SPA Modeler

I'll stick the Dora into the light box when I get home just to see what kind of finished shots I can get with the box. I've already ordered my first DIY upgrade... a small LED light stick that I can mount on the front bottom edge to provide additional front lighting to subjects.



The box is already REALLY bright and is not dimmable but this light bar is so hopefully I can make it work to my advantage.

Here is the LED light strip that I bought. About $12 from Amazon. It is dimmable and has three color temperature settings.


It comes with adhesive magnets for attachment but I'm just going to place it at the front bottom edge of the box.



Here is a quick test of the light turned off and then on. Not as big a difference as I thought. Probably says more about the effectiveness of the reflective material within the box than the effectiveness of the front light.



Another test with some resin sidewalls for a 1/32 Bf109K-4 (yes, they are upside down!).

Well, the subject is well illuminated in the box. Be it by the lights or the reflectiviness of the box lining. The items are well defined and in focus. Of course, my photography schooling ended long ago, aside from a few hours long refresher block of instruction in September for work purposes..

The more I use the box, the more situations I find where I don't quite like the results. There is something about the harshness of the light that bothers me. I think it is a great improvement for naked parts but once they painted... I dunno. I think I prefer the look of my old school incandescent bulbs than the cool LED's of the light box.

Backgrounds make a difference - both shots are taken by David Parker and feature his work

White matte



Black matte

You're right... I don't like the shiny black in my light box. Shiny white is ok since any reflection is going to be swallowed up by the the white color anyway. The blue seems to work ok too. But the shiny black... not very good.