If you want a single solution type bulb I would recommend getting the frosted single SMD bulbs from comet. They are nice and bright but not too much so due to the frosted caps.
Get non ghosting ones for the inserts and standard ones for the gi and back box. Color match your inserts and use warm white for yellow inserts.
As for the GI color, warm white if you want it closer to original or get some colored ones if you are feeling adventurous. (Do it! It's fun and you can always go back to warm white.)
That should get your Whirlwind looking pretty damn nice.
Also get yourself a 7 smd strip for under the apron while you are at it and illuminate those flippers.
Good luck and godspeed!

Art over at Comet is awesome. Helped me a bunch with a machine recently and instead of going a kit route I custom built my kit with him and his prices were great and the help going back and forth was priceless.

That's pretty much it. Flasher bulbs are different than standard bulbs. I would replace standard bulbs with 1 or 2 smd's and standard flasher bulbs with led flashers. Buy some samples and see what brightness you like and which bulbs work best. It's fun to customize but just be careful about putting color bulbs in the gi. It can wash out some of the colors in the art. Not a big deal in some cases but I would get sample colors to test first.

I typically buy frosted bulbs. If I need a standard SMD in a certain location, I pop off the frosted cap. They can always be glued back on with hot glue, if necessary.

Buy one of each for testers and then test every possible option you think would look good on the game you are LEDing. Write it down, then order whatever you think looked great at each spot.

Have Art from cometpinball.com put a sample pack together for you. He is very reasonable on price, and will be glad to help you out.

Get a sample kit. . You'll learn a lot about colors, and in particular, your perception of them. As well as brightness.

I personally color match lights with inserts for red green blue; and either cold or warm white for the yellows and ambers. Yellow and orange LEDs behind colored inserts come out dull.

For GI I nearly always use warm white - or cold white for a few games where the color or theme warrants. I tend to avoid the rainbow GI. I have been guilty of using a few colored bulbs in GI for accent - but just for accent. No megapurple games for me..

Just don't let it turn into this full on illness.

image.jpeg

Why not?

Here is a quick rule of thumb. The brighter you make the LEDs behind the translite, the more glare you will have to fight to see through on the playfield glass while actually playing the game. To me backbox LEDs should be either the Retro or Single LED frosted variety from Comet. Any SMD or especially 2-SMD will be way too bright.

Art doesn't care if you spend $6, $60, or $600. he will be glad to help you out

I feel your pain OP....I've been wanting to led for some time now....all the choices are overwhelming...................Joey

COMET IS AWESOME. SINGLE SMD SUNLIGHT IN THE GI AND TWIN SMD COLOR MATCHING IN THE INSERTS AND YOUR GAME WILL LOOK LIKE THIS

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This is why I went with a kit specific for my DW from Cointaker. I went with them primarily due to price with a kick but discount they ran on one of the holidays. I am very happy with what they put in the kit. I only had one problem bulb and that was the frosted yellow LED for the Time Expander. Cointaker's looked orange and it really bothered me next to the reds. I ordered one from Pinball Bulbs, and it was true yellow.

THAT WAS A TRI-ZONE BEFORE i ADDED THE LEDS FROM COMET....

Sorry you didnt see me post.....ran away to the beach.
Big Storm, and most of the turtle nests were washed away.....sad to see that.

Anyway, happy to be of help.

On Whirlwind, frosted is your friend...and as standard kits go, a 1 SMD 5050 can be used across the game,
(A second choice, less bright would be a 2 LED clear)

As an example here is a thread with their list for a WW with video:

https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/whirlwind-led-guide-for-dummies-like-me#post-2585901

Its all about brightness, and our help/chart here might be of help:

http://www.cometpinball.com/category-s/1825.htm

Sunlight is in testing and production in other brightness and new models...should be cool!

Please feel free to email me if you have any questions....

We have starter and master kits. but if you game specific kits or other lighting needs, take a peek at the good vendors
at Cointaker, Pinball bulbs, Nifty, etc....

Art

Faceted Bulbs put out a Star Burst Pattern of light and the "rays" extend further then a frosted bulb.
In that regard, Inserts that are medium large and larger, say a Stern arrow on all recent games, will benefit.
A 5050 1 SMD frosted will fill about 75% Plus of the arrow, depending on socket placement. A faceted will fill the
whole arrow including the tip.

Crystal Fans are a nice affordable touch for Pops.

For a Red Pop Bumper, one could go red or white, the red being a darker, or slightly less bright option.

One can also use the Bumper Rings, or Pads we have as well.

The "mystery" of LEDS is so very simple....How bright are they? and how do they throw light.

Our Brightness chart helps graphically share that.

There are many overlaps in bulbs, in what they do, and many different ways to do it.

The "debate" was always limited to brand, or bulb.
So we simply carried them all, to satisfy these needs.

In the safest answer, all kits are 1 SMD 5050, usually frosted across the board.

This is fine for most DMD games.

Today, after the years of "kit" creation, one can do the whole game in a brighter bulb, a Twin 2835...the bulb used
in all new Stern releases.

These can be too bright for some games, like a Whirlwind.,,,,hence the 5050. a 2 LED, can also be used here...a bit less bright, but a good choice for SS and newer.

Thats the easiest way around LEDs.

Mixing all the other bulbs, adding Op-Max, towers, fans, etc, create a game that has more blended light and dark, then an even lighting of all GI bulbs the same.

Personal taste, time and money......but damn fun.

https://pinside.com/pinball/market/ad/23100

I buy bulk frosted white leds. I then paint them with acrylic paint as I desire. Bought a 25 color kit for $5.99 at Michael's. It rubs off with your thumb so I can whisk through color tests quickly. My LW3 still looks great and it was done 7 years ago. Some might laugh but it works fine for me and I do not have to stress about calculating and ordering different color bulbs and then regretting buying the ones that look awful.

LEDs for noobs... That's funny!

Ha Ha Ha Ha!!!!

Bendy.....???..............Joey

So am I right in thinking I can use "standard" LEDs in the back box and GI (T2)...and then get the non ghosting for the inserts....?....Thank you............Joey

No reason to 100% non-ghost LED the inserts. You can:

1. Use standard LEDs for GI and inserts, then only replace the ones that are ghosting with non-ghosting ones. Not every insert will ghost.

2. Use standard LEDs everywhere then no-ghost patch your ROM (this is what I did to my T2, looked fine):
http://emmytech.com/arcade/led_ghost_busting/
http://www.edcheung.com/album/album07/Pinball/wpclp_1.4.zip

3. Stardard LEDs everywhere and LED OCD because your game is special and you deserve to treat yourself

Thank you default....I know it's corney....but I like the profanity-rom.....would rather not update....your first tip is great...I'll start with that one..............Joey

If you hate your wallet, look for someone who's got Herg's LED OCD kit installed. Fantastic stuff, especially for games designed for incandescent.

Is there a downside to filling up the inserts with non-ghosting LEDs? My thought is that they are something like 10 cents more expensive (from Comet), then I only have to place a single order.

I don't think so. Technically non-ghost LEDs shouldn't dim as well if you upgrade to LED OCD, but in practice I have plenty of mixed regular/non-ghosting LEDs in my games (for a while Comet was out of stock of regular bendies) and LED OCD works great.

I was wondering... it seems like they run a bit hotter than non-ghosting, but maybe I am imagining this.

From Herg's site: http://ledocd.com/faq_led.html

With no-ghost LEDs, the bulb will internally squash anything below around 25%, causing it not to light, and it will flicker up to about 35%. I normally set them to 40% minimum brightness to be safe. This results in a step from 0% to 40% when a bulb is first turned on, and as a result, the on/off ramp is not as smooth. It is still better than stock LEDs, though.