Need Help with Rapunzel's Tower (43187)
I just bought my daughter the Rapunzel's Tower set and need some help making sure I have a good lighting plan.
Click here to see the back side of the tower. It's 18 inches tall.
I plan to have a USB cable run to the USB-C to Brickstuff Adapter with Dual Size Ports.
I will have that connected via 5cm (2in) Connecting Cables to a 12-Port Dual Size Expansion Board. Are those the right cables?
Connected to that Expansion Board will be:
- two LEGO Lanterns with Flickering LED Light (one in the base of the tower, one in the adjacent Snuggly Duckling)
- two LEGO Candles with Flickering LED Light (can I separate two from the four-pack?)
- one Flickering Orange Pico LED Light with 12 inch cable (fireplace)
- one Warm White PixelBead LED Light (in the art studio; what cable do I need to connect this to the Expansion Board?)
- one warm white Single-Ended 300mm Flexible LED Filament with Driver (as Rapunzel's hair, hanging from the balcony; what cable do I need to connect this to the Expansion Board?)
- one 6-Channel Lighting Control with Flicker Effect (what cable do I need to connect this to the Expansion Board?)
- Connected to the Lighting Control will be six warm white Pico LED Lights (floating lanterns)
Does that make sense? Do I have everything I need?
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Wow, what a great project-- thank you for the detailed write-up with links! (very helpful)
I downloaded the instructions from that set just to make sure I wasn't missing anything-- from your list above it seems you have all the right elements. Some comments/questions:
- I think your power input strategy is good. Did you plan to have the USB cable come into the base of the tower, or into the Snuggly Duckling building? If the latter, then you could run the lantern in that smaller building directly from the USB-C plugs, and run a longer cable (50cm connecting cable) to the main tower to connect to the 12-port expansion adapter. If the USB will come into the tower base, you'll still need a 50cm cable and some adapter (could be a BRANCH19 extender or a BRANCH44 with four plugs) to connect the lantern there.
- Yes, you can separate the candles from the 4-pack. Each one is its own individual unit, with connecting cable that can go into the 12-port adapter.
- Fireplace light is good, though you'll need a round 1x1 plate with open hole to raise the flame up so you can put the flickering Pico underneath. If you want to keep the height without needing the plate, another option is to go with one of our Microflex LEDs and connect that to the flickering effect board.
- For the PixelBead lights, you can use any connecting cable with Pico (small) connecting plugs.
- Love the idea for the flex filament as the hair! Those include a connecting cable that can plug into the 12-port expansion board.
- To connect the flicker board to the 12-port expansion board, again any of the Pico connecting cables will work. Where are you planning to place the floating lanterns? This seems like it could be such an awesome effect-- promise you'll post photos!
I think that answers your questions-- if I missed any, or if you have new ones, let me know. With smaller models like this one, the main issue you'll face is hiding adapters and wires, and for this kit specifically, finding a clear path downward to the 12-port adapter for all lights. Again, I think you have all the right pieces. Good luck with the project, and thank you again for your interest in our lights.
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- I was thinking of building a base for the tower (with the same footprint) that would conceal the hardware and use Technic bricks with holes to run wires in and out of that base. Could I not run a 20-inch Flickering Orange Pico LED directly from the USB-C to Brickstuff Adapter with Dual Size Ports to the Snuggly Duckling?
- Awesome.
- That Microflex is pretty neat. I'll definitely use it for the fireplace.
- Fantastic.
- Brilliant.
- I'm still thinking about the Floating Lanterns:
I think I'll use a mix of round and square 1x1 transparent bricks as floating lanterns.
I would love to have a single string of lights I could use that are either solid or flicker faintly. I think the Christmas Tree string is too intense.
In lieu of a single string, I was thinking about getting 4 of each length of orange PICO LEDs and braiding them together. I could run the light through the top of the round ones, put a round tile on top, and turn them upside down. for the square bricks I'll run the light up into the void and put a 1x1 square plate on the bottom and a 1x1 square tile on top.
I'll probably attach them directly to her wall with 3M Command strips cut to the size of the bricks.
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Update: Didn't like the trans orange in the render, but the trans yellow looks great.
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I just realized I can't run a USB through a Technic brick. I need that old USB cable.
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Base idea
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Looks like there is an inexplicable void in this area which is near the top of the tower. I think I'll probably put the 6-Channel Lighting Control board in there, which would allow me to stretch the lanterns a little higher than if that board was in the base.
And I ordered some Brickstuff mounting squares - should be perfect for sticking the lanterns to her wall.
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Mid-build update:
The little lanterns are adorable. Was able to run the wire right into the top and through the bottom of the barrel for a clean installation.
I messed up and got the candles in a knot. Was able to get one free but the other three were lost. Replacements ordered.
The Warm White PixelBead LED Lights are awesome, but just too much light for an old tower vibe. I really liked being able to daisy-chain them together. Saving those for another build.
The MicroFlex is really cool and puts out a ton of light! I broke one and seem to have misplaced two of them. If I can find them I'm going to add a light to the jewel heart on top of the swing.
The warm white Single-Ended 300mm Flexible LED Filament is fantastic! Was able to tuck one end in Rapunzel's hairbows so it kinda looks like her glowing hair. Would be interested in replacing it with yellow if that color is ever an option.
Just tinkering around, I found that a white flickering LED inside a solid, light color 1x1 brick makes a PERFECT floating lantern, so I'm going to use either white or light yellow bricks for that instead of the transparent yellow.
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Found the missing micros!
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Thanks Brad for the updates! Love the way all of this looks (especially the filament!). Sorry the Pixel Beads were too bright for you. Wondering if they would be more usable if you put a colored boat stud piece on them to mount, vs. the trans-clear piece? Maybe even a black boat stud, which would block most of the light but still allow some (maybe enough?) to shine out the sides?
I'm still thinking about the lanterns. How many of them do you have again, and how far apart will they be? I have some ideas about how we could make those look pretty amazing, ideally using one wire string to pass between them all so you wouldn't need to deal with braiding multiple light wires. If you can give me some more specs for the lanterns, I can play around here and see how my ideas might look.
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Black boat studs would probably work great, but there's not many places to tuck the wires in this set and my daughter vetoed it because of that.
For the lanterns, I'm thinking one flickering LED in each of about a dozen 1x1 bricks with 1x1 plates on bottom and 1x1 tiles on top. I bought a bunch of your mounting squares so I can just stick the bricks directly to her wall. A single strand would be fantastic; right now I'm thinking it'll be a USB to an expansion board to the flickering board to the 12-channel and the picos attached to that.
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I suppose if I could have one custom-made, it'd be great to have one strand of 12 randomly-flickering warm white LEDs. I like being able to adjust the intensity of the flicker effect on the board. The strand would have a lead of about 12" before the first light, and the lights would probably be 3-4 inches apart.
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Or maybe have individual picos that could be daisy-chained to make custom strands?
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What color 1x1 bricks will you use for the lanterns? Trans-yellow?
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Rob Klingberg Trans-Yellow lets way too much light through. I'll be using solid Bright Light Yellow with a 1x1 plate on the bottom and a 1x1 tile on top. It looks very much like a candle in a paper lantern.
Look at the end of this reel on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C9YeUT4RQ8B/
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OK, got it! Looking at the end of that Reel, would you be ok with a string of flickering Picos (I think that's what you have inside the brick in the Reel)? Or do you need to be able to control more of the effect from something like a controller? Making a flickering Pico string would be easy (well, not *easy* but easier than making a custom chain of color-changing lights).
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Rob Klingberg Flickering PICOs would be perfect if they didn't all flicker in unison.
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Brad They do not-- each one has its own pace, and they diverge over time to create an even more realistic-looking setup. OK let me noodle on this for a bit-- more soon.
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Brad One more question: what colors are the bottom 1x1 plate and the top 1x1 tile for those lanterns? Same as the brick?
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Same as the brick. I think I've settled on Bright Light Orange and I found someone in my neighborhood to print a sticker for one of them.
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Well good news and bad news.
The good news is that everything is connected and runs through the Smart Power Switch with Brick-Built Housing.
The bad news is that it only works if that switch is on when you plug the lights into it. If I turn it off, it won't turn back on until I remove the 6-Channel Lighting Control with Flicker Effect board.
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Here's the set up:
USB to a 2-port adapter with dual-sized plugs, and that goes into the Smart Power Switch.
The power out of the Smart Power Switch runs to a 12-Port Dual Size Expansion Board.
Connected to that board are...
2 LEGO Candles with Flickering LED Lights
2 LEGO Lanterns with Flickering LED Lights
1 PICO LED
1 Warm White Single-Ended 300mm Flexible LED Filament with Driver
I currently have 1 Warm White Size 0402 Microflex LED Light and 12 PICO LED Lights that I need to make flicker. Should I run a separate system for them?
