HOW DO YOU PUT LIGHTS INTO CARS?

[casewindu]

i have seen on things like brickshelf of cars and houses with lights in them and i would like to do that myself. me and my dad could not find much on how to do this and i wounded if anybody here could point me in the right direction! :-)

any comments would be greatly appreciated! :-D

[exo attack]

Yeah, I want to know how they make light up minifigs!

[PSPguy]

Brickmodder.net *sad* Try it.

[Section8]

I've seen two ways. First is to use official lego brand electric parts. This is easiest, since most lighting elements have used the 9V system since the late 1980s. The downside is that they are getting more expensive now since the best parts have not been made in a while.

The other option is to use LEDs and other generic lights with batteries. This is cheaper, since you can get batteries, wires, and a pack of LEDs at an electronics parts store for relatively cheap. The downside is that it requires a little bit of knowledge of the parts and electricity. If you hook a 3V led up to a 9V, you'll burn it out very quickly. you can run two 3V LEDs off of two 1.5V batteries if you know how to hook them up correctly.

[PaulC]

I think the easiest way to light up your models is with Lego's own 9 volt system as Section8 said. Unfortunately none of the parts are available from Lego at the moment, but prices aren't that bad at places like www.bricklink.com.

To show you how simple it is, I put together an example this afternoon using only the parts from the 7239 Fire Truck set and the 9v components shown below:

Key to Photo -

Top left: The finished Fire Truck

Top Right: This is how the lights are positioned inside the truck, the grey part behind the fireman's head is the on/off switch which can be locked in the on position and the roof replaced.

Bottom left: These are the 9v parts assembled in the same way as they are inside the truck.

Bottom right: The Parts:

1. A smallest 9v battery box available which takes a single rectangular 9v battery. If you look closely you can see the studs along the top have metal edges which connect the power to the other 9v components. Around $2 on Bricklink.

2. A special 2x4 plate which has the metal 9v connectors inside. This is for linking the lights and the battery box if they are in different parts of the model. Connecting wires are also available.

3. A 9v siren which makes two different sounds and can be switched off independantly of the lights by rotating it's top. $1

4. These globes fit over the lights on the lighting brick to change their colour. Available in transparent blue, red, green and yellow. Ordinary transparent bricks will also fit over the lights.

5. The two-way lighting brick. Round one way the lights stay on constantly, but turn the brick round and the lights will flash in turn - just like a real fire truck! $3

Hope this helps. I've got some other examples lying around if you want to see them. X-D

[casewindu]

Hope this helps. I've got some other examples lying around if you want to see them. X-D

thanks a lot for that! :-D

i live in england so do bricklink send parts here?

please could you show me a few more examples!

thanks a lot though!

[Hobbes]

i live in england so do bricklink send parts here?

bricklink isn't one store, it's a "web portal" for people from all over the world, stores and private individuals. Just click on "Buy" in the top navigation bar and you see a list of all the shops, or just enter your search criteria and you'll get a list that you can sort by country. But many ship all over the world.