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Thread: LED's--Flame, Smoke Markers--WIP

  1. #1

    Default LED's--Flame, Smoke Markers--WIP

    I actually started this on Sails of Glory ships, but thought it might carry over to WGF and WGS. Still working on the ease of on/off and clipping on to the pegs. A few photos I've taken so far.

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  2. #2

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    Oh yes! They look fantastic. What a great idea.

    Ian

  3. #3

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    That is great looking and a good idea. Please share how you work out the base/plane/stand clipping problem.

  4. #4

    Thumbs up

    Very impressive Jim!
    looking forward to more updates.

  5. #5

  6. #6

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    Thanks all for the positive comments (and rep). I will definitely update here as I work through the process.

  7. #7

  8. #8

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    Is this competition for TeaTicket's markers?

    They look spectacular!
    Mike
    "Flying is learning to throw yourself at the ground and miss" Douglas Adams
    "Wings of Glory won't skin your elbows and knees while practicing." OldGuy59

  9. #9

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    If folks want to try this themselves there's nothing particularly complicated about the device. Gunner over on the Anchorage pointed out "led blinky" lights some time ago.

    http://www.windycitynovelties.com/re...ed-blinky.html

    Also available via Amazon and other online craft/novelty stores, etc.

    The smoke is poly stuffing you get at fabric stores or craft shops that is airbrushed a color to suit. As the lights are turned on by rotating the top I want a better way to turn them on and off without having to remove the smoke covering each time you use them. Right now the clip on the device holds it to the flight pegs, but I'd also like to improve that if I can.

    If you want big ground explosions or fires. Get some of the battery operated tea lights cover them with the same poly stuffing airbrushed as needed and hot glue the smoke to the bases. The flickering led's under the covering look pretty good on mats, etc. See below.

    http://www.windycitynovelties.com/fa...s-3-sizes.html


  10. #10

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    Cool. As I am the least crafty person I know, how can I convince you to put together a step-by-step fire & smoke tutorial with pictures?

  11. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by fast.git View Post
    Cool. As I am the least crafty person I know, how can I convince you to put together a step-by-step fire & smoke tutorial with pictures?
    LOL. OK, I'll see what I can put together. I have a box full of "smoke" drying in the basement right now. I'll take some photos as I make up a few more markers tomorrow.

  12. #12

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    Very good Jim.
    The tea lights are dirt cheap, and a lot of products come packed in fleecy material that can be teased out into smoke for free.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  13. #13

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    I gotta say, the level of talent & skill of people on these forums in general blows me away. And this is a good example of that.

  14. #14

    LOOP
    Guest


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    Quote Originally Posted by zenlizard View Post
    I gotta say, the level of talent & skill of people on these forums in general blows me away. And this is a good example of that.
    +1

  15. #15

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    Ok, Jim, they look VERY cool indeed. Now you will present an informative "How To", I suppose !
    <img src=http://www.wingsofwar.org/forums/image.php?type=sigpic&userid=2554&dateline=1409073309 border=0 alt= />
    "We do not stop playing when we get old, but we get old when we stop playing."

  16. #16

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    Reminds me of the hipster beards that are currently sporting young mens' faces at the moment. Thank goodness they do not blink on and off too. Maybe some of the fire smoke is a bit bushy (beardy), considering slip stream that would pull it out? Nevertheless it looks very effective!

  17. #17

  18. #18

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    As promised here's something of a "how to" for making the flame, fire and explosion markers using LEDs. I think it's much easier for me to do this than it is to tell one 'how to do', but feel free to ask any questions.

    This is still a work in progress as I'm not entirely satisfied with the ease of connecting the markers to the pegs and turning the blinky's off and on.

    For most projects indoors I wear eye protection. If I'm dry brushing or spray painting I'll also wear a mask. For this project I also wore some latex gloves so I could work the paint into the fill.

    Start with the polyester fill or wool roving, which you can get at most fabric or hobby stores. Get a good chunk to start with.

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    There are many LED blinky products on the market some you can get online or some at party stores or costume shops. These came from Windy City Novelties.

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    For the ground explosions I used battery powered flickering tea lights. Available like the blinky lights above. These were purchased at Michael's.

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    With a chunk of the poly fill you can either spray paint, airbrush or just dab on the paint. A lot of folks don't have airbrushes and spray painting indoors is also a problem, so I opted for using only paint applied with a brush and then worked into the fill with the latex gloves. Start with yellow on one end.

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    Next move on to red.

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    Then black over most of the back, but run some all the way up to the end as well. At the same time I chose to apply black paint to the side of the tea light to minimize side glow from the led.

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    Finally, if you choose to semi seal the smoke to keep paint from flaking off you can apply an acrylic sealer. Use a brush and work it in with the gloves. I got this particular product from an online Art Supply store (Blick Art).

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    This is the tricky part and one I'm still working on. The blinky lights have a built in clip which you can attach relatively easily to the pegs, but getting the light to stay inside the smoke/flame takes some care. I've found that you can work the flame material around the pegs and hold it in place with the clip. Then put the aircraft over some more of the flame fill and the peg holds it in place even more firmly. Making these up ahead of time with everything attached and only the lights needing to be turned on might be the best approach?

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    First shot shows the flame and smoke to be way too large for the plane.

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    So get out the scissors and trim it back until it looks more acceptable for the wind streaming it backwards. You can keep trimming until you like the effect, but remember the the led lights are bright and will show the device through the fill if you trim too much.

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    And here's the final shot with the LED blinking.

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    The ground explosion just requires you to attach the smoke cloud to the tea light using any glue you have on hand. Hot glue guns work really well and they don't gum up the fiber fill.

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    Final shot of the finished ground explosion, black paint used and the latex gloves covered in your paint work.

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    I took some short videos of the plane, ground explosion and a Sails of Glory ship on fire, which I'll try to get up on YouTube this evening. If they're acceptable I'll link them here.

    Cheers and thanks for all the positive feedback and rep. It's very much appreciated.

  19. #19

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    And here's the video footage I compiled for posting on YouTube. The Orient section starts at :52 seconds if you choose to stop there. Filming took place in near dark so it's slightly grainy, but I wanted the LEDs to shine brightly.


  20. #20

    matt56's Avatar May you forever fly in blue skies.
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    Default

    These are absolutely wonderful, Jim! Thanks for sharing the 'how-to' and supplies pictures - I look forward to trying some of these for my games.

    All the best,
    Matt

  21. #21

  22. #22

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    That Mustang is in a world of hurt!

    Those look great, Jim! Thank you!

  23. #23

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    Thanks again for all the support and rep.

    I just ordered another led product, which might allow for some significant reduction in the flame profile. If successful it would give a more realistic look to the fire and smoke. I'll update here if it works out as hoped and on the Anchorage too as it would be great for full broadsides.

  24. #24

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    Very cool Jim. I've been dabbling with flashing lights myself. A bit different than yours, have to share ideas! When I get my next ones done I'll put a how to together.

  25. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by Teaticket View Post
    Very cool Jim. I've been dabbling with flashing lights myself. A bit different than yours, have to share ideas! When I get my next ones done I'll put a how to together.
    I'm anxious to see what you've come up with. The creativity on the Drome is amazing and inspiring. Between looking at the repaint threads, reading the AARs and watching Clipper's elves in their handy work I'm not getting much actual gaming done (Sails or Wings). But it's too good to pass up all this great stuff.

  26. #26

    LOOP
    Guest


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    That burning ship looks......... hot??!!

    I searched the net for Swedish stores that sell something like this. No luck at all
    But I am not giving up

  27. #27

    LOOP
    Guest


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    That burning ship looks......... hot??!!

    I searched the net for Swedish stores that sell something like this. No luck at all
    But I am not giving up

  28. #28

    LOOP
    Guest


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    Not again!!!

  29. #29

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    Extremely ingenious, Jim. I like the blinky lights for the ground/ship effects, but I wonder if a non-blinky light for aircraft might look better?
    Certainly something I'm going to look into.
    Karl
    It is impossible for a man to begin to learn what he thinks he knows. -- Epictetus

  30. #30

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    Another great expose on the ins and outs of flames and wreckage.
    Thanks again Jim.
    I have the Tea lights, now all I need is the time to make the explosions.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  31. #31

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    Cool idea Jim, or should I say Hot !!


    I'm learning to fly, but I ain't got wings
    Coming down is the hardest thing

  32. #32

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    Quote Originally Posted by LOOP View Post
    That burning ship looks......... hot??!!

    I searched the net for Swedish stores that sell something like this. No luck at all
    But I am not giving up
    Not even Ikea? Seen them over here in the French store, don't ask how


    I'm learning to fly, but I ain't got wings
    Coming down is the hardest thing

  33. #33

    LOOP
    Guest


    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by tikkifriend View Post
    Not even Ikea?
    The tealights I have found but not the blinky, red/yellow ones....
    I will try IKEA. Thanks for the tip.

  34. #34

  35. #35

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jager View Post
    Extremely ingenious, Jim. I like the blinky lights for the ground/ship effects, but I wonder if a non-blinky light for aircraft might look better?
    Certainly something I'm going to look into.
    Karl
    There are LEDs that just glow and flicker, but the ones I've seen so far aren't small enough to mount under the plane. I've got something on order that might work better. If it does I'll add it to this thread. Fingers crossed. If you find something in your search please let us know. Thanks.

  36. #36

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    BRILLIANT! (just need to find some small LEDs in the UK). I may have a source as we speak.

  37. #37

  38. #38

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dowters View Post
    If these are the thickness of a pencil they should work great!

  39. #39

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    Do these glow and flicker?
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  40. #40

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    Just a solid glow I think Rob

  41. #41

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    http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00ESV8ES...productDetails

    These are yellow and do flicker so would seem to be the Johnies!
    (and at that price, rude not to!)
    Last edited by Dowters; 01-31-2015 at 11:55.

  42. #42

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dowters View Post
    http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00ESV8ES...productDetails

    These are yellow and do flicker so would seem to be the Johnies!
    (and at that price, rude not to!)
    Thanks Nigel.
    I just ordered a pack.
    Rob.
    "Courage is the art of being the only one who knows you're scared to death."

  43. #43

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    I've ordered some as well. Many thanks for the link!

  44. #44

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    I wanted to post a brief update on a LED item that I'd previously ordered, which arrived over the weekend. Also, a trip to Party City (a chain costume and party store here in the US) turned up an LED solution that might be best overall. I'm still waiting on the mini clips I want to use to attach the flame markers to the flight pegs, but those were back ordered and might take some time to arrive. Some photos to show the latest progress.

    These LED miniature lights (very similar to what someone above discovered) are intended for inserting in helium balloons for special light effects. They turn on by twisting the top clear shield, but I also found that you can turn them on and off by rotating the back where the batteries are inserted. I think the light is too bright but any coating of of an acrylic paint will tone them down plus you can enhance the flame effect by using orange, yellow or red colors.

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    Product ($9.99 for a pack of 12 lights), batteries can be replaced.

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    Still searching for the smallest LED set up I could find (that was battery powered) I found these on the same website that sells the LED blinky lights. Two earrings, two sets of batteries. They give off a nice amber glow without any blinking. They are a bit fiddly so I'm not sure how suitable they'd be for the gaming table. The big advantage is they're really small and could be used in a number of situations where space is limited.

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    Here's the LED earring in the flame marker.

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    Here's the pencil/balloon LED in the flame marker. With a hot glue gun it was very easy to attach the the flame marker to the plastic shield. Once I get the clips I think this will attach very easily to the flight pegs.

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    The small LED earring inside a burning Sails of Glory Orient. You can see the advantage of its minimal size and it's nice orange glow.

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    That's it for now. I'll post an update when the miniature clips arrive. Cheers!

  45. #45

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    Whoa; those LED earrings look like what I was talking about. Off to 5 Below, a tweenie discount store here in the States.
    Karl
    It is impossible for a man to begin to learn what he thinks he knows. -- Epictetus

  46. #46

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    wow - simply amazing

  47. #47

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    I can't see how the lights can get much smaller than those earrings. What a great idea! I'm going to have to give this a try

    Ian

  48. #48

  49. #49

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    I was working on something similar at the end of last year, but I got distracted before I got to the photos.
    I was looking at using them to generate flak.

    Good to know I was on the right track.

  50. #50

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    Quote Originally Posted by QB Fox View Post
    I was working on something similar at the end of last year, but I got distracted before I got to the photos.
    I was looking at using them to generate flak.

    Good to know I was on the right track.
    Cool idea! They could be mounted just like the cloud markers on plastic rods and the blinky lights would be great for flack! Thanks for that idea.

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