Back lit James Bond Memorabilia Shadowbox
Posted: Tue 27 Oct, 2015 9:05 pm
I've just completed this James Bond display for which the customer requested back lighting of the film cells. This has been a massive learning curve and I welcome any comments /suggestions as to how I could have done it better!!
I've used LED tape cut into short strips of 3 LED lights and joined in series with LED tape connectors.
The display consisted of a back and front matt and the led's and circuitry were mount behind the rear matt with window to allow light to the film cells in the front matt. (I wanted to show the ugly bit- my circuitry but forgot to photo it!!
One problem was that the individual LEDs showed through the film cells which didn't look good so I diffused the light by taping thin white card behind the film cells.
As the circuitry is behind the rear matt it will be possible to access it in the event of electrical failure without disturbing the core sandwich of the display. The 12v battery pack is ,as shown, exposed at the back so that batteries can easily be replaced. Also shown is the switch inserted into the bottom of the frame.
I have included a small ventilation hole at the top covered with fine muslim to allow any heat to escape. (However the customer will only be turning the light on for short periods of time- perhaps people have comments about whether this would work for a continuous display connected to the mains via a transformer. I don't know what the heat generation issues would be.)
I had to research on this forum how to fix the 1st Edition James Bond books and was kindly given this link http://theframersforum.com/download/file.php?id=7535 which proved very helpful. I used strong and very clear 'melinex' film wrapped round the book and inserted through slits in the matt and fixed at the back.
If anyone is interested I can give info about suppliers of the various electrical and other bits and pieces. One problem was that the LED connectors weren't long enough so I had to cut them and add in additional wire. Not very satisfactory.
Anyway I (and more importantly, the customer!) am pleased with the result.
John
I've used LED tape cut into short strips of 3 LED lights and joined in series with LED tape connectors.
The display consisted of a back and front matt and the led's and circuitry were mount behind the rear matt with window to allow light to the film cells in the front matt. (I wanted to show the ugly bit- my circuitry but forgot to photo it!!
One problem was that the individual LEDs showed through the film cells which didn't look good so I diffused the light by taping thin white card behind the film cells.
As the circuitry is behind the rear matt it will be possible to access it in the event of electrical failure without disturbing the core sandwich of the display. The 12v battery pack is ,as shown, exposed at the back so that batteries can easily be replaced. Also shown is the switch inserted into the bottom of the frame.
I have included a small ventilation hole at the top covered with fine muslim to allow any heat to escape. (However the customer will only be turning the light on for short periods of time- perhaps people have comments about whether this would work for a continuous display connected to the mains via a transformer. I don't know what the heat generation issues would be.)
I had to research on this forum how to fix the 1st Edition James Bond books and was kindly given this link http://theframersforum.com/download/file.php?id=7535 which proved very helpful. I used strong and very clear 'melinex' film wrapped round the book and inserted through slits in the matt and fixed at the back.
If anyone is interested I can give info about suppliers of the various electrical and other bits and pieces. One problem was that the LED connectors weren't long enough so I had to cut them and add in additional wire. Not very satisfactory.
Anyway I (and more importantly, the customer!) am pleased with the result.
John