Firestone Tire Sign

This is the animated and lighted O-Scale Firestone sign next to Lefty’s Lightning Fast Service Mobil station on the layout.

This is an overview of how this sign was made from off-the-shelf products for about $20.00 

Parts:

1. Bowtie – Used Acrylic (clear plastic) sign holder (~$1.50 Amazon).
2. Tire – InkJet print on 60# Photo Paper mounted on 1/4″ foam core
3. Motor – Micro 300 Gear Motor 29RPM Slow Speed Mini 32 mm Turbo Worm Gearbox Gear Reduction Motor ($2.31 Ali-Express)
4. Connector – 2-Channel 2A Hollow Shaft Slip Ring ($5.72 Ali-Express).
5. Power – LM2596 DC-DC Step Down Buck Power Convert Module ($3.60 Amazon).
6. Sign Pole – 3/16″ brass tube ($4.91 Amazon) Note: This is enough for 4 signs.

Craft Supplies:

1. Pole Connect – 4-40 Helical Coiled Wire Thread Sleeve Insert ($7.39 Amazon)
2. Pole Connect – 1.25″ 4-40 machine bolt and nut ($1.50 Lowe’s/Home Depot) 
3. Lamp – 3mm LED (30pc $6.99 Amazon)
4. Power – 12V Power Supply ($11.99 Amazon)
5. On/Off Switch – Toggle Switch ON Off SPST (8pc. $8.49 Amazon)
6. Bowtie Logo – Sheets White Inkjet Waterslide Decal Paper (20 sheets Amazon $11.99)
7. Spray Paint – Rust-Oleum Silver Spray Paint ($5.98 Amazon)
8. Rubber o-ring. 

Assembly:

1. Connect the Motor to the Slip Ring and Pole
   1. To connect the pole to the motor I tapped the step motor for a 4-40 machine screw (it was a metric thread and I just re-tapped it for my 4-40).
   2. Apply Blue Loc-tite to the 4-40 bolt and screw into the step motor. 
   3. Cut the screw leaving 1/4″ exposed. File the rough end.
   4. Super-Glue CA the Helical Coiled Wire Thread Sleeve into the 5mm Brass Tube.
   5. Cut a 1/2″ piece of plywood approximately 2″x2″ and drill a 3/4″ hole in the middle of the plywood with a forester bit.
   6. Use 3 small screws to screw the slip ring into the top of the plywood base.
   7. Attach the stepper motor to the bottom of the plywood with a couple of #6 screws.
   8. Insert The brass tube through the slip ring and screw into the 4-40 attached to the stepper motor.
   9. Mark the brass tube just above the Step ring.
   10. Unscrew the Brass Tube.
2. Paint the Pole – Spray paint the pole silver.
3. Install the LED
   1. Drill a 1/8 hole in the side of the brass tube just above the slip ring.
   2. Feed the 2 wires from the slip ring into and out of the top of the tube.
   3. Cut the LED leads to no more than 1-2″ long. 
   4. Solder the Positive side of the LED (Pay attention to the polarity) to the Resistor and solder the other end of the resistor to the red wire. Shrink-wrap the positive lead, resistor and positive wire connection.  
   5. Solder the Negative lead.
   6. There is no need to shrink-wrap the Negative wire. Test to verify your LED is working.
   7. Fold the wires into an S and push the wires connected to the LED back into the tube. With the s-bend you are stuffing 4 wires into the tube. 
      
4. Assemble the Sign
   1. Cut two pieces of acrylic to match the Firestone Bowtie shape.
   2. Sandwich 3/16 square balsa with Glue to the two pieces of Acrylic, leaving a 3/16″ gap at the bottom to allow the LED light to pass into the sign
   3. Paint the edges red to match the color of the waterslide transfers.
      
   4. Inkjet print the Firestone bowtie graphic on waterslide decal paper, seal with flat clear, and attach to both sides of the sign.  
   5. Clearcoat the Waterslide to seal the ink.
   6. Inkjet print the Tire graphic 2X and glue the graphics to 1/4″ foam board.
   7. Cut the foam board to the round tire shape.
   8. Fill the edges of the foam board with lightweight spackle. After the spackle dries, sand and paint the edges black.
      
   9. Cut the top and bottom of the tire to fit above and below the bow-tie.
   10. Drill a 3/16″ in the foam core out of the bottom tire to allow the LED light to pass into the sign.
   11. Glue the tire pieces to the top and bottom of the bowtie.
   12. Drill a hole for the LED light to pass into the sign.
       
   13. Glue a rubber grommet to the bottom of the sign. The Inside Diameter should be small enough to grip the pole.
       
   14. Place the sign over the LED.
5. Connect the Power
   1. Connect the LED to a switched 12V DC power circuit
   2. Connect the 3V DC Step Down Buck power converter to a switched 12V DC power circuit
   3. Connect the stepper motor to the 3V output of the power converter 

For our layout, the slip ring and motor assembly was glued to the 1/4″ masonite base that acts as the gas station parking lot. A 2″x2″ hole was cut in the deck of the layout so the parking lot would sit flush on the deck of the layout. Flip the switch and the sign lights up and spins.