Johnson777717
New Member
good day folks! I thought I would run a project by you to see what you think, and possibly get some advice for improvements.
I'm creating a scene (Nativity, Calvary, and Easter scene) for my little sister. One side will depict the nativity scene, the middle background will contain a Calvary scene, and the opposite side will contain a Easter scene. The entire ornament should end up to be about 12" wide by 8" deep by 4" high.
I'm currently making the base out of plaster, which will be a platform for these scenes according to the measurements that I mentioned above. The base will taper off on all sides to create a mountain type form, for the calvary scene. Then bulges in the front right and left will provide for the Nativity scene and the Easter scene. I plan to sculpt the plaster to make the manger and the tomb for these scenes. Once this is complete, I plan to make the landscape using miniature trees and grass, similar to the items used for model train landscaping. A little paint and clearcoating may be in store as well.
Electronically speaking: I'm making a LED fader, using a LM324 and some transistors. This is similar to the common "fading red eyes" circuit, only I'm multiplying the circuit by 4, thus using all of the OP-amps of the LM324, in order to provide for 8 LED's which will fade off and on every 3 or 4 seconds. I plan to install these LED's as "scene lighting" for each of the individual scenes. I'm planning to use Yellow LED's for the nativity, Red LED's for the calvary, and Green LED's for the Easter scene.
Additionally, I'm going to install a music player (One of those from Radio Shack) to play the song "Silent Night".
I plan to store all of the electronics components in a void, which I will cut out from the bottom of the plaster. The system will run off a 9V battery, but I'm pondering making a power supply to run from a mains supply, just to minimize the battery cost.
Does anyone have any neat ideas for improving this project? I'd really like this to be something neat for my little sister, so the more neat stuff I can add, the better.
Thanks for your input.
PS If you're confused about what the Nativity, Calvary and Easter scenes depict, let me know and I'll send an email / private message which descibes these scenes.
I'm creating a scene (Nativity, Calvary, and Easter scene) for my little sister. One side will depict the nativity scene, the middle background will contain a Calvary scene, and the opposite side will contain a Easter scene. The entire ornament should end up to be about 12" wide by 8" deep by 4" high.
I'm currently making the base out of plaster, which will be a platform for these scenes according to the measurements that I mentioned above. The base will taper off on all sides to create a mountain type form, for the calvary scene. Then bulges in the front right and left will provide for the Nativity scene and the Easter scene. I plan to sculpt the plaster to make the manger and the tomb for these scenes. Once this is complete, I plan to make the landscape using miniature trees and grass, similar to the items used for model train landscaping. A little paint and clearcoating may be in store as well.
Electronically speaking: I'm making a LED fader, using a LM324 and some transistors. This is similar to the common "fading red eyes" circuit, only I'm multiplying the circuit by 4, thus using all of the OP-amps of the LM324, in order to provide for 8 LED's which will fade off and on every 3 or 4 seconds. I plan to install these LED's as "scene lighting" for each of the individual scenes. I'm planning to use Yellow LED's for the nativity, Red LED's for the calvary, and Green LED's for the Easter scene.
Additionally, I'm going to install a music player (One of those from Radio Shack) to play the song "Silent Night".
I plan to store all of the electronics components in a void, which I will cut out from the bottom of the plaster. The system will run off a 9V battery, but I'm pondering making a power supply to run from a mains supply, just to minimize the battery cost.
Does anyone have any neat ideas for improving this project? I'd really like this to be something neat for my little sister, so the more neat stuff I can add, the better.
Thanks for your input.
PS If you're confused about what the Nativity, Calvary and Easter scenes depict, let me know and I'll send an email / private message which descibes these scenes.