In this tutorial I will lay out step by step instructions for building glowing
Wyrdstone counters. The counters use only a few simple items and I designed mine so that no switch or soldering is required. The battery just presses into place and can be removed so the LED is not constantly on.
(LED on with desk lamp in background with Camera Flash)
(LED on - no lamp - No Camera Flash)
What you need:25mm round bases3mm Green LEDs (the ones I used are prewired with a resistor - the resistor is important when used with the 3 volt battery - 10 for a few bucks on eBay)
Small 3 Volt watch batteries (I used CR927 3V - these are small enough to fit under the bases without protuding - it's very important to get 3 volt batteries as the green LED requires it - 10 for a few bucks on eBay)
Green transparent crystals ( I used Green Esper Crystals by Secret Weapon - available on the Secret Weapon website and a few other retailers)
Green Stuff or a comparable sculpting putty
Chapstick (used to keep the green stuff from sticking)
Wire StrippersBasic hobby tools ( hobby knife - superglue - basing materials - some thin paper card)
Step 1:Flip the base over and place the battery inside the base. Mark a dot 2 to 3 mm away from the battery as close to the center of the base as you can. This will be where the LED will go.
Step 2:Using your hobby knife make a hole just big enough for the LED to fit through. Ideally you want the LED to fit through the hole without going all the way through.
Step 3:Cut out a hole for the battery as far to the edge of the base as possible. This hole you want slightly larger than the battery.
Step 4:Cut out and glue a piece of thin card on top of the base to cover the two holes. You could use thin plasticard as well. I just used a piece of the battery packaging as it's what I had handy. Then cut out the hole where the LED will stick through.
Step 5: Test your LED. Just hold the red positive wire to the top of the battery and the black negative wire to the bottom. (This is very important as you don't want to do all this work to have a dead LED at the end!!!) Cut the wires of the LED so that there are about 2 inches of wire remaining.
Step 6:Strip about 1 inch of the wire sheath to expose the copper strands underneath. Twist the positive strands together and twist the negative strands together. DO NOT twist the positive and negative wires together.
Step 7: Bend the wires of the LED to a 90 degree angle. Push the LED through the small hole and bend the wires back and around the base so they are facing the battery hole. Glue the wires and LED in place. DO NOT glue the exposed strands.
Step 8:Take a small blob of green stuff and push it into the battery hole and smooth it out so its about even with the top of the base. Then fold over the negative (black) strands of the wire and make a loop out of it. Push it into the wet green stuff. Make sure that the wire is exposed and not covered by any putty.
Step 9:Create a small sausage of green stuff and wrap it around the battery hole. Apply a small layer of Chapstick to the battery and place it in the hole with the negative side down. Form the putty around the battery. Make sure none of the green stuff is above the bottom rim of the base so it will lay flat when you flip it over. Pop out the battery and add a small indent near the positive wire.
Step 10:Create a cavity inside the crystal for the LED to fit in. The Crystals plastic is pretty soft so just twisting your hobby knife into it should work fine.
Step 11:Put the crystal on the LED and cover the base with white glue. Add sand or flock or whatever you're using for basing material. Ideally you want the sand all around the crystal but not under it. This will create the slight impression of the crystal being semi submerged under the ground. I don't glue my crystal in place yet because it's easier to paint the base without getting paint on the crystal if it can be removed. Make sure to wait until the glue is COMPLETELY dry before trying to remove the crystal. You don't want any of the sand shifing and messing up the footprint of the crystal. If you're careful about painting you could glue the crystal in place before you add sand.
Step 12:Once the ring of green stuff is dry fold over the positive wire strand and place it around the perimeter of the battery cavity. We want the positive wire to touch the side of the battery when it's placed inside.
Step 13: Paint up your base and decorate it with your materials of choice. My example is just some sand and tan static grass.
Step 14:Once the paint is dry flip the base over and push your battery into the cavity. Negative side down. Make sure the positive wire is running along the perimeter of the cavity and side of the battery. The green stuff cavity you formed and the wire should hold the battery in place. The LED should now be on and the crystal should have a nice glow.
(LED on with desk lamp in background with Camera Flash)
(LED on - no lamp - No Camera Flash)
Step 15:Make a bunch more then game on!
Hope you enjoyed this tutorial! I look forward to your feedback and if you have any questions feel free to send me a message or post it below. I will do my best to answer them. Thanks and good luck on building your own counters.