NOOB powering a FM millenium falcon

[pondo]

So I'm just getting back into this (I used to make poorly made models in university) and I thought I'd tackle the 1/72 falcon as my first big project.

What I would like is a battery powered system where I can access the batteries and switch by taking off the cockpit tube.

Now: I have purchased the Madman kit, but this may have been a mistake. It requires 12V and I can't see any way around having one of those bulky pack of AA batteries.

-Is there something more discreet I can use to power it?
-Am I able to add a couple more LED's into the chain?


I would like to be able to take it off it's stand so that eliminates having a hard wired one into the wall. (I could use a stereo jack to so that when I take it off the stand, it disconnects)

thoughts?

[Scott Hasty]

This and this.

I don't know the current draw on the Madman kit is. This PS is rated at half an amp...

[pondo]

now...if I wanted to run it off batteries, would THIS work?


http://www.google.com/products/catalog? ... KcBEPMCMAU#

[pondo]

okay...now I'm thinking that this might be my answer...

http://cgi.ebay.ca/12V-Portable-4800mAh ... 4aa8cc3492

I can hide the entire battery inside and as long as I have access to the charging point....I'm good.

[Paulbo]

As a simple and straight forward system that doesn't include bying anything off the Bay, just put a 9V battery in series with two AAs. 9 + 1.5 + 1.5 = 12 volts.

You could make a little tray to hold the battery holders. I *think* they should be able to slide right in, though I don't know about the size.

As an alternative location, what about the panel at the rear landing gear? You could cut it out and hold it in place with magnets.

As another alternative, what about taking a cue from Miniature Sun and make some sort of ground equipment that runs a power cable up into the ship. The ground equipment could either be a battery holder, or tied to a wall wart to supply power.

[Paulbo]

OK, I just followed the Ebay link - I like it! It shouldn't be too hard to hide the charging connector and wire in a switch to change the battery pack from working to charging mode.

[tetsujin]

As a simple and straight forward system that doesn't include bying anything off the Bay, just put a 9V battery in series with two AAs. 9 + 1.5 + 1.5 = 12 volts.

The problem there is the 9V will discharge before the AA's do. You'll basically wind up wasting a lot of the power of those AA's. It's best to work with a matched set of batteries so you can just swap out the set when it's time...

John (of Madman Lighting) might be better able to answer questions about the power supply for the MF lighting set. I don't know, for instance, if its supply needs to be exactly 12V, how much leeway there is for the voltage requirement... I think it's the same board as the Delux-8 but with programming for the engine flash - and the only reason it needs 12V (instead of the 6-12V spec'd for the Delux-8) is because it's got series chains of LEDs that increase the voltage requirement.

Personally, for the most part I hate putting batteries inside models. It introduces all kinds of complication in terms of how you open the model to change the batteries, the size and shape of the model winds up affecting your choice of batteries, etc. Specialty batteries of any kind are also expensive, at least relative to the amount of power you get, so if you can't power the thing from AA's or AAA's, then usually (IMO) it's not worth it.

In this case: I don't have a FMMF but here's my suggestion:
First, I think the cockpit tube's not a great location for the batteries. I mean, sure, you could probably rig that part of the ship to be easily removable - but you're going to be lighting the cockpit and the engines, right? That means when you remove the cockpit parts to swap batteries the whole thing will still be tethered together with wires... I'd be kind of worried the wires would break. If a part is removable I don't want important wires dangling from it, you know?
As an alternate battery location I'd suggest under the "docking rings" (I think that's what they're called - the big round things on the left and right side of the ship, the place where the boarding ramp comes out on the right side.) Attach the "docking ring" parts with magnets or something, and when you remove 'em you'll get easy access to one of the biggest open spaces in the ship's interior. (Well, there's a support peg there, you'd have to remove that and come up with an alternate structural support for the hull) Inside that open space, build a box to hold one of these or these - four-cell battery holders that you can pull out through that opening to change the batteries (you just need to make the connecting wires long enough, and anchor them so you don't damage any wire connections inside the ship) That might require you to give up the boarding ramp, though, I'm not sure.

You could also use more specialized batteries to get a more compact 12V source - for instance Radio Shack sells 6V and 12V batteries meant for use in garage door remotes and pet collars, things like that. Smaller than a AAA battery but much bigger than a coin cell. The problem is they're specialty batteries. You can buy something like 25 AAA batteries for $10, but the same money may buy you no more than 4 of these cells. And good luck finding a battery holder, you'll probably have to make one. But with those batteries you could come up with a very compact 12V power supply.

[Paulbo]

As a simple and straight forward system that doesn't include bying anything off the Bay, just put a 9V battery in series with two AAs. 9 + 1.5 + 1.5 = 12 volts.

The problem there is the 9V will discharge before the AA's do. You'll basically wind up wasting a lot of the power of those AA's. It's best to work with a matched set of batteries so you can just swap out the set when it's time...

Excellent point. I hadn't thought of the matched battery style problem.

[pondo]

As a simple and straight forward system that doesn't include bying anything off the Bay, just put a 9V battery in series with two AAs. 9 + 1.5 + 1.5 = 12 volts.

The problem there is the 9V will discharge before the AA's do. You'll basically wind up wasting a lot of the power of those AA's. It's best to work with a matched set of batteries so you can just swap out the set when it's time...

John (of Madman Lighting) might be better able to answer questions about the power supply for the MF lighting set. I don't know, for instance, if its supply needs to be exactly 12V, how much leeway there is for the voltage requirement... I think it's the same board as the Delux-8 but with programming for the engine flash - and the only reason it needs 12V (instead of the 6-12V spec'd for the Delux-8) is because it's got series chains of LEDs that increase the voltage requirement.

Personally, for the most part I hate putting batteries inside models. It introduces all kinds of complication in terms of how you open the model to change the batteries, the size and shape of the model winds up affecting your choice of batteries, etc. Specialty batteries of any kind are also expensive, at least relative to the amount of power you get, so if you can't power the thing from AA's or AAA's, then usually (IMO) it's not worth it.

In this case: I don't have a FMMF but here's my suggestion:
First, I think the cockpit tube's not a great location for the batteries. I mean, sure, you could probably rig that part of the ship to be easily removable - but you're going to be lighting the cockpit and the engines, right? That means when you remove the cockpit parts to swap batteries the whole thing will still be tethered together with wires... I'd be kind of worried the wires would break. If a part is removable I don't want important wires dangling from it, you know?
As an alternate battery location I'd suggest under the "docking rings" (I think that's what they're called - the big round things on the left and right side of the ship, the place where the boarding ramp comes out on the right side.) Attach the "docking ring" parts with magnets or something, and when you remove 'em you'll get easy access to one of the biggest open spaces in the ship's interior. (Well, there's a support peg there, you'd have to remove that and come up with an alternate structural support for the hull) Inside that open space, build a box to hold one of these or these - four-cell battery holders that you can pull out through that opening to change the batteries (you just need to make the connecting wires long enough, and anchor them so you don't damage any wire connections inside the ship) That might require you to give up the boarding ramp, though, I'm not sure.

You could also use more specialized batteries to get a more compact 12V source - for instance Radio Shack sells 6V and 12V batteries meant for use in garage door remotes and pet collars, things like that. Smaller than a AAA battery but much bigger than a coin cell. The problem is they're specialty batteries. You can buy something like 25 AAA batteries for $10, but the same money may buy you no more than 4 of these cells. And good luck finding a battery holder, you'll probably have to make one. But with those batteries you could come up with a very compact 12V power supply.

Thanks very much for your advice. I will definitely email madman.

As for the idea of the side docking rings...that was my first idea. I'm not sure why I changed thoughts, but you're right. I will definitely use them for the power access.

[DLMatthys]

A good chapter on lighting the AMT MF is in Matt Ushers Kalmbach books A Galaxy Far Far Away. The intire book is about Star Wars models and most build topics have easy lighting tips for new to model illuminators. The Falcon chapter is the most advanced as it uses a resin upgrade kit (like Blue Moon) and EL Lamps as in like "LightSheet".