LED lights, what to do first

[Valdez]

Hi

So I am planning about making diorama from Bladerunner. I have this lovely hover car http://www.antenocitisworkshop.com/flying-car-with-decals.html and I want to make the scene when he is landing on a roof of police station or a civil building (not sure yet). Question about LED is this, what I should do first? Build a diorama, apply LEDs and paint it, or first paint it and then put LEDs on? I want the LEDs on the car and on the landing-pod.

Thanks for any suggestions.

 

[Grendels]

I usually do the lighting first then assembly and paint.

 

[f2k]

It depends on how exposed the LEDs are.

I would make the holes for the LEDs, cut the wires to length, test-fit the entire system, and then remove it before painting.

Another method might be to mount everything, cover the exposed LEDs with liquid mask, paint the model, and then peel the mask of.

In the end, I think it’s partly down to your own preference and partly down to the nature of the model.