Lighting the 42056 Porsche 911 GT3 RS

Another popular request!  We've had several people ask how best to go about lighting the beautiful Porsche 911 GT3 RS set.  This is another kit we don't have in the shop, so we're just going by looking at LDD files and instructions-- if you have added Brickstuff lights to this set, we want to hear from you!  Please register for this forum and share your results, tips, and tricks.

Starting with the front of the vehicle, the headlights should be well-suited for our warm white Pico LEDs.  If you remove the trans-clear elements from the headlights after building the set, you'll see two Technic half pins:

 You can thread the cables from our Pico LEDs through the half pins, then seat two Pico LEDs on top of the pins.  Then you should be able to re-assemble the headlight, pressing the first 1x2 plate over the top of both Pico LEDs and locking them into position on top of the pins.  This approach should provide a nice, evenly-distributed light.

For the lower lights on the front of the car, this is a tight space, but positioning two Pico LEDs on black cheese slopes pointing toward the center of the trans-clear light assembly should produce good results.  This is a bit hard to visualize, but we use the same approach in our lighting kit for the Big Ben set:

 Here you can see we used trans-clear cheese slopes, but the idea is the same.  Use a sticky square to mount the Pico LED to the slope, then turn the slopes so they are pointing inward.  Here's a rough illustration of how that might look:

 Here we're using yellow cheese slopes to show the placement, but you get the idea.  Use trans-clear or black so the assembly is less visible.  Also, unlike in LDD, you should be able to turn the slopes a little so they are both facing toward the center-- this should provide good lighting.

So for the front of the car, you're looking at potentially eight warm white Pico LEDs.  You could connect these using one 1:9 adapter with micro connectors, then run a connecting cable to the power source.  Again, since we don't have this model ourselves, it's tough to say where a power source might fit in the model, but you might be able to fit one of our 3AA battery packs either in the front or rear under the trunk/hood.  You might even be able to mount the battery pack (which is black) right on top of the flat area behind the seats-- this wouldn't look obvious from a distance, and you'd have good access to the on/off switch in the battery pack as well.

For the back of the car, it's more complicated, since there are so many trans red and clear elements, and it's difficult to light them all without using tons of LEDs.

One idea would be to start with the blue Technic half-pins holding the rear light assemblies in place, and put Pico LEDs in these with the plates snapped back on top (like we recommended for the front headlights).  Here's a snapshot of the back with the transparent parts removed:

 You can see the four blue half pins.  Try putting Pico LEDs in there first, and if that doesn't provide enough light, you could add more half pins (or even just place Pico LEDs directly on top of the orange Technic beams, facing upward like the LEDs inside the half pins, but not mounted except to have their wires threaded down through the holes).

Again, the challenge is doing this without using 16 LEDs just for the back (though if you feel so inclined, don't let us stop you-- one 3AA battery pack can power 100+ LEDs!).  Best to try experimenting here and see what works best.

For the lower back lights, you could just stick a red Pico LED to the gray beams behind the trans-red element:

 This is a low-tech way of adding light, but it would probably work.

To connect everything, use a combination of our 1:9 adapter boards, 1:4 adapter boards, and 1:2 adapter board plus connecting cables to chain everything back to the battery pack.

Without having the actual model in our shop, this is about the best recommendation we can make.  Hopefully it's helpful, and again, if any of our customers have taken a similar (or completely different) approach to lighting this beautiful model, please post your results for everyone to see!

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  • Hi Rob, I just finished my Porsche and wanted to illuminate it now. I am thinking of a combination of the Pico LED Lights in the Front and Back and Combine it also with LED stripes for the Inside and Back. I am also of thinking to add some blue lights underneath the car as a kind of pimping the car. I hope you can ship me the parts to Germany before your inventory. I will use the Lego 8878 Akku Pack as a battery source. I will let you know how it worked.

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  • Mike Hamel Hi Mike, thanks for the posting.  Your plan sounds really good!  If you place your order today, we will be able to ship out tomorrow (Saturday), so you will have it soon.  We look forward to seeing the results of your work!

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  • It´s done. My Lego Porsche is motorized and illuminated. Here some info what Brickstuff parts I have used. I pimped my Porsche with some bue Pico lights and I think it looks great.  Robert thanks to you guys for sending me the parts in less than a week from the US to Germany. 

    1 Brickstuff 1:9 Expansion Adapter with Micro Plugs

    in the front (underneath the Porsche Suitcase) with 8 warm white pico lights for the front lights

    Connecting to 

    1 Brickstuff 1:9 Expansion Adapter with Micro Plugs in the middle of the car (between the seats) with the blue pico lights in the cockpit (1)  / under the car roof (1) / trunk – engine (2) / under the car (2)

    Connecting to

    1 Brickstuff 1:9 Expansion Adapter with Micro Plugs in the trunk with 8 warm white pico lights for the rear.

    Connecting to 

    the Lego AA Battery Box.

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  • Mike Hamel Looks amazing Mike!  Thanks for the great write-up and photos.  One question: where did you place the battery box?

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  • Rob Klingberg 

    I placed the Lego AA Battery box  in the back (see arrow) and fixed it with a Lego black pin on the orange beams. Next to the battery box,I placed the Sbrick.

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