Black light, or ultra-violet light, has been around for a long time but until recently it wasn’t really practical to use it in miniature displays. The light fixtures were just too big. But with the current LED technology and the fairly new UV LED diodes and LED strips we can now take full advantage of them! This article gives some of my favorite ways to use black lights with miniatures!
As of the writing of this article, there really aren’t many options to obtain black light/UV led fixtures prewired and ready for miniature displays. I suspect this will change quickly, but if you are interested in exploring with these very cool lighting options you can purchase fixtures from me or make them yourselves. UV LED strips are the easiest to work with on your own as they can be cut to the size you need and don’t need soldering. Individual UV LED diodes are also available but do require soldering or wire-wrapping. Please don’t forget to add the correct sized resistor if you are giving your black light fixture more than the maximum voltage allowed! UV LEDs and LED strips are readily available on Amazon and other electronic supply stores.
A single LED makes a great spotlight. Whether it is wired into your existing dollhouse electrics or powered by it’s own battery pack. I use 3mm 3-volt LED diodes in my displays and shop mostly because they are small and easier to tuck out of the way. These little lights aren’t powerful enough to light up a room but directed at a black light friendly items it can really give an amazing effect. I like to use them to light up black light friendly ghouls lurking in an otherwise dark corner or closet especially when there is no other light fixtures in the display.
The image shows something lurking in an attic corner. The first picture is with additional white light to show her better for the picture and the black light spotlight lights her up. Without the white light she is lost in the shadow until the UV spotlight is turned on.
LED strips are being made for party lighting and human-sized room decor but the strips can be cut-down and work great for the miniature displays! They generally have sticker-backs that make attaching the lights a breeze. But there are a few things to consider:
The more UV LED diodes (lights) per square inch the better. UV lights struggle when competing with strong room lights. And even in dim light, just a few diodes may not light up the back of a mini room. If you want to light up an entire room, especially a deep room, the more diodes the better. (Or use a spotlight to get into those really dark corners!)
When looking at the LED light strips look at the cut lines (where you can cut the strip safely). The denser LED strips that I’ve seen are the ones that have one LED per cut section. The strips that have 3 LEDs per cut section have half as many LEDs per square inch as the other and put out less light overall. What that means is the denser strips will light a larger space and flood the display better so your blacklight friendly objects will glow brighter. If you want a more subtle display or your room is narrow, the 3-LED per section may be just the ticket for you giving you enough light without turning everything purple because of over saturation. (1 LED per cut strip will probably cost you more than the 3 LEDs per cut strip, but remember you are getting twice as much light over the same length.)
- If you are using a 12-volt DC power supply with your display, be careful when selecting the voltage rating on the UV light strip. If you don’t want to mess with figuring out the correct resistor and soldering it into the wiring look for a strip that is already set up by the manufacturer for 12-volts DC and that they have a built-in resistor so your 12volt DC miniature power supply doesn’t kill all the LEDs on the light strip. (You get one quick flash…ask me how I know…) Search for “UV LED Strip 12 volt”, prices have been dropping on these lately making them a super choice for Black Light in the dollhouse!
- I have both the 1 LED per section and the 3 LEDs per section strips available in my shop with resistors soldered into the wires available if you don’t want to mess with it. My LED strips are configured so they can run off of a 9-volt battery or the battery connector can be cut off and the light can be hard-wired into your 12-volt DC dollhouse system. I can do custom lengths as well as if you need a longer strip or some other configuration like two strips off one wire lead, An LED strip 12″ long and a spotlight off a single wire lead, etc. Drop me a note and let me know what you are looking for. 🙂
SAFETY: LED UV (Black Light) diodes that emit light at the 395-400 nm frequency are considered safe for humans and pets (regardless please don’t stare into them!), and these are the only frequency UV diodes that I sell. They work great BUT they do emit a purple light that is visible to most people. You can get lower nm frequency LEDs that are truer “black light” where they emit UV frequencies that our eyes cannot generally see but they can cause eye damage and skin damage. I, personally, don’t recommend using them for this reason.
Wow! You made it this far! Now for the fun stuff…a few ways you use these lights in your display…
- Use a black light spotlight to light up a glowing face deep in the back of a closet…maybe you can just see it from one direction through the slightly opened door?
- Use red fluorescent paint on a small toothbrush and run your finger over the bristles to flick “blood” spatters on the walls and floor of a room and light them up with a UV LED strip.
- Have room full of little toys? Paint their eyes with fluorescent or glow-in-the-dark paint. If you don’t use bright colors, this can often not be noticeable in white light but they will light up under UV!
- Add a tiny dab of red or orange florescent paint on to the top of a non-LED candle and it will appear dimly lit under black light.
- One of my favorite tips! Look at the mini pictures on the walls and see what you can accent with florescent paint. Eyes are great but you can also add yellow to any candle or light fixture in the picture and it will glow under black light as if the item itself is lit up!
There are just so many things you can do with a set of inexpensive florescent or glow-in-the-dark paint and a couple of UV LEDs! Whether you have a pristine dollhouse but am looking for something….surprising…in a dark corner or you are working on a graveyard diorama, black light can deliver in a way no other miniature lighting can.
–Cherie
