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I've always wanted to start a blog of the work I've done and can do, but didn't think I had anything worth following along. I don't find this kind of work posted too often, so thought I'd start here.

There's some on this board that have seen my magnetizing work, though I'll keep that posted elsewhere.

So I've been working with LED's for some time now. Rhino's, Land Raiders, Preds, etc are all pretty easy now. I wish I had one of the ones I've done, but they've all been sold off or were work for somebody else. So I'll get start this blog off with the models I have on hand. The new Eldar Fire Prism/Nightspinner boxed kit and a Terminator.

The Terminator I'm doing for a friend, to see if I could do it on a smaller scale. I personally don't actually own any of the 'newer' plastic Terminators. I don't run them in my lists so haven't bothered to pick them up. Doing it for him worked out great.

You'll see in the image below that so far just the one eye lights up. The head that was leftover was the one with the targeter on it. I didn't want to do the targeter and the eye to start with. Reason being I think the targeter should have a different color, but it would really look like a 2nd eye at first. Lets just say, not on my first one I wish I was given a 2-eyed head to work with, but beggars can't be choosers. You'll also see some wiring sticking out of the termi's arm. The storm shield goes on the end of that arm. I'll be putting a red LED into the storm shield to light up the skull's eyes from the inside. I didn't have any red LED's at the time so I had to take this picture in its unfinished state. So, it's a WIP




Moving on to the Fire Prism kit. Like I mentioned before, I'm very big into magnetizing and getting the most out of a model kit, especially vehicle kits. With the number of different options in each boxed set, why settle for just one? Same thing here. Once I decided that I was going to put the LED's into the actual weapons though, I had to figure out how to get everything wired up to be easily swappable before a game but still have working electronics. I also wanted to make sure that when the Prism Cannon was mounted, that it didn't just look like an LED inside the clear plastic. The prism pieces have been sprayed over to make them look frosted, a lot like a porch light. I wanted the light to shine through and be diffused. I think the end effect came out nicely.

You'll notice that the other turret attachment for the Prism Cannon is not on the turret. It simply hasn't had the modifications done to it to swap out with the other Nightspinner gun. I don't 'plan' to put any LED's into that part of the Prism Cannon, so it's still waiting to be finished. In that regard, you can call the Prism a WIP but it's pretty much finished from an electronics standpoint. The first 3 pics are taken in normal lighting in my bedroom. The last pic has the main light turned off. It was NOT pitch black in the room.

Holy hell - how on earth did you manage to hollow out the terminator without crushing it in your hand? You sir, have patience.

Thanks man. It was my first time working on something that small for wiring. Probably took me 4-5 hours, possibly a bit more, to get everything done up to that point. I was more worried about putting the drill bits through the elbow or arm than crushing it. I actually did melt 3 holes into the leg while making the tunnel for the wires to pass through. Nothing a bit of green stuff couldn't take care of though.

That is some serious awesome right there. What you need to get for the prism cannon "igniter" bit is a small laser diode

Can't see the laser unless there's something to reflect the light off of, so a smoke generator as well?

The laser would reflect throguh the lit crystal, surely? (not that I want to put you off doing a smoke generator... You can get them for model railways after all)

Just awesome, could you put up a tutorial?

Great looking work so far… I really like the Terminator. I too have the LED bug and did the interior, wing lights & scanner lights on my Storm Raven then proceeded to do both my Rhino’s and am almost finished with my Dreadnaught.
I started on a couple of my Devil Fish but put that on the shelf to work on my Templar. My Land Raider and Vindicator are next on the “list”
Are you able to “hide” the components, IE switch and power on your Terminator? I’ve been doing mostly 3.0V & 5.0V but have had ample spaces to hide everything whereas there isn’t a whole lot of space on a Terminator base…. What is your solution?

Flinty - If I was to do that, I'd get a real prism to take the clear plastics place on the gun barrel


Rhich - The battery is hidden in the base. The resistor I probably could have put down there as well, though for the one above I put it into the body. The switch is a DIP switch on the back of the base, per request from the guy I did it for. I'll have the shield done tonight probably so I'll take a quick picture of it as well.


The switch for the Fire Prism is a toggle type that sticks out underneath the hull. Personally, I didn't care if it could be seen. Did that for ease of use. The battery for the Prism is housed inside the hull and I magnetized the rear door so that it stays closed.

Lormax wrote:Rhich - The battery is hidden in the base. The resistor I probably could have put down there as well, though for the one above I put it into the body. The switch is a DIP switch on the back of the base, per request from the guy I did it for. I'll have the shield done tonight probably so I'll take a quick picture of it as well.


The switch for the Fire Prism is a toggle type that sticks out underneath the hull. Personally, I didn't care if it could be seen. Did that for ease of use. The battery for the Prism is housed inside the hull and I magnetized the rear door so that it stays closed.

What voltage are you working with? I'm using 3.0V for most of my stuff and watch batteries, the battery holders I use make it hard to fit under the bases. I probably could "build up" the base a little but looking at your Terminator picture it all appears to be under with no problems.

I don’t mean to hijack your thread but “picking the brain” of a fellow LED guy about idea’s and solutions is fantastic.
Here are a couple pictures of my WIP for my Templar’s.
The Dread (being a venerable but I’m using venerables as standard dreads)his eye’s will light up. I used SMT LED’s for the eye’s and ran the wires up through the body, original plan was battery to be hidden in the body but the battery holders I opted to use didn’t quite fit so the battery was located under the base and is completely removable/ replaceable… the power switch is a push on – push off and will be buried with skulls. I used a lid from something and filed it down to seal the base (protecting the wires & resistors) during gaming. The base was the standard 40K dread base I just added diamond plate.
The Storm Raven (yes I know Templars don’t use them “yet”) but it’s still a cool model. It has lights in the wings, in the cockpit & the front scanner…. Issue I currently have is the scanner is a little to bright for my liking and you can’t see the slight red glow in the cockpit because of it…. I will correct this. The battery is located in the “hood scoop” which is magnetized and can be serviced. The power is a push on – push off hidden under the upper gun mount… all you have to do is push down and it lights up… keeping everything “gamable” and hidden.

You aren't hijacking anything at all Your work is looking nice. I'm using 3.0V coin cell batteries as well. The Prism has a battery holder. The Terminator does not. The battery is held in with green stuff. The negative wire is glued to the base, the battery 'smushed' on top, then the positive lead is taped to the battery. Let the terminator hang upside down for the night so the green stuff cures nicely and I haven't had an issue yet, and the battery is easily swappable for anyone thats not electronic-savvy. I REALLY did want a battery holder for the Termi, but it just wasn't going to happen.

I have two Storm Ravens that are on the list to build, and a Furioso thats near the top of the to-do list since it's used in my main army list. I may be PMing you to bounce some ideas off one another

Feel free to PM me anytime. I can also provide a straight forward email address if need be.
I’m using CR 2032’s for most of my LED projects, cheap, easy to find in stores and slimmest 3.0V.
I’ve used SMT LED’s (Pain in the ass) and 1.0MM, 1.5MM, 3.0MM and a couple of 5.0MM… which I’ve been able to find fairly inexpensively.
Battery holders are not cheap, wire I bought by the roll and shrink tube easy to find.
Being fairly new to 40K I figure if my playing sucks at least I can show off my models….
My Devil Fish has it’s power switch built into the landing gear, simply push down and it lights up…..

Out of curiosity, what do either of you (Lormax & Rhich) charging for these led projects? Are either of you willing to do a tut for others to attempt this awesomeness are are you guys keeping this one in house and building them for a fee only?

This is primarily Lormax’s thread but he & I appear to be doing about the same thing as each other.
I just jumped on board looking for even more idea’s.
I personally never gave it much thought doing LED’s for other people but it seems like it may be an avenue to pursue….
Even though I’m just a “hobbyist” I stock 90% of the LED parts because I bought in quantity in order to be able to buy at a savings (wholesale) IE 50 battery holders, 25 1MM LED’s, that sort of thing, not to mention rolls of wire and you roughly only use a few inches at a time.
Maybe Lormax has some ideas. I would certainly be open to help starting up a tutorial if needed or if someone wanted LED’s installed (without stepping on toes) would consider doing it in exchange for models…. Not a big fan of exchanging cash…..
My current LED project is a flashing radar screen in a Rhino… I printed radar images on clear laser film (to size) and cut out the Rhino screen then put a LED behind it…. Getting the flash pulse just right has been a “bitch” pardon the expression. I will be doing a Land Raider & Drop pods next.

Fallen_Veteran: I would gladly take a commission to do LED work for someone. I also do magnetizing as well. Just don't hire me to paint your stuff...I wouldn't pay for my paintjobs

On that note I have no problems with helping people that want to try this themselves (and magnets). PM me and we can discuss anything you'd like.

Rhich: I know whatcha mean by stocking up on the parts. I was actually a bit bothered that I didn't have the SMT red LED's for the shield in my parts box. I can help with a tutorial as well.

Those that want to try this should keep in mind that there's a bit of a setup cost involved. You'll need a soldering iron, solder, the wiring, resistors, the LED's themselves, batteries, etc. Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to push anyone away from trying it out. Just realize that the Radio Shack $8 Soldering Iron kit isn't gonna cut it. Take it from someone that was trying to use it

Here’s my dread lit up… pain in the ass having a bright work station then trying to snap off a picture of the guy with his eye glowing….. the skulls at the base are the off – on switch… push the skulls down and it lights up push the skulls down again and they go off….
It’s still a WIP because I’m doing all my Templar bases in diamond plate and the dread still needs to be magnetized.
Battery is replaceable from the rear of the base and other then seeing a bit of the battery it’s completely hidden and playable.. although I doubt the battery would last more than 8 hours left on…..

Lormax - Yes buying in bulk is a pain.... the SMT's I had to buy 50 and were avalb only in 50 - 100 - 200 and up.... thank god they let me mix and match... 50 of one color would bite.

That has to be the most unbelievable thing I have ever seen done with a miniature. I have to give you credit, that takes some dedication.

Rhich, I can't see the eyes? Are they in the white blob? I'm guessing it's just a bad picture. I had to take a number of shots until I got the ones I posted.

JoeyHeadwounds - Thanks!

True.... the lights in my work area are meant to be bright so no matter I couldn't get a real good picture.... anyway....
I tried it in a darker part of the basement....
Maybe later I'll read up on picture taking....

Update time. Got the shield LED installed and everything glued together. You can see the top of the switch there behind him, almost flush with the base. Thats how he wanted it, so left it like that. My work here is done

So with the new GK's (my original army from a couple years ago) I bought a box of termies and pagks to do up. I regularly do magnets on anything I'll be swapping out weapons for. I've wanted to do LED's for a while but with the new box, I got the urge again.

I was actually working on my first termie last night when I realized that the legs and whatnot are more or less solid plastic. I mostly hand drill but I have access to a dremel along with a assortment of drill bits. Now some questions!

What is your preferred method for I assume hollowing out everything necessary for your wiring?
What is an appropriate LED for termies? (And maybe a good site to buy bulk?)
Has anyone ever used Conductive Paint instead of wires?
Fiber Optics for lighting?
Cool ways to light up a sword? Maybe doing clear plastic resin.

And finally, a cool series of pics fora WFB army I just found while composing this message.

ryukishi wrote:And finally, a cool series of pics fora WFB army I just found while composing this message.

Holy those Deamons are cool!

Wow. I am seriously impressed with the glowing eyes on the Termie shield.

I, too, would love some kind of tutorial. I am a complete Ignorant when it comes to any kind of LED lighting. It's always been something I've wanted to do with models, but it's also been something I've been too scared to try.

Dang that some crazy wiring and leds.

I once made a undead LED-army...

undead carnifex: (greater daemon)


Death (deamon Prince)


undead sorcerer



If you want to now how i made a small tutorial a while ago:

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/223591.page

ryukishi wrote:What is your preferred method for I assume hollowing out everything necessary for your wiring?
What is an appropriate LED for termies? (And maybe a good site to buy bulk?)
Has anyone ever used Conductive Paint instead of wires?
Fiber Optics for lighting?
Cool ways to light up a sword? Maybe doing clear plastic resin.

1. Dremel does 95% of the hollowing out work for me.
2. I'm using 0805 size LED's in the Termi
3. I have never used conductive paint, I couldn't tell you how well that stuff will work.
4. I have not messed with Fiber Optics personally. When I was reading through other peoples posts and such, one guy mentioned that he never did fiber optics since anywhere that he'd use Fiber Optics, he could put an LED. For now, I'm on that train of thought as well.
5. The sword is much too thin to use as-is. I'd recast it in clear, then put the LED inside the hilt or hand.

Next up will be a Furioso Dreadnought, most likely setup fully for swappable arms with running LED's. Anyone have any input or something they'd like to see done with it? (It's the newest model kit)

Here's a challenge - A spinning hazard light and "vehicle reversing" alert (Warning, this dreadnought is reversing... warning...)

lol good idea