Stadium lights?
Okay, so technically, this specific set isn't an official LEGO set, rather, a kick-butt MOC I saw on Flickr some time, and am working to amass the bricks... at 18,000+ pieces, it's a process.
I like pictures, and this guy design is brilliant: https://www.flickr.com/photos/redcokid/sets/72157630697303666
The dilemma.. interior lighting, no problem, oodles of products on Brickstuff today to solve that one. But I'm thinking in terms of the inevitable night game, I may need some stadium lights -- and while the LED searchlight here isn't a bad option, I was curious if anyone has any successes with making a few LEDs (any style) look bigger -- not necessarily brighter.
I've toyed with a translucent plate (say, a 4x12 dot with a backing) and a few lights inside, but that would likely give off a sun-spot-like points of the light source. Or even a SNOT style, with translucent 1x4 bricks stacked, and shove a few picos on the the long ends to light it from the edges...
But torn, and curious if anyone else has tried such a "diffused" lighting effect.
-
That is a beautiful stadium! Would you be looking for lights in a roofless stadium, or lights to illuminate the interior of a roof-covered stadium? If the latter, you could probably get by with the assemblies like we have in our light kit for the Ghostbusters Firehouse HQ:
We have considered making custom assemblies for outdoor stadium builds like the one you referenced-- these would likely have larger LEDs like the ones we use for our searchlight, but mounted inside larger, wider assemblies. Using an arrangement like that, it would be possible to generate a LOT of light.
-
Rob Klingberg That would be the ticket. My (initial) thought was just to have it light up for effect, much like how the local high school is running their outdoor lights at 3:30pm and it's just for looks. But as my sidekick has been increasingly fond of a true "night time" in LEGOville, practical lighting may not be bad. (Speaking of the aforementioned bigger power options, eh?)
And I may need to invest in the Ghostbusters HQ + lighting kit, er... for research... but indeed, this would be more when the stadium is in, say, baseball mode, and the roof is off.
To be practical, I've got some time. The Bricklink estimator for pieces on this build is $3,500, so this beast is awaiting funding (and the end of necessity of the balance of the board as a home for the guinea pig... though apparently them critters live for 5-8 years, so this may be a modern spin on the Five-Year plan.
-
Paul George Guinea Pigs before LEGO, of course! We've cycled through a few of these critters in our house as well. :-)
-
Guinea pig "solved" -- moved to a new room. And recalling the early 2000s forray into soccer fields, viola: the 3313 light tower. With the foundation poured this week, we're going to give a crack at a pico behind each 2x4 curved brick (the fabled part 6192). A few are on order from BrickLink, and we'll see how it pans out...
-
Paul George Great solution! Keep us posted-- very excited to see the results.
-
Not *exactly* a replica of the original, but LEGO then didn't need to consider the shadows cast by the upper light bars, hence, two versus three cross-sections (though I may leverage the third - backwards - to support placement of the expansion adapter with micro plugs (figure 2x lights x 4 half-domed bricks should be plenty effective).
Random, side bar question: trying both a warm white pic and a (now sold out) cool white strip bulb inside, my bride prefers the look of cool white... but such contraptions aren't a "bulk pico" option. Is that simply due to demand -- or lack thereof -- or more to it? (I "get" not all LED colors are priced the same in some markets, either, just curious... though admittedly my bulk pico isn't exactly an earth-shattering request such that I couldn't solve it via the expansion lights... even if the pricing isn't as awesome.) 😉
-
Paul George Hi Paul, thanks for the photos and updates! You mention your wife prefers the look of our cool white light strips (which we used to have in stock several years ago). Is that correct? If so, I have some good news for you-- we decided to put in another order for strips in cool white, and will soon be releasing them in packs of 10 on our website. Stay tuned, and keep up the great work!
-
Rob Klingberg yea -- love the cool strips!
though I was really wondering aloud about pico lights in the Bulk area.. today it's limited to the warm whites (both pico and strips)... :). Thanks Rob!
-
Paul George It's a good idea, Paul-- one we may consider again soon. We'll add your vote into the "yes" column for bulk Cool White Picos. :-)
-
+1 on the Cool White Picos and Strips but you probably already knew that :)
-
Jim Pirzyk Thanks Jim. CW strips will be in stock next month.
