Shifty Shed and Shingle Shack 13

The last week has been very busy, but, I managed to squeak a few hours in on the Shifty Shack.  I carved the foundation from Balsa Foam and colored it with acrylic paint so that it looks like local red sandstone.

I photographed it outside on a fence post--I am looking forward to building more of a habitat for it--a little model railroad.  I have also been thinking about the night view--hence the little lantern made from the guts of a Christmas light bulb.

The Turkeys came to investigate while I was photographing the Shifty Shack--hmmm, who to choose for Christmas dinner? 

I was inspired by Greg S.'s recent posts on the Railroad-Line Forums, as well as comments from friends to make the little LED lantern.  The plan is to put it on a little laser cut table in the shed so that the light from the lantern will spill out between the cracks between the boards.

I started by burning a few LEDs out in order to determine the voltage--it seems they are rated for somewhere between 3-5 volts--they won't light at 1.5, and they burn out at much higher voltages.  I used a little brass wire for the handle and laser cut a base.  I replaced the LED leads with magnet wire.

The resulting lantern might not be what I want to put in a foreground situation, but it is not bad either, and should be convincing on the table in the shack.  I have some ideas for improving the next one.  The most difficult part of the entire affair is the physical handling of the magnet wire--that stuff is fiddly!

Managed to get the supplies I need to finish several projects--so the next week should be fun.