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Headlight Lenses for Hood Units - How-to

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  • #1

    Headlight Lenses for Hood Units - How-to

    All of us modelers have bought an HO scale Preiser figure at one time or another. In my case I have bought many. I have recently found another use for the box the figure comes in. I have always saved the boxes for storing small parts. And use the black shelf that the figure comes attached to for other uses in modeling.

    The part I found by accident was the two clear styrene rods that hold the shelf to the back of the box.

    As the pictures show, I broke off the two styrene rods and found that they are an exact match for the two light holes in Locomotive Hood Units. I have this Proto 2000 GP20, and like most of my hood units, I take out the factory lens, cut the number boards off, light them separately, and wind up putting in new headlights wired to their own light source from the number boards. The one picture shows the two clear styrene rods sticking out real far, that’s just for your viewing, but once cut and placed in the hole properly they work perfectly for light lenses. They are a tight/perfect fit with no modifications needed. I can’t swear to any other hood units, but the Proto line is a perfect match. So, once again we modelers find a reason why we never throw anything away.












    Louis L&R Western Railroad
    Pacific Northwest Logging in the East Coast
    Tags: None
  • #2
    Look at that! Neat find.

    Joe

    Comment

    • #3
      Looks good. I bought some fiber optic material that worked well for me. Sorry, I don't remember the diameter.
      Karl Scribner-Curmudgeon

      Cedar Swamp
      SW of Manistique, MI

      Avatar image by Savannah Lyn Burgess 7-15-2022

      Comment

      • #4
        That is a neat idea.

        Jeff S.

        Comment

        • #5
          quote:

          Originally posted by jatravia

          Look at that! Neat find.

          Joe
          quote:

          Originally posted by k9wrangler

          Looks good. I bought some fiber optic material that worked well for me. Sorry, I don't remember the diameter.

          quote:

          Originally posted by jschumaker

          That is a neat idea.

          Jeff S.

          Thanks Joe for replying.
          Thanks Karl for your comments. I light mine with LED's glued to the backs of the lens, or drill a hole in the lens using 0.04 fiber optic.

          Thanks Jeff for posting a comment.


          Louis L&R Western Railroad
          Pacific Northwest Logging in the East Coast

          Comment

          • #6
            quote:

            Originally posted by k9wrangler

            quote:

            Originally posted by desertdrover

            quote:

            Originally posted by jatravia

            Look at that! Neat find.

            Joe
            quote:

            Originally posted by k9wrangler

            Looks good. I bought some fiber optic material that worked well for me. Sorry, I don't remember the diameter.

            quote:

            Originally posted by jschumaker

            That is a neat idea.

            Jeff S.

            Thanks Joe for replying.
            Thanks Karl for your comments. I light mine with LED's glued to the backs of the lens, or drill a hole in the lens using 0.04 fiber optic.

            Thanks Jeff for posting a comment.

            I'be used heat shrink tubing to connect led to the fiber optic.

            Karl Scribner-Curmudgeon

            Cedar Swamp
            SW of Manistique, MI

            Avatar image by Savannah Lyn Burgess 7-15-2022

            Comment

            • #7
              Sorry about the double quote, -*&%$ tablet keyboard!
              Karl Scribner-Curmudgeon

              Cedar Swamp
              SW of Manistique, MI

              Avatar image by Savannah Lyn Burgess 7-15-2022

              Comment

              • #8
                Sadly, I can't bring myself to toss things away, specially stuff like this! SO, without further anticipation, I save the sprue's from clear parts, window glass and stuff like that from buildings....These sprue's are round as we would all like, BUT I have a Unimat, that I chuck the sprue in, and turn it round, waste? About 1/8th inch from the area that was chucked in the lathe! This allows me to make them as big in diameter, or as small as I need them, AND allows me to turn them rounded like a contact lens......That way they don't have all that "squarish" looking lens sticking out, and not heat or flame needed!

                I have also found an interesting clear material to turn as well......for making or simulating HO scale or any scale "Electric Motors", from! A handle, to a sink plunger! $2.00 at the local Lowes......I got a foot of the stuff, almost an inch in diameter that I can again, turn to whatever diameter under that once its "made true", round and it turns smooth! Again, waste? The plunger head.......And a little from "truing" it till its "true" round, then its all usable material!

                Comment

                • #9
                  Great stuff Louis! That's why I love this forum. So many people come up with great ideas. This might have been obvious to some, but I wouldn't have thought of using those rods for headlight lenses! Thanks Louis!
                  Mark

                  Comment

                  • #10
                    quote:

                    Originally posted by MarkF

                    Great stuff Louis! That's why I love this forum. So many people come up with great ideas. This might have been obvious to some, but I wouldn't have thought of using those rods for headlight lenses! Thanks Louis!

                    Thanks Mark. :up:


                    Louis L&R Western Railroad
                    Pacific Northwest Logging in the East Coast

                    Comment

                    • #11
                      Louis,

                      Could you show how you finish the number-boards?

                      Respectfully,

                      BNSF Fan

                      Comment

                      • #12
                        quote:

                        Originally posted by BNSF Fan

                        Louis,

                        Could you show how you finish the number-boards?

                        Respectfully,

                        BNSF Fan

                        Hi Jerry, I do my light modifications in many ways. I will try to show you some of them here. What you chose to use will work on any locomotive headlight type. It doesn’t matter what process you use they all work well depending on the locomotive type and wiring situation. I have glued the center light to an LED with the rounded tip cut flat, and painted black around the outside to stop light bleed through. (See first pictures). I cut my number boards with a razor saw (see red cut lines in pictures). Then I either use 3mm LED’s glued to # boards, small Miniatronics bulbs drilled into # boards, or put Fiber Optics drilled into each number board and drilled into the tip of a single LED and glued in place.

                        I also do this type of modification to the Kato type of locomotives, that come with that one piece continuous plastic light board. (I cut it down, and attach LED's or Bulbs to them).

                        I hope this helps, and explain what I've done.











                        Louis L&R Western Railroad
                        Pacific Northwest Logging in the East Coast

                        Comment

                        • #13
                          Louis,

                          Question, Where you put the "Lens" on the LED, what type glue did you use? That looks like it be a GREAT way to light them, without "frying" the engineer, and head end brakeman, and fireman!

                          Comment

                          • #14
                            quote:

                            Originally posted by EM-1

                            Louis,

                            Question, Where you put the "Lens" on the LED, what type glue did you use? That looks like it be a GREAT way to light them, without "frying" the engineer, and head end brakeman, and fireman!

                            Hi John, The LED was first glued on to the locomotive headlight or number boards with Canopy 560 glue that dries clear. Once that dries I use AC gel around the light fixture to insure it never pulls apart from each other. Then paint black around any clear lens areas to block out any light leaks. Leaving just the number board front, or the front of the headlights clear.

                            Also, see this build where I did the same thing to the factory headlights here; http://www.railroad-line.com/forum/t...98&whichpage=1 [:-bulb]


                            Louis L&R Western Railroad
                            Pacific Northwest Logging in the East Coast

                            Comment

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