Dimmer and Dimma

We popped into IKEA at the weekend as we were passing and were after a few bits (normally our nearest is an hour away, fortunately as we never seem to get out without buying loads of odds and ends!). I managed to pick up a DIMMA which is basically an in-line dimmer switch for any lamp. As you can see it is a Y-shaped lead with a standard plug and socket on the short arms, and a dimmer control on a long (2m) lead. Now of course it is intended for any household lamp but it struck me as much more useful for layout lighting ...

So here it is connected to the lighting of Awngate. Well you can't see the connection as that is at the back, but the dimmer control is hanging from a hook below the layout (left). This allows the level of the light (provided by two 30W tungsten strips) to be varied nicely. Now I could have made something similar using a dimmer switch and pattress box (and indeed I have on a previous layout) but that would probably have cost more (this was just £7) and not been so neat - plus this can be used on any layout.

Like all dimmer switches it only works with incandescent bulbs (i.e. not fluorescent/energy saving bulbs), and only up to 300W total so if you had a lot of lights you might need to run them in groups to separate dimmers. However for my needs it's perfect! Hmm, I wonder if it could be used with a soldereing iron for temperature control ...?