Could someone help me out with how I would go about slowing down a small DC motor (such as you would find in normal size RC car or the tracks of a computer printer) and daisy chaining DC xmas lights together? I'm planning on using it in an art project. We have to make a "container sculpture". Basically, that's a container of any kind with a theme on the outside, and a "surprise" theme on the inside--such as a cliche. For instance, mine will showcase the glorious money-hungry Christmas wealthier nations like the U.S. experience, and the inside will focus on the experience of a more 3rd-world country. On the outside, I'm going to rig up battery operated xmas lights (right now, I have 4 separate packs. Each have 12 lights (IIRC) and run on 2-"C" sized batteries (48 lights total; 8 "C" batteries). I will be going home tomorrow to work on the box and solder wiring and stuff. If daisy-chaining the lights isn't possible, I can just run them all independently. However, more importantly, I'd like to slow down a DC motor and attach either a xmas tree or a person. I know I could slow it down with weight, but that may not be possible and it would eat through any batteries I need.
If you have any helpful tips, let me know. Otherwise I'm just gunna wing it.