LED headlights and tailights

[eldo60]

i have a mpc 1/16 '57 corvette with wiring for headlights and tailights,

has any used or know where to get a lighting kit etc. for a 1/24-1/25 scale models, i think it would spice up the finished car

[SpikeSchumacher]

Hi Russ,

Give these people a try:

https://evandesigns.com/collections/hobby-leds

Good customer service, and a wide array of products that would work for your application.

Cheers?

Edited February 8, 2023 by SpikeSchumacher

[Ace-Garageguy]

LED circuits for head and taillights in model cars are among the simplest known to man (assuming nothing flashing).

Great opportunity to do a little research and learn something about low voltage DC electricity.

I got my start in electronics working with model trains over 60 years ago, and It's helped me immensely in my career.

Here's a place to start.      https://www.instructables.com/LED-Lighting-in-Plastic-Models/

Ebay has loads of cheap pre-wired LEDs with integral resistors that will work for you just fine.

All you need besides the LEDs themselves is a power supply (depending on the LEDs you choose, you may be able to use tiny batteries) and a hidden switch.

Edited February 8, 2023 by Ace-Garageguy

[Ace-Garageguy]

58 minutes ago, SpikeSchumacher said:

Give these people a try:

https://evandesigns.com/collections/hobby-leds

 

Here's a kit. You choose the voltage, whether warm or cool light, power supply, etc.

https://evandesigns.com/collections/hobby-leds/products/lights-for-your-die-cast-1-43-or-slot-car-1-32?variant=40682873749552

Edited February 8, 2023 by Ace-Garageguy

[Richard Bartrop]

I miss the days when I could just go to the back of the Radio Shack, look over the peg boards full of components, and just mull over the possibilities.

I've lit up a few model spaceships, and am not an electronics wiz by any means, so I concur that this stuff is dead simple.

There are (or were.  It's been a while) LEDs with built in flashers, so even flashing lights can be pretty simple.

DIP switches are nice if you want a really tiny switch you can stick in some out of the way place.  If you don't want to buy, if someone you know is scrapping a computer, the circuit boards can be counted on to have some.

 

 

[Michael jones]

There are some rules, like don't put the red LED's in parallel with white LED's. The white LED's will not work due voltage difference. I have used all white LED's and painted the white LED's red to get the correct effect. It is not as simple as it seems....

 

Edited February 9, 2023 by Michael jones

[Steve H]

I’m sure there’s a few sources, but Evan’s Designs are great. As mentioned above, great products, great service, very helpful website.

[Duddly01]

I use Evan's for LEDs for my kits and they are great. I bought some cheaper ones off Amazon and they were not nearly as bright. Sometimes it is true, you get what you pay for. 

 

[peteski]

On 2/8/2023 at 11:48 PM, Michael jones said:

There are some rules, like don't put the red LED's in parallel with white LED's. The white LED's will not work due voltage difference. I have used all white LED's and painted the white LED's red to get the correct effect. It is not as simple as it seems....

When you get more advanced in your LED knowledge you will find out that you can operate multiple (any color) LEDs connected in parallel with the power source,. You just have to use series-connected resistor with each LED.  You can also use those resistors to control brightness of the LEDs