LEGO Tutorial - lighting planning and design

Tips and tricks when lighting your LEGO city. Power considerations, hiding wires, planning advice. In this video I share my thoughts and the lessons I've learned in lighting up my LEGO city.

[@joytekb]

Spectacular city

[@eseskay99]

Growing old is mandatory, but growing up is optional. Congratulations on a wonderful Lego setup. You are an artist.

[@MrWickedpaul]

I’ve watched 3 of your tutorial videos as planning to do my own city set up soon. They’ve been very helpful and given me some ideas. Lights was my main concern but now I’ve watched this I’m not that daunted by it now. Thank you!

[@MrBookieboo]

I’m so glad you found the videos helpful. Happy building!

[@yokpok85]

This is probably the neatest city layout

[@BrickBakery]

Heeey, good to see you finally :-D It's so cool you took that jump - I tip my hat in respect! It's a very interesting video and very nice to hear all your thoughts on making lights and such in your city - loved how detailed you made your explanation! I really like how you made that covering/wall all along the edge of the raised part. It's so neat how you can open each part like that! Great job! Looking forward to more of the behind-the-scenes stuff! Thanks for sharing your creativity and keep up teh good work :-)

[@MrBookieboo]

Thank you very much!

[@BrickBakery]

@@MrBookieboo you are very welcome :-)

[@bear8903]

I’ve only just got back into lego, but wow out of all the city builds on youtube , this is my favorite. very impressive

[@MrBookieboo]

Thank you!

[@shyx9402]

its a really cool city, but there is one by a German builder called bob brickman, which I like even more

[@BlockHeadUK]

Some great tips there, thanks. And nice to "meet" you at last :-)

[@MrBookieboo]

Thank you 🙂

[@Adorabuild]

I just started to build my first Lego city this year and your videos have been super useful. Thanks heaps for the tips on lighting 🙂

[@MrBookieboo]

Thank you for the kind words.

[@brenybrick9481]

The city is looking great! Love it lit up! I enjoyed this different video as well. 👍

[@GJBricks]

Interesting to see the effort involved. I’m still curious though, even with those panel off it’d surely be quite hard to reach the back or are all the hubs on top and just the USB cables you’re routing. It adds an immense amount to the city vibrancy. Might look into this one day. Thanks for pointing me here - had forgotten to come back to it. Ps. Good to see you on screen!

[@MrBookieboo]

It can be a bit of a reach but I use a step stool to reach behind the modulars and there are open spaces beneath my tables where I can reach from underneath. The tables are a few inches off the wall allowing me to reach in.

[@X-OR_]

Looks Great Man... I Love the Wrap around Lay out. I Live in a Condo and have limited Space for my layout. I Like how you can walk in to your setup.

[@MrBookieboo]

Thank you! I’ve spent a lot of time trying to maximize the space I have.

[@carellicollectables]

Yea, when it comes to making the most out of a small lego city display, MrBookieboo and SmallBrickCity are rulers of the realm. Honestly seeing how much he's done with such a long and thin space is 99.9% of the reason I subbed to this channel... My space itself isn't that tight, but 90% of it's taken up with Transformers on shelves, so I didn't leave myself much room for lego-city...ing. The work I've seen here has helped A TON when it comes to trying to cheat my own space a little bit more. :P Also.... just that raised stone facade his whole city is elevated on is really top-notch work. Looks so incredibly realistic it's not even funny. Makes me want to shrink myself down and take a little stroll. :P

[@peterlodemore]

I was first xonfused why there was a r andom guy sitting in the city then I realised its bookieboo

[@cynthiadiosdado4722]

Your LEGO city is so awesome. I love the way you’ve mixed in different characters. I saw the Stormtrooper on the bike and Lisa Simpson. I have added lights to my Harry Potter LEGO sets. I had an especially hard time with the lights for the mini scale Hogwarts Castle. I’ve had wires break off the little plugs that connect the wires and break off where it connects to the brick. The company I bought the lights from were great and sent replacements, but wires broke as I was placing it on the shelf for display and I don’t want to take it all apart again. Do you have a video for fixing the lighting wires? If not, would you consider making one. It would be greatly appreciated.

[@tomsewart9267]

Wow... I did not expect you to look like that 😂😂great video anyway

[@MrBookieboo]

Yeah, it took a lot of courage for me to finally get in front of the camera instead of hiding behind it.

[@tomsewart9267]

Yeah,it’s hard for people to do so well done for getting the courage to do so 👍🏻👍🏻😝

[@carellicollectables]

Well, grats on going for it! Always nice to see someone's smiling face. XD I'm battling with that myself right now. I need to do an update video on my channel shifting gears from Transformers to Lego stuff, and I've been putting it off because I haven't actually appeared on camera myself yet. :P It's a bit intimidating, really.

[@tomsewart9267]

Carelli Collectables yh it is much harder than people think it is. I think just go for it with a smile on your face like mr bookieboo. What’s the worst that could happen?!

[@carellicollectables]

Yea well... considering the 500ish sub I spent two years building will likely all bail the minute I confirm I'm moving into Lego stuff, I don't see what I have to lose. :) I'm probably blowing up my channel with the announcement either way so I guess I might as well do it face-to-face.

[@legopadawanlearner8390]

So great, thanks!

[@kewluae]

Mrbookieboo thank you for the video, can you list the gadget you used and the lighting kit plz

[@Bricksonville]

Nice tutorial! I drill holes in the table tops to guide my cables downwards. I already have at least 20 hubs in use. But unfortunately this doesn't look as neat as in your city. That is all very well considered with you! Well done! :)

[@MrBookieboo]

Thank you! I was afraid to drill too many jokes in my tables since they are Ikea and not solid at all.

[@Bricksonville]

Okay, I wouldn't drill into ikea tables either. I built the whole city on chipboard - it works quite well there. But I like your solution better.

[@Myamirah]

I’m a new AFOL and I’ve been debating if I can have a city with limited space. I thought of building a street scene to conserve space and your city is just what I imagined ! It’s beautiful. I especially love the cinema all lit up and am so sorry I missed the boat on purchasing that one. In regards to the lighting kits - do all lighting kits enable the levels of the modulars to be removed from one another for maintenance etc ? Is there a brand of lighting kit that you prefer over others ? Beautiful work 👍 I’ll follow your channel for inspiration.

[@MrBookieboo]

Thank you for the kind words. I use Brickloot light kits which do allow you to remove the levels for dusting and play.

[@WittlessWonder]

realize its 2 years since you posted this but why did you choose brickloot? Have you tested others?

[@christopherclack1712]

Thanks so much for all the info, I am just starting out, so really helps me before I mess things up and have to redo them. Is there a certain company that you usually buy the light kits you were showing from?

[@gwenyvere1]

How many 32x32 plates long is your city, or what are the dimensions in feet? I heard you mention that it is only 3 plates wide.. are those 3 plates 48x48 or 32x32 studs? I always wonder, from the perspective, how long these Lego city builds actually are, sometimes it's hard to tell from the videos. Great job by the way, I love your Lego city, especially the raised level and the promenade you have built in front of the modular buildings.

[@obrix5227]

You have one awsome city!

[@MrBookieboo]

Thank you very much!

[@obrix5227]

:)

[@ttvtripod1799]

What if i do not fave a outlet

[@elciotoledo]

This is great! What are some of the lighting kids that you use? I am pretty sure you know a lot of them but what's your preference? Thanks.

[@mybricksandme6152]

How many different light kits have you tried? Is brickloot your favorite? I got one from lighttailing.. but quickly found the instructions were horrible (for me anyway) so I would def need good detailed instructions.

[@MrBookieboo]

I’ve only ever used brickloot. I find their instructions are very good and they have excellent customer service.

[@mybricksandme6152]

@@MrBookieboo thanks! good to know.. I still want to light my city, but I definitely want it to be an enjoyable experience, and the lighttailing was not. But I am willing to give it another shot!

[@chankballyesh3952]

Can you do this with every build or would it only look good with the modular builds?

[@MrBookieboo]

Yes, you can.

[@OLIBRICKS]

Very intesting video !! I have a question, Do you use extra streetlamps ? (other than these in the "modulars" brickloot kits) , each one is with a USB ?

[@YaXTuber]

Hi, absolutely great. I'am very interested about lightening my modulars. I've not understand all, because my english skills are not the best. Please don't be angry when you answer my question in your video 😶. Do you use LED kits for specific sets or there are generic LED kits? Can you post an example which kind of LEDs you use?

[@MrBookieboo]

I use ready-made kits for the modulars made by Brickloot.com. There are several companies that produce the kits. I’m starting to use generic lights for some of my own creations.

[@dan_P_ortiz]

Can I use your city method? It looks super nice!

[@MrBookieboo]

Of course!

[@manofthebrick323]

Thanks

[@dustinhughes7643]

Thanks for making this video. Do you have a Facebook? I would like to share this video on my LEGO page. Want to give you the credit by tagging you in the post.

[@MrBookieboo]

Thank you. I have a Facebook fan page under the same name: MrBookieboo

[@carellicollectables]

Dude, EVERYONE is swearing star wars shirts today.