Bill N. from Georgia

tertium · April 25

Hi Folks,

I got back into the hobby a couple of years ago after a hiatus of 60 years. I'm currently halfway through O'Neill's in O scale and really enjoying it. Brett's kits are incredibly good and I've got the Brass Works and Blue Sky waiting in the wings.

I'm retired from 50 years in the electrical and electronics business so every thing I build ends up with some sort of lighting system addition. My O'Neill's system is run on batteries, switches and dimmer controls that are completely hidden in the base and scenery PXL_20240414_193446113

vietnamseabee · April 25

Welcome aboard, Bill….great looking O’Niells
Terry

Jerry · April 25

Great looking model. And welcome to the forum Bill.

Jerry

Jim M · April 25

Welcome. I loved building O'Neill's. You're doing a great job. Love your lighting solution.

CarlLaskey · April 25

The door is open so come on in Bill.........Nice work by the way .........Carl........

tertium · April 25

Thanks for the comments, guys. I'll post a few progress pics tonight. Question: I need to know where I can source plain O gauge rail. The ties are already in place

Karl.A · April 26

Welcome to the forum Bill, your build is coming along so very nicely.
Lighting is something many of us shy away from,
I cant wait to see your beauty all lit up and shining the way.

tertium · April 26

Here's the basic electrical system. The one section of base is removable so that batteries can be changed after the main building is glued in place. The lighting is controlled by three separate switches, two 3V systems; one for the pole lights and the building outside flood lamps. The other 3V circuit is for an Evans Design 3 nano-LED fire unit that will be inside the fire barrel. These are switched on/off by separate push buttons hidden inside the base in the lower corners. The main buildings and the welding shop are run as 18v (two 9v in series) through a Woodlands Scenic Just Plug It 4 circuit dimmer control that's buried into the base but the dimmer controls are accessible and will be concealed in foliage near the fencing so that they can be adjusted by a small screw driver. There are 3 circuits in the main building and tower and one for the welding shop so they are all individually dimmable to different levels. PXL_20240417_015610667

tertium · April 26

Karl.A said:
Welcome to the forum Bill, your build is coming along so very nicely.
Lighting is something many of us shy away from,
I cant wait to see your beauty all lit up and shining the way.

Thanks, Karl. I've gotten a lot of inspiration from your work. Lighting may seem to be difficult for some but it's a lot easier than people think and it's absolutely essential that it's well planned out schematically and practically. I had to get pretty inventive to pack this all in so that the system and its controls are virtually invisible but still be able to service the battery systems easily

Robert.G · April 26

Welcome Bill, O'Neills is a great kit and the use of lightning always adds that little extra to a diorama. Nice work !!

TomMich · April 26

Welcome to the forum. Your O'Neils build is outstanding. The lighting adds so much.

glandesjr · April 26

Welcome to the forum Bill. Your OP'Neill's looks great. I see you used for some of your lights the Woodland Scenics Just Plug system. I've been using power distribution boards from wehonest_china on ebay that allow you to plug in as many as 20 lights so you only need one board. Bbuying from China is not my favorite thing, but these guys have been very responsive, deliver on time, and the boards work great. They also speak English well. Just a thought and again, we're glad you've joined.

glandesjr · April 26

Here's a picture

tertium · April 26

I can see where your solution could be very useful and I considered that method but the need for easily accessed individually adjustable dimmer circuits made me go with the JPI, plus I had some spares around and I just didn't have the real estate to use a board like this and the power supply. Thanks for the suggestion and I will definitely consider this in the future.

Here's what the initially landscaped work looks like - just the base dirt ground cover. The switches are in the lower corners and the dimmers are in the upper right and all of these will be hidden by some bushes, grass or clutter. PXL_20240426_160226225.PORTRAIT

randyp · April 29

nice looking building Bill. I like your pealing paint. The lights do add a lot to the model. Randy

tertium · May 6

Thanks randy, I'm well into the welding shop interior details now

KKarns · July 26

Welcome Bill. You have now been elevated to electrical technical director! Love well lit projects despite not being well versed myself.

Howdy, Stranger!

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Bill N. from Georgia

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