Gosh a week since last update
Nothing went as planned as 'I ain't been well, ma' ...... So when able to I got on with resolving the LED lighting.
I first used LEDs back with my Aliens game from 2011. This Jan 2012 report by Captain Blood gives some idea of how the lighting added to the game:
http://leadadventureforum.com/index.php?topic=37419.0But that game was played in 'the dark' so the lighting was also part of the game playability, whereas this current project - Tommy And Fritz - is played in normal light so all the time, trouble and expense of LEDs is for aesthetic and atmospheric reasons, rather than as a necessary part of the game mechanic.
So is it worth it? To me yes, as the aesthetic and atmosphere (alongside the attitude of the other players and the action of the game) are what will engage me and bring me to the tabletop.
Anyways, each of the three town tiles has two buildings with a hole in the ground floor. Flames flickering beneath the holes indicate fires from broken gas pipes, etc. These fires can influence game play (for example by restricting access) though LEDs weren't essential for this as other markers (such as cotton wool) could perhaps have been used.
So with up to six fires, each has its own LED array with switched power supply. The components for each set up are as follows:
The LED array comprises 3 flickering LEDs (2 red, 1 yellow) wired in parallel that with a 9v supply do not need (according to supplier specs!) series resistors. The LEDs are taped to create a 'plug' with a piece of black-painted aluminium mesh over the lenses. The array plugs into a socket cut from plastic overflow pipe that is cut at an angle to be fitted beneath the hole. As the pipe is cut at an angle the fit is oblique, so the LED lenses are installed to the side of the hole rather than directly beneath it.
In normal daylight, the black painted ally mesh works with side fitting and any adjacent debris to obscure anachronistic LED lenses. For example (tile 3, still to be painted):
And in daylight with the LEDs lit, showing the cast of light (but not the flicker!):
I'll add some more photos later, which will show the rigs in situ.
In other news, I also made a static grass applicator to add some fine greenery to the road edges (yet to be tested) and have ordered the Mutton Chop MG teams plus extras for more ammo carriers (yet to arrive but eagerly anticipated).
16 July 2009, 07:46:38 PM