Realistic modern working street lights

[Dieselhead]

After much hunting I could not find the type of streetlights I was after. Basically those light green ones that have been around since the seventies. So, I decided to make my own, and share the method with you all. each lamp costs about £1.50 to make.
The items reqd are:

- 2x0.3mm tube. From B&Q. cost appx £2.80 a metre. (This will make about 9 lamposts)
- 1 pack of 3mm Stanley rivits. From B&Q. 15 in a pack. Cost appx £2.70
- 1.8mm Grain of rice bulbs. These will run off 12Vdc or 16VAC. Available on Ebay etc. Cost Appx 70p ea
- Pack of Tesco value plastic teaspons. Pack of 50 costs 45p.
- Tin of Humbrol Matt No90



First up, Insert a a piece of old wire inside the tube (the wire should be a nice snug fit in the hole). and bend the end of the tube using something like a marker pen. Make the bent part a little too long, this can be trimmed off later to get the right length. (The Piece of wire will stop the tube collapsing when you bend it).



Remove the wire and trim the two ends to the desired length, the long section should be slightly too long, this will act as supprt on your baseboard. You want a nice clean cut, so the hole ends dont get blocked. I used a dremmel cutting wheel.





Insert the bulb into the tube. Do not glue it in.



Pull the top hat part of a rivit off and slide over the end of the tube. Glue in place with superglue. Make ure you leave some overhang



Cut a small section off the end of one of the spoons.



Glue this on top of the bulb and when set, give it all a coat of paint.



You are all done. If the bulb ever blows, you should be able to pop the lamp cover off and thread a new bulb in.

[GROTLAND]

Thanks DH!

That's some really good ideas and a brilliant write up.

[Dad-1]

Hi Dieselhead,

Good looking light at a price that makes this well worth trying. I calculate 8 coming out at around £13 and still having a few bits spare.
First class job !!!

Geoff T.

[briantwigley]

Have to say, very very good. I'm might have a go at some dummies of this.

[0121modeller]

Nice idea & a neat model you've made there DH, my one & only concern would be that those GOW bulbs get pretty hot after a minuit or so , therefore possibly melting the plastic cover fitted ?

I've tried something similar myself & the GOW started to melt the white slaters plasticard bulb covers on a roadway underpass i modelled


Not sure about more heat resistant plastics & in this case the end tip of a plastic spoon, I'd imagine you'd need to lower the voltage as to dim the lamps & so reducing heat output.

Cheers,
Dave.

[briantwigley]

I'd have tried it with a tiny LED

[mikeuk54]

What scale would this be?

Mike

[GunnerBill]

That is brilliant!

I'm also wondering if you could replace the wire/bulb with a fibre optic from a single light source ala one of those fibre-optic ornamental light thingies...

Would save on bulbs and perhaps be easier on power if there was many to do. You could also control luminesence and colour!!

[jus]

I've just been having a go at this and have come across a couple of issues and a possible solution of sorts.

I'm struggling to find wire that is small enough to allow 2 cores to be passed down the tube. Also, when I checked, the plastic spoons in Tesco were different, and couldnt be used.

My solution to the first problem is to use the brass tube as the return feed, meaning only one wire has to pass throughout the tube. It does mean that the top cover needs to be a bit larger, to cover any soldering.

As for the spoon issue, I'm gonna try black painted paper straws to start with.

If it works out, I'll let you know

[Hulldude15]

I tried something similar, less realistic but even cheaper, didn't pay a thing except for the bulbs. Because they're on the underground station which is pretty dark, looks weren't a big priority, but I quite like how they look. I used those small cheapy cheap paint tubs that you get for painting garden gnomes and other kids paint-yourself jobbies. Cut off the lid and about a third of the tub, it fitted perfectly a straw.

[rhiwderin_ray]

Looks really good. I must say I didn't have the confidence to make mine. Instead I used a company called Kyte's Lights. They are excellent and less expensive than most. Particularly their Yard Tower light.
Ray

[tractor37]

Just stumbled across this thread.. Excellent way to make the squire.. Shall be attempting some of my own before long. Need around a hundred and I think this will be a whole lot cheaper than buying premade lights...
Jas...

[Forfarian]

Hi
I have just started to make street lights as per the original post with a few modifications.
1- I have used 2.5 GoW bulbs and 3mm OD brass tube
2 - I have cut back and soldered the black wire on the bulb to the brass tube, it's easier than trying to thread the 2 wires down the tube.
3 - I have used 5mm pop rivets its more a realistic size for a light standard.
4 - I have fitted the rivet on the tube and then soldered the remaining black wire to the base of the brass tube, with care the red wire can be threaded into the tube when all soldering is complete
5 - for the bulb cover/shade i have used the aluminium foil used for baking cases, it's fairly stiff and can be pressed/moulded into shape, but most of all its heat proof and can be cut to size with scissors.

I actually went out and measured one of the street lights near me and the above sizes are more acurate.

[Forfarian]

Update on my last post.
I have tried the "end of Tesco spoon" method with a slight modificationas as follows
Before cutting the end off the spoon, cut a small oblong of foil and press it into the reccess of the spoon handle with a smooth rounded object, I used the end of a lolipop stick.
remove the foil and trim slightly over size with small pointed scissors, glue the foil into the spoon and bend back the edges over the sides of the handle, trim off any excess wait until the glue sets and then cut the spoon handle to size, glue to brass tube. I used the foil from a flan case, but old "tak a wa" ( name of local Chinese TAW) containers would be the same ( please wash out the S&S sauce first)
I have tried the finished product with 16v and the heat does not TX to the plastic cover/spoon end

[Jim S-W]

Here's mine using a surface mount LED. I only did one as the layout is set in the day so they don't need to be on. I have wired a flicking LED in series so that it flickers lik a 'dayburner'







Cheers

Jim