Classic Marquee Display

[KagatoAMV]

This doesn't quite measure up to the cabinet projects here, but I finally got around to putting together a couple of boxes in order to illuminate some of the classic marquees I have. I think I first posted about wanting to make these over a year ago...

The box is made from some scrap pine with 1/4" MDF as the backboard. The LED lightbar inside is more expensive than I'd like, so I'm still trying to figure out the best way to light these.

First,  Sinistar!



And without the flash, you can see it is illuminated.



Please forgive me if this is in the wrong forum.

-Nic

[KagatoAMV]

I used some 3/4" MDF for the sides of this display, to start practicing for the day I build by own cabinet. I used a little round LED spot inside, but that might be putting to much light in the center and not enough at the edges.



And without the flash



-Nic

[Kronos]

nice..   

[IG-88]

Why not just put a $7.00 under-counter fluorescent fixture in it?

[richms]

Those cheap small fluros still get pretty warm when operating, LEDs less so.

Have you looked to see if any of the strips on dealextreme would be able to be used? Just watch the 12v is 12v with them, most are just driven by a resistor so any more and you fry them.

[jfunk]

How deep are those boxes?  I've got a bunch of marquees I want to do something similar with, but don't want them to be too deep.  And I've run across the same issue trying to find the best lighting source, so if you find anything worth looking at, let us know!

Looks great!

[KagatoAMV]

Sinistar is 3.5" deep and Quartet is 3" deep. I wanted them deep enough so they'd stand on their own without falling over.

I'm going to try illuminating one with one of those under the counter fluorescent fixtures, but I noticed the light had a noticeable yellow tint to it. I'm also not sure about the heat. As Richms mentions, LEDs are supposed to be lower heat and lower power consumption.

I'll take some construction photos for the next ones I build.

[jfunk]

Awesome!  Thanx!

[richms]

You can get daylight or cool white tubes for the small fluro lights - the ship with a warm white because woman seem to like the crusty orange emulation of an incandescent light more then an accurate colour rendering, and they are the ones that work under them

Expect to pay more then you paid for the fitting however since they are not sold in great volumes like the 1200mm and 1500mm tubes for normal fluro lights.

[SavannahLion]

White Christmas LED lights with a diffuser. Wait until after the holidays and those things should go for a ridiculous discount. You'll have to experiment a bit with the diffuser. The fluorescent kitchen light inserts would be good to try.

[Ginsu Victim]

I've seen some people use rope lights. You can find them pretty cheap after Christmas, as well.

[whines]

Note that incandescent rope lights produce a LOT of heat (relative to the light they produce) and give a very yellowish light.

If you look around you can find LED rope lights, which are brighter, cooler, and use less power...they tend to have a blue tinge though.

[SavannahLion]

they tend to have a blue tinge though.

If that's really such a concern, then go to a camera shop or film shop and pick up some color gels. I don't know if you get get them in sheets large enough for a marquee.

But in all reality, a vast majority of people are never going to notice slight color tinting from the lights. A few more will notice color changes with side by side comparisons. Seriously, how many people notice the color change when the arcade operators swap out those awful incandescent marquee melting bulbs for the flourescent lights?

[orion]

they tend to have a blue tinge though.

If that's really such a concern, then go to a camera shop or film shop and pick up some color gels. I don't know if you get get them in sheets large enough for a marquee.

But in all reality, a vast majority of people are never going to notice slight color tinting from the lights. A few more will notice color changes with side by side comparisons. Seriously, how many people notice the color change when the arcade operators swap out those awful incandescent marquee melting bulbs for the flourescent lights?

The sheets will either be just big enough or just shy of... I don't have one in front of me at work at the moment to measure. If not you could buy a roll at about $140.00. I wouldn't think it would be worth it though. If you were looking for something in daylight the cheapest and easiest option would be to use either a 15watt or 20watt aquarium florescent strip.

http://www.filmandvideolighting.com/roecococogel.html

http://www.barbizon.com/catalog/index.cfm?Series=2&brand=37&BrandTitle=Gels%2FFilters%20in%20Sheets

[SavannahLion]

If you were looking for something in daylight the cheapest and easiest option would be to use either a 15watt or 20watt aquarium florescent strip.

Don't those aquarium strips have a slightly higher UV exposure than normal? Something to do with sanitizing the tank or something?

[richms]

Note that incandescent rope lights produce a LOT of heat (relative to the light they produce) and give a very yellowish light.

If you look around you can find LED rope lights, which are brighter, cooler, and use less power...they tend to have a blue tinge though.

They are only blue when you are sitting in a room lit by crusty orange incandescent lights. If you are outside in daylight they are a perfect match normally, and that means that you get better colours out of the marquee. If you use incandescent lamps then you lose all the blues and violets.

[KagatoAMV]

It took forever for me to finish these next three because the weather just wouldn't cooperate and let me paint outside.







Only Joust is illuminated, and it doesn't really show in the photograph. I haven't had much luck finding good light fixtures for inside, that are affordable and not to hot.

More to come. 

[BobA]

Not sure what you definition of more affordable is but this 30 Led strip is only $9.80 with free shipping.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5256

[jumpman]

They look real nice, I have been meaning to do something like that too. Do you have any pics from the backside? or any more pics during the building process? Keep up the good work and please let us know what type of lighting works out best.

[pinballwizard79]

very cool

[KagatoAMV]

I took several pictures as I created the last batch, I missed documenting a few steps, but I think it should still make sense.

I started with 3 pieces of 3" wide wood, all a bit longer than the longest marquee I was planning to display. I clamped the wood together so that I could use one piece as a guide to route out a 1/4" groove.



I cut the groove all the way along all three pieces, leaving a 1/4" lip on the outside.



I rested the Marquee in the groove of the bottom piece and squared the side piece at the lower left hand corner, sliding the side of the Marquee into the groove.



Unfortuntly, I don't have a picture, but I then set the top down so the Marquee fit into the groove on the top piece, then measured it against the side piece, the bottom of the top piece told me where I needed to cut side piece. Once the side piece was cut, I put the remaining half of the side piece on the right side, to measure and cut that. This photo shows the end result; the marquee is in the grooves of the wood, sticking up a bit higher than the sides, where it would fit into the top's groove.



Putting the top onto the Marquee, I then measured and cut away the excess wood from the top and bottom.



Again I forgot to take a picture of the next step. Once the box was together, I clamped the sides all together and marked where I wanted to screw through the top and bottom and into the sides. I pre-drilled the holes in the top and bottom before assembling. I assembled it without the Marquee in place the first time, to avoid harming the Marquee.



I used a sheet of mdf for the back, I used plywood on an earlier version, but it splintered to much. You can see the screws in the bottom in the photo. I marked the back a little bit smaller than the size of the box, then cut it with a jigsaw.



I attached the back to the box's top and side, but not the bottom. The plan is to be able to open the box later by removing the bottom. (I have the bottom of the box facing away from the camera in this shot.)



I cut a hole for the cord in the back after attaching it to the box. I need to cut a larger hole next time, the plugs don't fit to well.



I used a little wood putty to finish off the top and sides, hiding the screw holes, the ends of the grooves and my non-perfect measurements. I did not cover the screw holes in the bottom. I sanded and repeated the patch job until smooth.



Now ready to paint, I used some Rustoleum gray primer first.



And then used black Rustoleum spray paint to finish.



I don't have a photo yet, but I bought some 3m self adhesive felt circles to put on the bottom.

Looking back on the finished product, I think they need another coat or two of black to really give it the right finish.

Thats it, I still have a stack of marquees left, so I'll be making more.

[Haterot]

Not sure what you definition of more affordable is but this 30 Led strip is only $9.80 with free shipping.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5256

I know nothing about wiring electronics but could that LED strip be wired to a molex and attached to the PSU on the +12v rail?

[mllkat]

I like this project. I might do the same thing for my workshop at some point. I have quite a few of the Golden Tee Marquees that I would like to display. Nice Work!

[jumpman]

Nice pics, great work! Can't wait to build some, I will build a DK display when I'm done with my cab project, I will use my left over blue paint for the box. I think it would be cool to somehow get some white T-molding on the DK marquee display box, it would be a nice touch with the box painted blue.

[BobA]

Not sure what you definition of more affordable is but this 30 Led strip is only $9.80 with free shipping.

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.5256

I know nothing about wiring electronics but could that LED strip be wired to a molex and attached to the PSU on the +12v rail?

The strip can be wired to +12V and GND directly but as protection a 5 ohm 1Watt resistor is recommended incase the 12V is exceeded.  I think this is basically for automotive situations where 13 to 14 V can be had.   If you are using a computer PS then this should not be required.