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AMT Chevy
Camaro Model Kit
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I've
been thinking about adding LED lights to 1/24 - 1/25 cars.
But I wanted to experiment first on a kit that was nothing
special or valuable.
I
picked up one of AMT Chevy Camaro kits realy cheap. The
good thing about this example is that it has an opening
hood, but no engine. It also had some extra police parts,
maybe for a future model project.
With
no engine, it seemed there would be plenty of room to hide
the battery and some wiring in that space.
This
Camaro project would be known as: El Diablo
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For
the tail lights, I used red LEDs. I think these ae 3mm.
I did have to drill out the holes tomake them fit.
I
used a 9-volt battery to test everything as I went along.
I
might as well add some paint and details as I go along.
The chassis was painted a metalic color, with the dual exhaust
painted bright red, as if it might be powder coated.
The
Camaro's body and parts were
painted a Tamiya Charcoal Metallic shade.
The
Camaro's wheels were painted a gloss black.
Let
the wiring began!
The
front headlight and driving light holes have been drilled out
and LED bulbs installed.
The
El Diablo Lives!
The
headlights are red LEDs, the driving lights are orange.
More
wiring. Copper tape carries the current down the
sides from front to rear, and back again to complete the circuit.
The
windows for the model have been
shot with Tamiya Clear Red.
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The
Camaro assembled. Note the wiring in the engine bay area.
When
testing with a 9-volt battery, all the lights work. I had
to use
CA glue to try and get them to stay in the drilled holes.
On
this kit AMT uses meal axles. The wheels were hard to press
on,
and required a lot of force. So much that one axle began
poking through the wheel.
My
initial choice was to put the 9-volt battery in the engine
bay, but it wouldn't fit with the wiring. So I need to use
a couple of CR2032 batteries. They are expensive, about
$ 12.00 each, so I've put the project on hold. That's just
to expensive just to test LEDs and how they work on a car
model.
Another
choice would be to make a base, and hide the 9-volt inside
it, so I may do that.
But
I learned some ideas on what to do, so I may be ading LED
lights to future car and truck models.
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