So I decided to Light My Modular City

[Faefrost]

I'm rather pleased with the results. 

Full Album (for some reason the videos aren't thumbnailing. But will play if clicked on) -> https://flic.kr/s/aHsmWzsPV4

[SFmuscle73]

Looks great - thanks for sharing.  I think the Downtown Dinner looks the best lit up of the ones that you have shown.  Which lighting line did you use?

I too am in the early stages of lighting my modulars.  If anyone knows a good place to read how/watch how to connect multiple modulars, such that you can minimize turning them on individually please direct me to that location.

[Faefrost]

54 minutes ago, SFmuscle73 said:

Looks great - thanks for sharing.  I think the Downtown Dinner looks the best lit up of the ones that you have shown.  Which lighting line did you use?

I too am in the early stages of lighting my modulars.  If anyone knows a good place to read how/watch how to connect multiple modulars, such that you can minimize turning them on individually please direct me to that location.

Oh boy is this gonna be TLDR. Sorry about that.

I've been using a broad sampling of various lighting brands. Mainly Lightailing, Briksmax and Light My Bricks. With Light My Bricks being the expensive option that I've mainly used for stuff that I absolutely have to separate to move like the Daily Bugle and the Ninjago modulars. Of the other two Briksmax is a microconnector hub and spoke system that is compatible with Light My Bricks. Lightailing is prewired bricks in strings so you just swap out specific bricks. The Lightailing is easier to install for a beginner. The Briksmax/Light My Bricks is much more flexible and customizable, once you get over a slightly higher learning curve. And has the added benefit that if you break a wire, you just need to replace a single LED which you can easily order as many as you want. Lightailing is strings like Christmas Lights. Break a wire and you ruin a string. Light My Bricks also makes wireless connectors to place between the floors of buildings, so you can lift them apart without having to undo any wiring. 

I also have one building lit using a Brick Loot Kit, which in spite of it's rather shocking minimalist packaging (a plastic baggie) was actually a rather amazingly well designed kit that all but installed itself. Brick Tools uses a sort of hybrid between the hub and spoke and string systems. I have one lighting kit from Vonado, which is a Briksmax?Light My Bricks clone with much much poorer quality LED's. Many simply fell apart from handling them. I ended up replacing half the lights with Briksmax bulbs just from replacing the bad or damaged ones. I would recommend avoiding Vonado at the moment. Their designs are great. Their material quality is not great. I have heard good things about Blinky Bricks, but I don't have any experience with them yet. I do like that they seem to be making their own product. 

Powering is Via USB. So I have 1 or 2 50W USB Charging Hubs under each shelf. And an assortment of USB splitters and extensions that run behind the buildings. Each port of a good USB Charging Hub can power up to 100 LED lights. (Most Modulars run between 20-50 LED's) It's a shelf layout at Shoulder height so the rears are hidden. I have each Hub plugged into a Smart Plug which are linked as a group. So "Alexa Turn On Lego City" turns them all on or off. The same can also be achieved by using a Power Strip with a switch. I also have a run of USB ports attached to the front facing of the shelves so I can plug in or move the cars around easily. 

For Vehicle lighting this is by FAR the best option I have found. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07X6SXQMR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 The Briksmax kit for 60213. It's a near perfect kit for lighting most vehicles. It has 2 flashing white LED's for Police/Fire/Utility Lightbars, 6 solid whites, a warm white LED for the interior a connector hub, a USB power connector and a USB Battery Box. Since you are putting the LED's under or into the things you want to light up, you can use it for anything. 

Like I said the Lightailing sets are the easiest to install. Starting out I could get one installed in about 2 hours. And I had that down to 10-20 minutes for a few buildings. Installing the Light My Bricks or Bricksmax takes a bit more time. So about 1 building per night. 3 nights for the daily bugle. 

For effects lighting Briksmax and Light My Bricks have the best offerings. 

 

Dr. Stranges Sanctum Sanctorum with a variable effects board It's hard to see in the window. Strange is in the window looking into a green globe and holding a lit candlestick. While other red blue and green spells go off around him... plus I accidentally attached the streetlight to the sp

 

 

Edited September 7, 2021 by Faefrost

[LegoDW]

Looks good, I am planning on lighting up my Modulars, can't see inside them without the lights.  Agree the DD is a must for lighting

[MarloweBricks]

I went with LightMyBricks. I have 4 or 5 modular buildings lit up now and lighting kits for 5 more... once I get the sets built (I am behind!). I also use their products to light my creator cars and a passenger train. I am now working on a DIY hybrid where I use their connectors but my own LEDs. Once I learn where to post it on Eurobricks, maybe I will write a review going over how I did it...

[jus1973]

6 hours ago, MarloweBricks said:

I went with LightMyBricks. I have 4 or 5 modular buildings lit up now and lighting kits for 5 more... once I get the sets built (I am behind!). I also use their products to light my creator cars and a passenger train. I am now working on a DIY hybrid where I use their connectors but my own LEDs. Once I learn where to post it on Eurobricks, maybe I will write a review going over how I did it...

I’ll look forward to this.  I’d love to light up my ever growing modular town, and fairground, but the LightMyBricks kits are way beyond my budget.  I’m reasonably adept at soldering etc, so my eventual plan is to make my own light fittings, although I’ll probably have to miss out some features of the kits, simply due to costs.