to be terrified about painting a backdrop and then I met Chris Lyon online and became friends and even travelled to Ottawa to go out on a backdrop painting mission and to this day both my rooms that house my layout have painted backdrops, I do have to touch up some of the conifers a bit but otherwise it looks good. I think this link will work https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLooCgu3lwlGd6HjZBG-rfJ-DxTwc5Kvnp
Heres another https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLooCgu3lwlGeRtYf1uHUph8gzKJ9pAXEm
Yes, the wires are a little thin, I usually solder some thicker wire on the ends, makes it easier to get a good connection in the blocks too.Love the lighting - really helps the layout come alive! I bought a similar set of street lights from eBay and they work great. The only nuisance is that you have to be super careful in threading the wires under the layout.
Thats a great idea, Smudge!Yes, the wires are a little thin, I usually solder some thicker wire on the ends, makes it easier to get a good connection in the blocks too.
Ah! They are a different type to the ones I get, mine are 3 wires, 2 with pre soldered resistors and 1 earth, the hole I drill is just large enough to let the resistor through which is also the same size as the base of the lamp.Thats a great idea, Smudge!
You may be surprised but I do not own a soldering gun. Nothing soldered on my layout. Wrap wires around a couple times and seal with some expensive electric tape which stretches real well and grabs like a crab. When I tore down the old layout these were hard to take apart.
These lights came with 2 part wires and a plug connector, so the wire to the feeder is easily connected without being attached to the lamp, then plugged into the lamp.
Those really skinny wires I sometimes use the razor blade to sever the insulating sheath, often use my teeth (big no no but thats how I do it) to strip it off. I have a stripper/cutter tool sometimes works on 20 ga or 22 ga wire.