Pater Practicus, aka Brendan McGrath has been busy adding Tiny FX to his projects.
Brendan's many projects involve adding electronics to scale models.
From automated level crossings, fire vehicles to ultrasonic "mind your head" signs, Brendan has employed the power of the Raspberry Pi Pico to bring his projects to life and we fell in love with how he merged traditional model making practices with 3D printing and electronics.
Integrating a Tiny FX instead of a Raspberry Pi Pico into a 1:43 scale Land Rover Series 1 is an easy task for him, but he had to get creative in where to store the electronics routing the wires around the model. With a little patience and skill, everything was routed for a test. MicroPython code, written in Thonny, controls a flashing light sequence that emulates an emergency service vehicle of the era. He also coded static headlights and rear lights to sell the effect of a scale vehicle.
The model has been tweaked with extra 3D printed parts. A pump and ladder on a rear section hides Tiny FX, the speaker, and a custom designed button cell battery pack. The finished effect is hard to spot and a credit to Brendan's model skills.
A later project integrates an infrared receiver stick and remote kit into the build. The infrared receiver kit enables remote control of Tiny FX and Tiny FX W which Brendan uses to control a vintage fire truck model.
Underpinning the project is a MicroPython module (a library of pre-written code), that is used to trigger effects at the push of a button. In our guide, we used it to trigger hyperspace light and sound effects in a Lego Star Wars Millennium Falcon.
Check out Brendan's projects and guides via his YouTube channel.
What are Tiny FX and Tiny FX W?
Tiny FX and Tiny FX W are effects controllers for the LED dots and strips that can be found in third-party LEGO®-compatible lighting kits. With Tiny FX you can add sensors, remote controls and play sound Both are perfect for adding custom light and sound effects to your favourite construction kit models, dioramas, papercrafts, dolls houses, book nooks and shadowboxes.
Tiny FX
Add smart light and sound effects to models and dioramas with this small-but-mighty RP2040-powered programmable controller board.
The Tiny FX starter kit comes in one of our Pirate-brand loot boxes and features:
- Tiny FX
- 6 x Cool white LED "dots"
- 5 x RGB LEDs (plus expansion board and cable)
- 3 x AAA battery holder
- Adhesive backed 8Ω (1W) mini speaker
- USB A to USB C cable
Tiny FX W
Add smart light and sound effects to models and dioramas with this small-but-mighty RP2040-powered programmable controller board - now with wireless connectivity!
The Tiny FX W starter kit brings Wi-Fi to the board, and it also comes in a Pirate-brand loot box with all the same accessories as Tiny FX and an additional PIR (Passive Infrared) sensor stick. The PIR stick is used to detect movement and we can use it to trigger effects when a person / pet is detected.
Got a cool Tiny FX project that you want to show us? Drop us an email.