Lighting Holidays Projects with Mini LEDs

by Brynna Jamison

With Christmas, Hanukkah, and New Year right around the corner, now is the perfect time to start decorating your hobby projects for the holidays. There is no better way to add some holiday cheer to your projects than with Evan Design’s mini LED lights.

LED Light Strings

Evan Designs battery-powered LED light strings are the perfect way to add a festive mood to your model train layout, model buildings, or favorite hobby project. Evan Designs offers several options of light strings in various colors and flashing choices.

  1. Multi-Colored Light String

    Multi-colored mini string lights are the most popular option for adding Christmas, or holiday decorations to your model projects. The multi-colored light string is made up of 4 alternating colors of micro LED lights. The colors are ordered red, blue, yellow and green. This multi-colored tiny LED light string is available in flashing and solid, steady on options.

    Multi-Colored Light Strings Light up on Christmas
    Multi-Colored Light Strings Light up a Christmas Tree lot
  2. Multi-Colored Flashing Light Strings

    The flashing multi-colored mini light string flashes at a nice slow rate. There are 4 flash circuits in this model LED light kit and each circuit runs one color. This means that all the reds will flash together, the blues will flash together, the greens together and the yellows together. When you first connect the string, all of the lights will flash together for the first 30 seconds and then they will start to flash separately depending on color.

  3. Warm White Light String

    Warm White bright LED light strings are also a great choice for your holiday project. These strings are a great choice for when you want a soft warm glow to light up a night scene, or decorate a model building. These strings are more subtle than the flashing LED light strings but still provide a cozy festive feel to any holiday, New Year, or Christmas hobby project. Like the multi-colored light strings, the warm white strings are available in flashing and steady on options.

  4. Cool White Light String

    Cool White Light Strings cast more of a cool glow than a warm glow. We like to compare our warm white strings to the glow of an incandescent light bulb and our cool white light strings to the glow of fluorescent lights found in a factory. These are also a great choice for hobby projects and are available in all the same options as the light strings listed above.

    Warm White vs Cool White LED Light Strings
    Warm White vs Cool White Light Strings
  5. Light String Sizes

    All of the above light strings are available with 12 mini LEDs, or 26 micro LEDs. There is one inch of our superfine twisted magnet wire between each light. The 12 small LED light string measures 13.5 inches after the 8” blank input wires that attach to the included battery pack. The 26 light string measures 30.5 inches after the 8” blank input. All Evan Designs mini light strings are available in chip and nano size. The chip size mini LED is 3mm x 1.6mm flat and the nano size LED is 1.6mm x 0.8mm.

Single LEDs

Evan Designs Single LEDs are a great way to add Christmas spirit to small projects where there is no space for a light string, or if only a subtle amount of lighting is desired. Solid, or flashing LEDs in red, green, blue, and white can be used along with some special multi-color LED options. Red/White Flashing LEDs have two colors in the same bulb. These will alternate flashing between red an white. These lights are also available in Red/Blue Flashing. Single red/blue and red/white lights are available in 1.8mm, 3mm and 5mm, a perfect size for any holiday project.

Installing Holiday Lights

Decorating your model projects with Evan Designs battery operated LEDs is simple, much easier than hanging Christmas lights on your actual house, and requires no step ladder. These mini Lights can be easily lit from a battery pack hidden in your project, just make sure to match the voltage of your lights to the voltage of your battery.

If you want to add Christmas lights to your projects temporarily and remove them after New Year consider using Evan Designs Holding Wax instead of glue. This wax has excellent holding properties and can be easily removed without harming the mini LED lights, or your model builder buildings. To use, simply warm a small piece of the wax between your fingers. Sick the wax to the desired spot on your building. Next, gently press your string lights to the spot of wax. Evan Designs string lights are fragile so make sure to be gentle when removing lights to avoid damaging them, or breaking a wire.

Where to Use Holiday Lights

Don’t know where to use holiday lights? Here is some inspiration from our customers who decorated their models with Evan Designs mini LEDs for Christmas and the holiday season.

Flashing miniature LED light strings are perfect for lighting Christmas trees. Hide your power source at the bottom of the tree and wrap the light string from the bottom to the top of the tree. Glue is not necessary for this application, the tree branches will hold the string in place.

Multi-colored light strings can add a festive mood to any hobby train set. Simply attach the string to the top, or side of the model train using glue, or holding wax. For train modelers we recommend the 9-18 volt light string; it can be connected directly to track power.

Warm white light strings and single warm white LEDs add a warm glow to any cold snow holiday scene. Choose from nine sizes of single warm white micro LEDs at EvanDesigns.com to light the biggest, or smallest winter villages.

Adding Fake Snow to Model Builder Buildings

Fake snow can add the finishing touch to your lighted hobby project and bring the whole wintertime scene together. Keep in mind that this option is not removable like using mini Christmas string lights and holding wax. Use a spray adhesive to coat the tops of your model builder buildings, or wherever you would like a dusting of snow. Next working quickly before the glue dries, sift on powdered laundry detergent. Laundry detergent is a great choice for fake snow on hobby projects because unlike powdered sugar, or flour it will not attract bugs, or insects.

If you are using Evan Designs Model Builder Program to print holiday buildings, you can import images that you would like to use in the program. Import pictures of your favorite holiday decor such as a Menorah for windows, wreaths for doors, and other assorted Christmas, or holiday items.

Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays from all of us here at Evan Designs. It's our pleasure to be a part of your holiday season, and please share your holiday creations by email to help@evandesigns.com, or by submitting them to our website gallery. Looking for stocking stuffers for the modelers in your life? Try our Chip Light Kits, or Gift Cards for a gift that's sure to light up the holiday.


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