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  • Bringing Models to Life

    This entry is part 2 of 2 in the series Starlight Kitforge Development Log

    The Art of Illumination

    Light transforms the static into the cinematic. In Project Starlight, LED systems become the bridge between digital control and artistic expression, enabling creators to infuse motion and emotion into their work.

    Yeah, yeah, OK ChatGPT… even with all your flowery phrasing, you’re not wrong. Like I said before, adding lights to anything makes it better — especially models and dioramas. Blinking lights on a sleek control console, strobing lights across a miniature battlefield, pulsing thrusters on a starship — this stuff takes a static display and cranks it up about fourteen notches. And I’m no Illuminologist (wait is that even a word?) but I think a lot of folks would agree; the lighting can just knock a model or diorama outta the park.

    Hugo built the initial interface with some great baseline options: adjustable brightness, flashing, and frequency control. Those were fantastic starting points. From there, using Python (and, yeah, ChatGPT again), I dove into Hugo’s GitHub repo and started coding all the dream effects I’d wanted — things like random flicker, perfect for starship engines. You can tweak how bright the flicker gets, or how often it changes, giving it that organic, unstable look.

    Then came pulsing — a smooth fade between brightness levels, cycling at whatever interval you choose. It’s perfect for a UFO’s rotating light ring or a subtle green glow behind a closed door in a horror diorama. That one little effect adds an instant dose of tension and atmosphere. I also whipped up candle and fire effects — gentle, warm flickers that feel almost alive. These additions were simple but added a whole new layer of awesomeness to an already solid project.

    We even talked about exporting these lighting profiles into something shareable — maybe JSON or SQLite. The goal is to let creators save and swap lighting setups, maybe even upload them to an online repository. That way, builders can share their custom “light recipes” or prototype their scenes faster.

    As for the hardware, Hugo sourced a variety of LED options: standard bulbs, flat white LED panels, and my new favorite — Adafruit noodle LEDs, affectionately dubbed Noodz. These flexible strips are perfect for running along channels or beveled edges of a model. If you’re designing your own 3D prints, you can even build in slots for them — no glue, no mess, just snap and glow. This kind of modular setup means one Starlight KitForge device can power multiple projects; just unplug, reconfigure, and light up something new.

    That flexibility was a huge part of why I wanted to do this in the first place. There are tons of fantastic lighting kits out there, but a lot of them are pricey or tied to one specific model. If you buy the 1/78 scale Millennium Falcon kit, you can also buy the matching light kit — cockpit, displays, sound, the works. But I’m not that guy. I wanted a system I could experiment with freely — something adaptable for whatever random sci-fi or fantasy scene I dreamed up next.

    And sure, there are plenty of other lighting systems out there — some of them awesome, flexible, and way fancier than mine. But they weren’t quite right for me. Maybethe LEDs were too big, too thick, too specific. I think there’s space in this hobby for everyone to bring something unique to the table. The key is staying humble, knowing your competition, and building for the love of it first.

    I never started Starlight KitForge thinking it’d be a product to sell — it was just a fun experiment. But after Hugo mentioned commercialization, I started seeing the potential differently. Still, for me, it always comes back to that core spark: building something because you love it. Every great project starts that way — and the light just helps it shine a little brighter.

    • Key Highlights:
    • – Dan’s diorama experiments and early creative showcases
    • – Programmable flicker, ambient fade, and audio-reactive lighting
    • – Python control logic linking interface inputs to visual output
    • – Marrying hardware fidelity with artistic subtlety
    • – Design philosophy: technology in service of storytelling

    4. The Maker’s Forge: Tools, Code, and Community

    (Add @Idea Rocket Labs to highlight collaboration and future maker outreach.)

    Project Starlight isn’t just a product — it’s a platform. The control system runs on a Python-based backend and a web interface, enabling flexibility, modularity, and a growing ecosystem of makers who can adapt it to their own creative needs.

    • Key Highlights:
    • – Overview of Raspberry Pi backend and web-based control interface
    • – Use of Python libraries for PWM, brightness, and animation logic
    • – Planned integration with MQTT, PubNub API, and Node-RED
    • – Community-driven modularity and open-source documentation plans
    • – Vision for an expanding creative and technical community around KitForge
  • Sparks in the Dark

    Sparks in the Dark

    This entry is part 1 of 2 in the series Starlight Kitforge Development Log

    The Birth of Project Starlight

    Every great project starts with a spark — and for Project Starlight KitForge, that spark was the drive to merge artistry with engineering. What began as a late-night conversation between makers evolved into a mission to redefine how light transforms miniature worlds.

    Ha, OK the above was written by our good friend ChatGPT, but it sounds too serious and AI-ish. I found it funny though so I’m going to keep the generated stuff in, and then just do the ‘real’ stuff after…by the way it wasn’t born as a late night conversation, it was broad daylight at a cafe. Idea Rocket Labs had just been born, and I was customer #1! FIRST!

    I’ve always admired the model makers out there — hobbyists, pros, all of ’em. The sheer act of creating something from nothing just knocks me out every time. And these folks? They don’t do it for money or fame. They do it because they love it. I mean, really — you’d have to. Nobody wakes up one morning, sighs, and says, “Yaaay, another day of building tiny plastic spaceships, exactly what I don’t want to do.” Doesn’t happen.

    Aside from the artistry itself, it’s the lighting that kills me every time. Fiber optics for starship windows. Long filaments glowing on a UFO. Blinking lights on scale-model aircraft. Neon strips casting that perfect cyberpunk glow over a rainy street in New Chiba. Even the harsh overhead lights of a gas station in the middle of nowhere while a UFO lands in the distance — all of it! The right lighting turns a model into a movie still. It’s pure magic. (Full disclosure: I can’t model my way out of a paper bag, so this is pure fanboy energy.)

    Here’s the thing — I’m not a hardware guy. I fear the soldering iron. I couldn’t tell you what half the stuff on a PCB does, and I probably spell Raspberry Pi with a “y.” So naturally, when Hugo told me he was starting a company — Idea Rocket Labs — my first thought was, “Perfect. I can finally pay someone who knows what they’re doing so they can make my little dream project into a reality!”

    Hugo and I go way back to our days at Platform Science. He’s one of those people who’s absurdly generous with his time — the kind of mentor who’ll hang back after hours to help you figure out why your personal project just turned into a smoke machine. I asked him if he’d be up for helping me with a lighting project I’d been noodling on for ages, and, being Hugo, he said yes without hesitation.

    He started by asking the smart questions — the kind I hadn’t even thought to ask:

    • “Do you want to make this mobile? Like, battery-pack mobile?”
    • “Sixteen LED ports — too much?” (Me: There’s no such thing as too many lights, Hugo.)
    • “The Pi can save its state between shutdowns, so if you unplug it, move it, and plug it back in, it’ll boot up right where you left off.”
    • “When you 3D print the case, just keep the dimensions or larger — that way you can customize without breaking the layout.”
    • “Want to sell this someday?” <— THIS never even occurred to me!

    This is why he’s the hardware brain and I’m the guy who says, “Make it blink faster.”

    After we hammered out the core design — 16 ports, safe power draw, modular LEDs, React frontend, Python backend — Hugo went to work translating my “wouldn’t it be cool if…” ideas into actual code and copper. And he did it gracefully. Remember, he was in full start up mode getting Idea Rocket Labs off the ground, and he was crushing it with my project as well. 

    Once we locked the basics in, the real fun began: picking out the LEDs. Color temperature, brightness, diffusion patterns — all the little details that make light feel alive. That’s when Project Starlight stopped being a concept and started glowing for real.

    Step 1: Design

    Step 2: Print

    Step 3: Add light

    Step 4: Amaze