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OK, so I got the new Killa Kans in the mail, and since they have a sizeable void internally, decided they lend themselves well to adding LEDS.

You're going to need:

a CR1220 battery & holder

some thin gauge wire

a 33k ohm resistor

a micro slide switch. A push-button would be better, but I have yet to find an on-off pushbutton at the right size.

a 3v LED, whatever color you want.

at least some soldering skill

the typical things you have for assembling models - pin vise, grey/greenstuff, super glue, kicker, hobby knife, etc.

1.) Slice out the section where the LED will be showing. One of the kans has a series of holes that you can do with a pin vise.

2.) Partially assemble the kan - the bottom and the sides. Get the backpacks together, but do not assemble.

3.) Bend the LED contacts down, solder some wires on there, and then glue in place the LED. I'd recommend using some greenstuff/greystuff to do so. In addition to hooding it so most of the light goes the way you want to, it also covers the contacts for the LED. Let the green/graystuff dry for at least 2 hours before moving on.

4.) Take"backpacks/engines" for the kans,cut out the bottoms, or drill a hole. If you decide to cut them as I did, snap off a fresh blade and go slowly. Let the knife do the work, gently rocking it back and forth. If you rush on this or use a dull blade, there's gonna be some blood for the blood god.

5.) Assemble the engine/backpack. Glue the back plate onto the engine/backpack. Solder off 2 wires to the contacts on the switch. Thread the wires through the backpack/engine/backplate. Use some greenstuff/graystuff to both hold it in place & fill the gaps. It's going to be pretty hard to see this bit when it's assembled, so you don't exactly have to be Michelangelo with sculpting. Let the green/graystuff dry for at least 2 hours before moving on.


6.) Solder one of contacts on the LED to a 1 inch segment of wire, and then to the correct contact on the battery holder. Remember, LED's only work one way, so you might want to use a different color wire for that half so you don't get messed up on this.

7.) Solder the other end of the LED to a one inch wire, then the 33k resistor. Use another one inch segment of wire to go from the resistor to the switch.

8.) Solder another 1 inch segment of wire from the battery holder to the switch. At this point you should have a complete circuit - give it a test. Assuming it works, you can now glue the backplate/engine/switch assembly into place.


9.) You should now be able to pull the battery into and tuck it back in via the top hatch. Initially I planned to magnetize this - there is a perfect spot for doing so, as there is a flange on the top hatch - but I don't think you'll need to. The shoulders kinda give it a tight fit anyway. Don't glue this, if you ever want to change the battery.


10.) A note on the LED - I don't know as much as I could about these sorts of electronics. The battery gives off 3v which is good but about 75mah which is maybe bad. If you don't use the resistor (and I didn't, on my last lighted dread project) it does work OK but is a little blinding. I've read the LED's actually expect about 3v and 20mah - as such, I think without the resistor, you might eventually burn out the LED. My other dread is still OK without the resistor, but like I said - aesthetically, the resistor looks better anyway, so you probably want one. Which exact one (1k, 22k, 33k?) I'd leave an expert to answer.

11.) I'll also be doing this for the new Deff Dread model, which is very, very similar.

So what happens when you spray-paint it? X3. Just kidding. That's awesome, I've always wanted to LED light some of my Devil-fish but I don't even know where to start.

I use liquid latex to mask off any areas I don't want getting painted. I probably should have mentioned that.

you can go here to find out what resistors are needed - but you do need to know something about electronics first, otherwise you'll just be stumped.

http://ledcalc.com/

Nice and simple. I like. Would have preferred a red led though - it's more orky to have a red eye glaring at you.

I plan to use a different color LED in each one.

That's going to look great once these get fully assembled and painted up. Nice job.

I have some more WIP pics I'd like to add.

This one, I did with an orange and green LED.


The light isn't as blinding when it's not head-on.


I was originally going to do these in yellow, before I decided on red. The yellow looked awful muddy - ogryn flesh over sunburst yellow. I'm going to have to ask for advice on that if I do another batch.


On the other hand, I'm pretty happy with the red:


Close-up of the LED:



Close-up of the rokkits, which I really enjoyed:



and, it breaks down for easy transport & battery changes:



I still have to do 2 bodies, 4 arms, and all the "bling" and shoulderpads, plus the bases. But, I feel like it's getting there.

That´s awesome dude...
Now I am going to put LEDs in my leeman russ battle tank

excellent work! The LEDs really give them an extra dash of life and power. Thanks for the walkthrough, and great paint jobs on them. Lovin' the Happy Rokkit!

Ok, I finally got these guys finished. I'm mostly happy with them - except the Happy Rokkit's smile ran when I dullcoted them :/ - so that's a redo. Other then that, here we are:

Here is a group shot with the hatches off, and all the arms off. All the arms are magnetized and interchangeable. All the hatches lift off so the batteries can be changed.



And here is one with the lights off:



And here is one with the lights on:



This is my favorite one - the one with the Scorcha and the Drillbit. I love the drillbit.



Here is the one with the rokkits and the saw-klaw:



And, here is the one with the Grotzooka and the saw.



These were a lot of fun to assemble and paint, and I'm sort of considering getting another set and redoing them in a yellowish scheme.

Nice work! It really shows off the kit well. It's getting harder and harder to resist buying a kit or three.

Love them
The lights add enough character to them.
Do they get very hot though?



Nurglitch, the kan kit is great.
Ive just had mine turn up to give me a break from my nids blog.
Only problem i have is that there isnt enough extra's in it.
Once together you simply have a CCW without an arm and a gun + arm left over.
All other parts are used.

I love LEDs in models, as it gives them a whole new lease of life. I once saw an Adeptus Arbites army with sirens and flashing lights on the vehicles. It was a great sight =p

Looking to hopefully do some cool things with some tanks soon. Just got to get all the stuff I'm working on atm done first. =]

Oshova

Simley rockets!

۞ Jack ۞ wrote:Love them
The lights add enough character to them.
Do they get very hot though?

No, the LED's generate no significant heat.