Continuing work on the Model T Van. There are eight lights on this model: two headlights, two side lamps, two coach lamps and two taillights. I figured I would give LED lighting a go for the headlights and possibly the taillights. I opted not to attempt wiring the side lamps and coach lamps mainly because there was no way to hide the wires inside the cabin.
I detailed the headlight installation in part 5. The lamps are mounted, but I left off the brass valves and tubing so I could give this a whirl. If it didn’t work out, I could just install the original parts that simulate the gas lines.
I am using pico size 3V LEDs in warm white from Evan Designs. I could have probably used nano size, but the chips I had on hand were too large and I ordered the pico to be on the safe side. It’s plenty of light for the purpose; they are quite bright for the size. Besides, it’s not like the Model T was equipped with halogen high beams.
I found tubing in an unlikely place — the pony bead jewelry section at Hobby Lobby. It’s not exactly to scale, but it should blend in well enough. It’s also more malleable than the tubing included with the kit.
There’s a hole on the bottom for the brass valve in each headlight, and I made these larger before installation to allow the tubing to fit.
I threaded the wires through the tubing, leaving it as long as possible for now. There was already a tubing map in the instructions since you were to fake these gas lines in the original kit. I didn’t follow it; instead I used electrical tape to hold things in place along a route leading to the rear cabin.
I’ll put the battery and switch there.
Electrical tape can look like rubber bands in a model and holds well. Being black, it blends in with the chassis.
The lights work well, but as I mentioned before one of the headlight glass inserts is scratched and the super glue brought out that flaw even more. :\
Photographed in regular lighting conditions, though, the lights look marvelous. This is one of those rare instances where the camera can mask the flaw. :D
I need to do some additional thinking and building before I can see about the taillights. :]
