1/6 Hot Toys Custom Hall of Armor Projects / Display Base Mods

[Username]

Re: Hot Toys Custom Hall of Armor Projects

You can make him taller by using different pegs????

Please elaborate.

Like Jackey said, just use taller pegs. Also, i can make pegs that are even longer again. PM me if you want me to make you a set!

 

[adello25]

Re: Hot Toys Custom Hall of Armor Projects

So I finally got my HOA set up in my Billy Bookcase. I have all of the walls wired up together and the bases connected with a dc power supply and it is all connected to one remote outlet. Here are just a few pictures of my work. If you have any questions about my process just shoot me a PM.

Here my HOA walls are all wired. My display is two rows of 3 HOA bays. I have the 4 walls on the top wired together and the 4 walls on the bottom wired together.


Here is my HOA in the Billy Bookcase. The Billy is not the perfect display for the HOA as there is the line down the middle from the doors but due to limited space to display figures, it was the best I could do and I think it turned out pretty awesome

 

[Boba Debt]

Re: Hot Toys Custom Hall of Armor Projects

I love the look of this

If I were you I would take a money shot (straight on / all lights one, from a slightly lower angle) once you fill the bottom.

My only suggestion is that maybe you can hid the surge protector and cords behind the units???

 

[sandtrooper]

Re: Hot Toys Custom Hall of Armor Projects

Is the cabinet to the right of the Billy one that you built?

 

[adello25]

Re: Hot Toys Custom Hall of Armor Projects

Is the cabinet to the right of the Billy one that you built?

The cabinet to the right of the Billy is a Besta

Here is an update with the HOA filled. I still haven't put anything in the bottom yet.

 

[Grimlockisking]

Re: Hot Toys Custom Hall of Armor Projects

So if I have all seven lined up and connected do I need 7 power source or one? Any recommendations?

 

[adello25]

Re: Hot Toys Custom Hall of Armor Projects

So if I have all seven lined up and connected do I need 7 power source or one? Any recommendations?

Each of the walls will still need their own power unless you wire them together.

The bases can run off of one DC power supply

 

[Grimlockisking]

Re: Hot Toys Custom Hall of Armor Projects

Each of the walls will still need their own power unless you wire them together.

The bases can run off of one DC power supply

Awesome thanks!

Recommendations for walls power supplies and for the base?

 

[adello25]

Re: Hot Toys Custom Hall of Armor Projects

Awesome thanks!

Recommendations for walls power supplies and for the base?

For the bases, I bought:
https://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=151134794271

For the walls, your options are batteries or to wire them together to a central power supply

 

[Boba Debt]

Re: Hot Toys Custom Hall of Armor Projects

That is the exact same power supply listed in the first post of this thread

For the bases, I bought:
https://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=151134794271

For the walls, your options are batteries or to wire them together to a central power supply

 

[Grimlockisking]

Re: Hot Toys Custom Hall of Armor Projects

That is the exact same power supply list in the first post of this thread

Appreciate the help fellas. Now I just need to read up on what others have done for the side walls and I can get this finished

 

[ScottPSU]

Re: Hot Toys Custom Hall of Armor Projects

I just picked up two sets of four of the Hall of Armor units, with the intention of interconnecting 7 of them. I would like to do the electrical mods described here, to eliminate the need for any batteries. I am happy to learn and implement the steps necessary to do it, but need additional knowledge since I am not well-versed in how this works. So, I have some questions:


Option 1: Two Power Adapters
If I want to have two power cords coming from the "Hall" - one for all the base lights, and another for all the side walls, will two of these work? Power Adapter. Is one of the two "tips" that comes with it the correct size?

Option 2: One Power Adapter For All Lighting
If I decide to wire all lighting together so that I only have to use one power adapter for all hall of armor lighting (base, walls, etc.), will the power adapter mentioned in Option 1 still work, or do I need one with a different amperage? What other items do I need to do this, and how does it all get put together? I'm aware of the dowel rod approach in replacement of batteries, and conceptually, I think I'm OK with that. But the stuff going on behind the Hall of Armor (the buss, etc.) is a little confusing to me.

Which is Easier?
In the long run, I certainly prefer Option 2 and would like to try it, but truthfully, I have concerns over how difficult it is to do. What do you think; is it substantially harder to wire all lighting together, into one power adapter?


I am going to go back and re-read this thread; there's lots of great info in here. I know I'll have additional questions and I will post them here when I do.

Thanks in advance for the assistance!

Regards,

Scott

 

[ScottPSU]

Re: Hot Toys Custom Hall of Armor Projects

Boba Debt, I've been studying this picture. Any chance you can provide some hi-res close-ups and maybe some more detailed (read: dumbed down) steps for how and why you wired it up this way? I've readYour posts about it, but I can't figure out how everything was wired to the terminal strip and why it was done that way. I don't have familiarity with terminal strips...I would have thought all hot wires would be on one side and the neutrals on the other, but it looks like it wasn't wired that way on your unit.

Also, what is the advantage to this method, as opposed to tying all the same-color wires together and wrapping electrical tape around them?

 

[Boba Debt]

Re: Hot Toys Custom Hall of Armor Projects

....Which is Easier?
In the long run, I certainly prefer Option 2 and would like to try it, but truthfully, I have concerns over how difficult it is to do. What do you think; is it substantially harder to wire all lighting together, into one power adapter?


I am going to go back and re-read this thread; there's lots of great info in here. I know I'll have additional questions and I will post them here when I do.

Thanks in advance for the assistance!

Regards,

Scott

A 1 amp power supply has more then enough power to light up everything in 7 units. However it is tricky getting the power to the walls without going into the units like I did. You can use a 2.1mm x 5.5mm lead as a way to plug into one unit which would provide the current to power the walls.

The plug would get current from an attached bay and you could simply attach all 8 sets of wires to the leads.

Boba Debt, I've been studying this picture. Any chance you can provide some hi-res close-ups and maybe some more detailed (read: dumbed down) steps for how and why you wired it up this way?.....?

I can't provide any additional images of that set up because it no longer exists.

That was the first way I came up with to get power to the walls and the bases with one power supply.

the top half of the terminal strip is positive and the bottom is negative

In that set up I attached the bare leads of the power supply to the terminal strip and then I attached the leads of the individual walls to the strip. To power the bases I used the adapter plug end as a way to get the power down to one of the base sockets which in turn powered all connected units

Once I realized I would have to heavily modify my units I decided to do all of the wiring internally.

 

[ScottPSU]

Re: Hot Toys Custom Hall of Armor Projects

Thanks for the info! Let's say that I am OK with using two power adapters to provide all necessary power - one for base lighting, and one for the walls. That would work fine for me, as I would just plug both adapters into an outlet strip that would itself be plugged into a switched outlet. So in the end, a flick of a switch would power on all Hall of Armor lighting.

As I understand it, here is how I go about doing that. Would you mind reading this over and letting me know if I'm making any mistakes here?

Base Lighting
This should be as easy as plugging one 4.5v 1.0A adapter into one of the Halls, and the other end into the power strip. All 7 sets of base lighting should now be powered by this power adapter, as I understand it.

Walls
1. Fashion some fake batteries out of dowel rods and furniture pins (or screws). Follow instructions as shown here to get the wiring set up and to get the fake batteries installed, with wiring leads coming out of each wall.
2. Cut the plug off of the (other) 4.5V 1.0A power adapter.
3. Twist the ends of all 8 red wires coming out of the walls together with the red wire lead coming from the power adapter, and wrap them all (all 9 red wires) with electrical tape. Repeat the process for the 9 black wires.
4. Plug the power adapter into the outlet strip.


Will this work, or is it not an electrically valid way to do this? Is there any downside to doing it this way?

Does wire gauge matter? I'm pretty sure I have plenty of telephone wire at home, but I don't remember the gauge.

I want to make sure I get this right and don't want to risk damaging the electronics inside the HoA!

Thanks so much for your assistance.

 

[Boba Debt]

Re: Hot Toys Custom Hall of Armor Projects

That will work.

I used 24Ga Telephone wire for mine.

BTW: If you hook it up to the power supply backwards it won't damage anything, it just won't light up.

 

[justme]

Re: Hot Toys Custom Hall of Armor Projects

ScottPSU: I hardwired all my halls as well. I found that by using a connector that is placed about a few inches leading out of each wall that makes the entire process more flexible and easier. So for every wall I have the two wires that come out of the wall terminate into a tiny male connector. This allows me to separate the wiring process and then just plug all the wires into the connectors when the group of wires has been completed. As an added benefit I can now swap out walls simply by unplugging the small connector located behind each wall and replacing the wall without disturbing the entire group of wires. Small connectors can be had for pennies. Just an idea. Will throw up a pic if I get some time.

 

[ScottPSU]

Re: Hot Toys Custom Hall of Armor Projects

Boba Debt,

Thank you for reviewing my plan; I feel much more confident about it now.

justme,

I am very interested in your idea and would love to see some pictures so I can be sure what this small connector looks like. If this works like I'm thinking, it would make installation much easier.

 

[ScottPSU]

Re: Hot Toys Custom Hall of Armor Projects

ScottPSU: I hardwired all my halls as well. I found that by using a connector that is placed about a few inches leading out of each wall that makes the entire process more flexible and easier. So for every wall I have the two wires that come out of the wall terminate into a tiny male connector. This allows me to separate the wiring process and then just plug all the wires into the connectors when the group of wires has been completed. As an added benefit I can now swap out walls simply by unplugging the small connector located behind each wall and replacing the wall without disturbing the entire group of wires. Small connectors can be had for pennies. Just an idea. Will throw up a pic if I get some time.

justme, by chance, is this the connector you used?

 

[justme]

Re: Hot Toys Custom Hall of Armor Projects

justme, by chance, is this the connector you used?

Sorry for the late reply. I used something like this:



If you google small two pin connectors there will be a whole assortment to choose from. Anything simple and small will do.

Basically one end is attached to the wall with wooden dowels and the other end is attached to the mass of wires. I chose to drill a tiny hole into each wall and feed the wire through, but the battery lid is also pliable enough to also accommodate the wiring if you didn't want to drill any holes. Drilling holes gives for a cleaner look IMHO. With this method I never have to disturb the group of wires when replacing walls. All of my walls look like this:



Cheers