Lighting for Scale Models

[schwei22]

I'm sure most of you are familiar with Thematics LightBox, if not check it out it's awesome. The issue with that is it costs a lot of money. I was looking for a way that my lighting students could light models in a more realistic way than I have seen in the past. No I do not want clip lights. I was hoping to find some smaller (focusable) lamps that I could have a series of front, side, down, back, and something to wash the cyc all individually controled by rheostat dimmers. Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. I looked into fiber optics and didn't really find a cost effective solution. I was hoping to keep this project below $1500. As always thanks.

 

[Derickls]

Have you looked at Darklight? http://www.darklightsystem.com/ They are all LED and have controllers. Saw them at LDI and they looked like some good fixtures

 

[DELO72]

Try www.Luxam.com

http://www.luxam.com/product_micro.html

They make a variety of Fiber Optic solutions that are small with great capability. Not sure on the pricing....

 

[schwei22]

Looks like they both would be great! Called both places they are putting together a package for me for a quote. Sounds like the Darklight I can do for under $1000. Not sure about the Luxam yet. I'm more inclined to the darklight right now.

 

[hobbsies]

Arduino + some LEDs.

 

[BillESC]

Looks like they both would be great! Called both places they are putting together a package for me for a quote. Sounds like the Darklight I can do for under $1000. Not sure about the Luxam yet. I'm more inclined to the darklight right now.

Lots of fixtures to choose from with Darklight.

 

[gafftaper]

I saw a Darklight demo at USITT it's a very slick product. Tiny but powerful and seemed well built. It's also fairly flexible, allowing you to easily change and add on to your system. They've also been kind enough to become an advertiser here on CB.

 

[thrilltainment]

Hello, I noticed you guys looking at our products (Darklight) so I wanted to chime in =)

Our products were originally designed for dark rides and Halloween venues... in the past 2 years, we've shifted into the theatrical and architectural lighting realm with more multipurpose fixtures, some of which have replaced fiber optics applications (we have several museum applications including Boston MFA and the Getty Museum putting our products into great use). At USITT and LDI, many people have approached us about using our fixtures for scaled models or miniature theater mock ups. In particular, the Precision Alpha is one of the most versatile fixtures we offer because it allows you to adjust color, beam angle, and brightness with the included filters and diffusers. The fixture less than 3" long and about 1/2" diameter.


I would say the Precision Alpha can be used to simulate a par light on a smaller scale. It can also be controlled using our DMX compatible dimmers.

If you're looking for full color control, we also have DMX controlled RGBW fixtures like this one:

If you really want to go all out, we even offer a micro gobo projector:

Price wise, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised on how affordable our products are compared to fiber optics.

Please let me know if you have additional questions.

- Quan, Darklight

 

[RikkiHands]

Hi Darklight folks -- Hey I had a question about the connectors for the little darklight -- I've had problems with those 2.1 mm plugs and fanouts before -- is there a particular system that Darkight recommends as the most durable for a long-term installation?

 

[schwei22]

Here's the lightbox I made using darklight, once I got all the parts I never had an issue. They made male to male plugs for me.
Mini Light Lab - STS DESIGNS

 

[RikkiHands]

That's very cool! Nice work.

 

[Beans45601]

I love a bit of good light on a model, but it's important to remember that just like water, light does not scale.