Welding?

[Brandlin]

I'm thinking of making a diorama that will include someone arc welding.

I'm wondering how to do the arc welding effect? I'm guessing it would be a VERY aggressive OSL effect in brilliant whit/blue tinge and with very sharpe shadows? I'm also guessing that the arc light would simply wash out the colours of anything it hits?

My alternative is to paint the model normally, but to install a flickering blue/White LED for the effect? I can do this relatively easily, but I don't believe I'll get the very bright arc effect, and it will just look dull, even in the dark?

Does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[Tercha]

well it won't wash out the colours completely:

If you would like any reference pictures I could probably help out or take some for you.

 

[armornv]

If you decide to go the LED path, www.superbrightleds.com sells the brightest led's I have ever used. I have a truck sh*t ton in an Enterprise model I'm building. They MIGHT be bright enough to pull that off. They're 1watt and High flux led's are even brighter than what I'm using.
My 2 cents on it anyways.

 

[Chrome]

Here's how it looks when you're welding aluminium (from my last job):

 

[Brandlin]

Thanks for the responses and pictures guys. I do know what the welding light looks like, what I'm trying to decide is whether to paint the effect or put in LEDs. And if I paint it HOW will I do it?

Armornv - thanks for the link, though I'm in the uk, but I'm sure I'll find a suitable supper here if I need one. Good to know that an LED might be bright enough.

So, how would you do it?

 

[freakinacage]

i saw a dio with a small, bright led flickering away. looked good

 

[armornv]

I think I could go either way...not that that answer really helps lol. IMO, one of the determining factors is scale. If it's a smaller scale, then it would depend on what the led is mounted on/in and whether it's big enough to "hide" it and the wiring. It gets exponentially more difficult the smaller you go, for me anyways. If it's a larger scale, and the object from which the light is being emitted from is larger, then my geeky electronic-ness would say go led for sure! Also have to consider whether you will be able to find a flickering led of the right size and brightness or if you will need any type of "circuitry" to make it crakle. Again, just my 2 cents but what do I know!

 

[Brandlin]

IF I decide to use LEDs then I was thinking of using this...
http://www.micromark.com/Arc-Welder-Circuit-with-Sound,8879.html

... And then running fibre optics from the LEDs to the point of use. Space is not a problem. It's a diorama on a CD sized base, and I can raise it on a display plinth to hide batteries and circuits etc.

However I have a hankering to paint the OSL too, but never having done it I'm unsure of how. Would it look odd with both the LED and some OSL?

 

[armornv]

That looks like it should work well, though I'm unsure of the need for a red led. In welding, there will certainly be reddish white hot metal, but unless it is a very large weld bead, the glow is not very bright and almost non existent during the actual welding. As for using both, I have little to no experience with osl or any "advanced" techniques for that matter where painting is concerned. I would say that it would be tricky at best to pull off using both. Reason being, that when the flicker of the welding has it's dimmer moments, you would still see the more or less full effect of the osl. I could be wrong though. I just know from limited welding experiece, that it's not always going at full brightness.

 

[freakinacage]

However I have a hankering to paint the OSL too, but never having done it I'm unsure of how. Would it look odd with both the LED and some OSL?

i think so. you need one or t'other. it's like mixing nmm with metallics

 

[finn17]

i think so. you need one or t'other. it's like mixing nmm with metallics

I'm gonna disagree. I've seen some really nice work combining NMM and metallics (don't ask me to find it just now though...). I think the two techniques could work well together.

 

[Dragonsreach]

i think so. you need one or t'other. it's like mixing nmm with metallics

I'm gonna disagree. I've seen some really nice work combining NMM and metallics (don't ask me to find it just now though...). I think the two techniques could work well together.

Hmmmn, gonna disagree slightly with finn17 here, but only about combining Real light source and Painted light source.
There's something about mixing the two which is in effect mixing a Static unmoving item with a Dynamic moving item that screws up my perception.
Whether its a trick of my own psychological perception or not, but mixing the two relegates things to me into the category of those 1970's museum dioramas that always looked "done on the cheap".

 

[QuietiManes]

Both might be the ticket. Nothing (within reason) can replicate that blinding sun spot (I don't think) but some light source and a blinking LED might give a fairly close impression. Certainly should convey the feeling better than either/or...I would think...although that "on the cheap" impression might creep up fast.

 

[Einion]

Hmmmn, gonna disagree slightly with finn17 here, but only about combining Real light source and Painted light source.
There's something about mixing the two which is in effect mixing a Static unmoving item with a Dynamic moving item that screws up my perception.

Generally I agree.

For me it's like using painted catchlights on something (e.g. eyes) alongside real metallics and a mix of shiny and matt surfaces: they don't fit together.

Einion

 

[finn17]

I think the advantage of combining methods is that the effect will be present to some degree all the time, not just when the bulb is switched on?

 

[Shawn R. L.]

Would it look odd with both the LED and some OSL?

I think it could be pulled off quite well. Been kicking around doing some of that myself. Look in the articles section under, I think, Misc. There's an article on OSL you may find helpful.