STAR WARS: Pinball Unleashed - 46"/32"/DMD Widebody Virtual Pinball Build

[Gamester]

Hello All,

I have been watching the Arcade and Pinball emulation scene for many years now, and in 2009-2010 I built my first arcade cabinet, which some of you may have seen here before. I knew at the time that I wanted to build a pincab as well, but I needed some time to recover from the arcade build (both mentally and financially), so the whole pinball idea pretty much sat on the back burner for quite sometime.  So then last year I stumbled upon a pinball build that was unlike anything I had seen. I was totally shocked at how far the hobby had come!  Force feedback?  REAL DMD?  Interactive lighting?  These were all just dreams before. As soon as I saw that all of these things were now possible, I knew it was time. I HAD to have one of these cabs...

So for the past few months, I've been lurking on the various forums and soaking in as much knowledge as possible, all the while strategically purchasing and stashing parts as the opportunities presented themselves.  Well my parts stash has now reached critical mass, and it's time to get this show on the road!

I struggled for quite a while deciding what theme I wanted to use for the cab.  I bounced between a WWII theme, Indiana Jones, among others. Then I saw the video announcement for Zen Studios' forthcoming Star Wars Pinball tables, and it hit me that I had not really seen any well done Star Wars themed cabs. So I'll thank Zen for the inspiration, and Disney for giving me 'A New Hope' for the Star Wars franchise with their purchase of its rights from Lucas. I've been a huge fan of the original trilogy since childhood anyway, so Star Wars really is a natural choice.

Incidentally, I put a bug in Zen's ear begging them to add dual monitor support to their future PC release of the game to make the game pincab friendly. I even pointed them to Russ' great PinDMD and urged them to support that as well (knowing that it would probably be a long shot).  Their company line is 'Pinball Everywhere'.  My assertion was that it's not 'everywhere' if it's not on the cabinets purpose built for the job, and that there would be no more impressive way to show off their game than on such a machine...especially one that's Star Wars themed.    They wrote me back and said that they were discussing my request, so we'll see what happens. I would love to be able to showcase their game on my cabinet.  But I digress...

So without further ado, presenting...

Here are the specs:

- Cabinet

• Widebody based on the popular Williams plans by Mameman.  Backbox widened to properly fit 32" TV
• Two 4x8 sheets of cabinet grade oak plywood
• 1x2" boards for playfield TV rails, and various braces/supports throughout the cabinet

- Screens

• 46" Playfield: Samsung UN46ES6003 Super Thin LED LCD 1080P
• 32" Backglass: Samsung UN32EH4003 LED LCD 720P (1366x768 resolution)
• Vishay LEE-128G032-1 Orange LED DMD (single pixel array...no segments)

- PC Setup

• Windows XP 32 bit Optimized Nlite Version
• AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition Quad Core 3.4Ghz CPU
• Cooler Master Hyper-212 CPU Cooler
• Asus M4A785TD-M EVO Motherboard
• 4GB G.SKILL DDR3 1600 RAM (2x 2GB sticks)
• Asus GTX560 OC Video Card
• Samsung 840 series 120GB SSD
• Corsair CX600M 600W Modular Power Supply

- Sound System

• Infinity 5022i 5.25" Reference Speakers
• Infinity 8" 860W Reference Subwoofer
• Pioneer GM800 4 channel amplifier for 5.25"s
• Subwoofer Amplifier (TBD)

- Force Feeback (no pun intended)

• Zebulon's Shaker/Gear motor assembly
• 8 Siemens 3RT1016-1BB41 Contactors (feedback for flippers, bumpers and slings)
• Real Pinball Knocker

- Lighting

• Zebulon's Cree LED light bar (5 flashers)
• Two 21-LED Strobes
• LEDwholesalers RGB Color Changing Lighting Kit for under cabinet

- Electronics/Controller Boards

• Zebulon's new booster boards for powering the toys, flashers and strobes (this board simplifies the wiring of all the toys big-time)
• RussDX's PinDMD2 to control the Vishay DMD
• Groovy Game Gear LEDWiz for force feedback and lighting
• Ultimarc IPAC2 USB interface for buttons

- Cooling

• 4x Enermax T.B. Silence 120mm Ultra Quiet Twister Bearing Fans
• 4x 120mm chrome fan grills

- Buttons

• GGG Chromalite buttons for Start, Coin and Exit
• Bally Yellow Launch Ball Button
• Green Happ Arcade Pushbutton (for power button)
• IL Translucent Buttons (flippers)

- Miscellaneous

• Belkin Conserve Power Strip
• ATX power supply to power Zebulon's booster boards
• Microsoft Sidewinder Freestyle Pro (for tilt/nudge)
• Data East Coin Door

EDIT: Here's some pics of the final product:



















Video:



Here's pics of some of the parts goodies:







Vishay DMD...




Light Bar, under-cab lighting and Strobes...




Siemens contactors...




Zebulon's new booster boards to power all the toys...




Zebulon's shaker/gear motor assembly...




Ear candy...




More ear candy... (sub)




Cooling...




Currently in the process of configuring the PC/Windows, and then will start loading VP, HyperPin, etc. and try to get at least a couple tables going.

Well, that's all for now...[/list]

[yotsuya]

Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaammmmmmmmmnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.........................

Bookmarking this one, definitely!

[wp34]

Subscribed!

A real DMD?  I don't think I've seen that done before.  Awesome!

[Louis Tully]

.

[Gamester]

@wp34: Yeah, the fairly recent addition of real DMD support was really a major tipping point for my decision to move forward on this project.  The cool factor is just WAY up there for me... 

@Louis Tully: LOL, well, I wouldn't say unlimited funds, but I will say that my philosophy is that if I'm going to do a project I'm going to do it right or not at all.  Hopefully my arcade build was representative of that.  And I can only hope my plan for this project turns out to be as badass in reality as it is in my little mind.  I guess time will tell.   

[rablack97]

Wow, there's parts in this build i've never seen before....

Welcome back gamester, looking forward to the show 

[Neil_S]

Hey, Neil from Zen here.  Pretty awesome looking set of components there.

It turns out that the general release may be coming sooner than we expected, and it will likely ship without any built-in support for pincabs because of that.

However, we're hoping to work with a few people who have these types of setups to get those features implemented over time via updates (but no promises yet!).  If we do decide to implement these features, we'll need some help in determining exactly how to handle them, testing them, etc.

Right now, we have on the wish list:
- Support for up to 3 monitors (Playfield, Blackglass, DMD)
- Positionable, rotatable, borderless windows for all 3 elements
- Support for custom backglass images
- Configurable inputs

We don't know anything about PinDMD2 and LEDWiz beyond the fact that they exist.  So we don't know how difficult it would be to support them.

[Gaaargh]

Drool ...

[Le Chuck]

No color DMD? 

Looks like you're off to a great start!

[Gamester]

Hey, Neil from Zen here.  Pretty awesome looking set of components there.

It turns out that the general release may be coming sooner than we expected, and it will likely ship without any built-in support for pincabs because of that.

However, we're hoping to work with a few people who have these types of setups to get those features implemented over time via updates (but no promises yet!).  If we do decide to implement these features, we'll need some help in determining exactly how to handle them, testing them, etc.

Right now, we have on the wish list:
- Support for up to 3 monitors (Playfield, Blackglass, DMD)
- Positionable, rotatable, borderless windows for all 3 elements
- Support for custom backglass images
- Configurable inputs

We don't know anything about PinDMD2 and LEDWiz beyond the fact that they exist.  So we don't know how difficult it would be to support them.

Hey Neil!  Thank you so much for popping in!  I think you've got the wish list pretty much nailed.  If you need any assistance with interfacing the PinDMD, I'm sure Russell Pirie, the inventor (www.pindmd.com) would be more than willing to work with you.  He's sold hundreds of the interface boards already, and is currently selling them faster than he can produce them.  If you would like to get in contact with him, I'm sure I could help facilitate that if needed.  Same goes for the other parties that have been involved with getting support for these features working for Visual Pinball and Future Pinball.

Stop by any time!

--Scott

[Aurich]

@Louis Tully: LOL, well, I wouldn't say unlimited funds, but I will say that my philosophy is that if I'm going to do a project I'm going to do it right or not at all.  Hopefully my arcade build was representative of that.  And I can only hope my plan for this project turns out to be as badass in reality as it is in my little mind.  I guess time will tell.   

Just a suggestion, but if you want to go all out one thing that I would highly recommend considering that doesn't add a ton of expense is running two sound systems in the cab. Now that VP can route the phsical table noises and the ROM sounds to separate outputs it means that you can add a whole level of realism where the flipper etc sounds really come from inside the cab. I'm definitely glad I took the extra time and effort.

I know you're over at the Hyperpin forums, so you can find the details on my sound in my build thread there: http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?22144-Day-of-the-Pinheads-Widebody-46-32-DMD

[Gamester]

@Aurich- Thanks for the reply! I'm actually very familiar with your build, and have followed it closely.  I think I have an extra set of speakers that would be perfect for this, and will strongly consider it!

[drventure]

Schnikees, batman.

This should be interesting.

You need to turn the entire sides of the cabinet into that "lightning glass" stuff, colored blue with an image of the Emporer at one end, shooting blue sparks from his hands.

That component list is great info!

Bookmarked for sure

[Gamester]

You need to turn the entire sides of the cabinet into that "lightning glass" stuff, colored blue with an image of the Emporer at one end, shooting blue sparks from his hands.

Lightning glass?  Never heard of it... 

drventure, you are pure evil for planting such ambitious ideas in my mind.  The hamster in my head is now spinning off its wheel!   

EDIT: I bet these guys could make something I could use...but I'm guessing it would be oh so expensive...

[rablack97]

Well, they stopped selling those things man, I bought 2 for my build as well.

The newer versions cost mad $'s now, drventure gonna have you in the poorhouse

[drventure]

  I remember your build. Nice use of that glass, definitely.

Anything I can do to contribute to arcade delinquincy 

[codeena]

Looking forward to seeing your project...thanks for sharing and good luck!

[codeena]

Hey, Neil from Zen here.  Pretty awesome looking set of components there.

It turns out that the general release may be coming sooner than we expected, and it will likely ship without any built-in support for pincabs because of that.

However, we're hoping to work with a few people who have these types of setups to get those features implemented over time via updates (but no promises yet!).  If we do decide to implement these features, we'll need some help in determining exactly how to handle them, testing them, etc.

Right now, we have on the wish list:
- Support for up to 3 monitors (Playfield, Blackglass, DMD)
- Positionable, rotatable, borderless windows for all 3 elements
- Support for custom backglass images
- Configurable inputs

That would be awesome Neil; I'm a huge fan of all of your pinball releases, and this would make them even more awesome!

[Jumpman64]

 

Subbed, subbed & subbed.

[Gamester]

Computer is built and now the first signs of a pinball machine are starting to emerge.   Just a little screen test here.  Next step is to get the real DMD working...

[Nephasth]

I'm not a fan of Star Wars, but this project looks promising and is off to one hell of a start!

[Ryglore]

Oh man. I can't wait to see where this is going!

[wp34]

Yeah I need to get my first Gamester clone done so I can copy this one.

[TopJimmyCooks]

subscribe. 

[Drnick]

Nice job so far.  Are you posting over at Hyperspin as well?

[Gamester]

Nice job so far.  Are you posting over at Hyperspin as well?

Indeed I am.  The audiences are a bit different between the various forums, so I wanted to be sure to cross-pollinate. 

[Gamester]

Thanks for the encouragement everyone.  Glad I'm not the only one excited about the project LOL.  I'll do my best to meet the high expectations I've set. 

[spoot]

Looks good so far, but tbh, the vid card concerns me on your build.  The newer tables have large hi-rez textures that affected me in my build which is quite similar.  I had a 560 which had texture issues in some tables (white squares) till I flipped over to a 650 for the playfield and the 560 for the backglass.

[Gamester]

Spoot, do you have any specific examples of tables that exhibited these problems for you?  I'd like to try a couple of them to see if I have any issues.  Possibly a driver thing?

[wp34]

Gamester's thread over on Hyperpin is quite interesting as the audience is more savvy about pin builds. 

http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?23687-STAR-WARS-Pinball-Unleashed-46-quot-32-quot-DMD-Widebody-Build

I don't fully understand this (being a noob) but it sounds like a 16:10 ratio is desirable (and hard to find) for the back glass.  Interesting (and somewhat depressing) that a hobby that is so new "requires" a hard to find part. 

[Gamester]

@ wp34 - 16:10 is considered slightly more desirable because it is a bit closer to the aspect ratio of real pinball backglasses.  However, after seeing some backglasses on my 16:9 TV, it doesn't really bother me much.  If it did, worst case, at the expense of a little screen real estate, I could probably resize the image through the software settings, and since the TV I'm using has a pretty narrow bezel anyway, it probably wouldn't really be difficult to mask off the unused area and still have it look good.  I may toy with that later on to see if it's worth the trouble.

[wp34]

Thanks for that clarification Gamester.  I assumed it was something like that but when I searched for an explanation last night I could not find anything specific.  Just a lot of dead links to "good deals" on 16:10 ratio monitors. 

Looking forward to watching your progress!

[spoot]

Spoot, do you have any specific examples of tables that exhibited these problems for you?  I'd like to try a couple of them to see if I have any issues.  Possibly a driver thing?

Oh great, test an old man's memory.      Anyways, the newest VP9 FS Jurassic Park was one of them.  Trying to recall the other's......

Edit: Bram Stoker's Dracula VP9 FS

[Gamester]

Finally, a little DMD goodness...

The Vishay is great because it has a molex connector built in which allows for easy connection to a PC power supply...




To connect the DMD to the power supply, I took a molex 'Y' splitter and removed the 12v (yellow) wire on both ends, leaving only the 5v (red) wire and the two grounds.  Then extended it to about 4 feet long to give me plenty of room to move it around. Here's a pic with the yellow wire removed...




Then I just took the PinDMD2...




...and plugged it right into the DMD ribbon cable connector.




After I got the driver installed for the PindDMD2 and put the modified DLLs in place for PinMAME and Future Pinball, I took on the formidable task of downloading a number of tables and tweaking them to work properly with the 2-screen+DMD configuration.

Once I got all of the tables right (many hours of tweaking), and finally saw them running with the real DMD, all I can say is WOW.  It looks absolutely AMAZING.  I am giddy as a schoolgirl.  This thing was worth every penny!

Here's a little sampler.  These videos do NOT do it justice.  It is way brighter and more impressive in person.  As nice as my LCDs look, this thing absolutely is the visual centerpiece...

Future Pinball:



Visual Pinball:



And how faithful would I be to my cab theme without a Star Wars vid?




No idea why I can't seem to left justify these videos...

[Nephasth]

Great, now I gotta go clean my pants...

[nipsmg]

You are going to put me in the poor house.  Now I HAVE to build one of these.  Amazing.

[lordnacho]

Looks cool as hell and I'm not even a pinball guy.  I'll be over in a few to play it...where do you live? 

[griffindodd]

Nicely done it looks really great. I'm hot on your heels with a Wide-body conversion myself so I'll definitely be taking some tips from your build so far. I've been in touch with Zeb about his Shakers and power boards, how did you find the wiring and setup to be?

[Nephasth]

So, question... Will the DMD be doing anything when you're playing the SS and EM pins?

[Gamester]

@nipsmg - build one...you'll love it! 

@griffindodd - well really the only thing I've wired so far is the DMD.  The wiring won't begin in earnest until I get the cabinet built and start installing the toys.  And that's what I'm really excited about; in the videos above, all I have working is the displays, and I'm playing it through tiny computer speakers.  Once I get all the lighting, force feedback stuff and full-blown sound system going, it's definitely going to go from a game to an 'experience'.  Zebulon's booster/controller boards will simplify the wiring big-time if you plan on using lights and force feedback stuff.

@Nephasth - I haven't really played with SS/EM tables much yet.  I'm not sure yet if there is a way to display score information for those tables on the DMD, but I think there is at least a way to display a custom image using HyperDMD.  I'll probably tackle these items as 'phase 2' after the cabinet is built.  It'd be real easy for the build phase of the project to get off track if I distract myself too much with all the software configuration possibilities at this point. 

[Gamester]

Duplicate post removed.

[nipsmg]

Where did you source the DMD from and what did you pay for it?  I've seen a few places but they all want between $480 and $520 for the orange variant.  If that's what it's going to take then fine, but it's pretty steep, and will delay the build for a while.  But now that I've seen the actual DMD there's no way I'm going without one.


***EDIT*** n/m, found it for $279 on preorder at virtuapin!

[Gamester]

***EDIT*** n/m, found it for $279 on preorder at virtuapin!

The one on virtuapin isn't quite the same as mine.  That version actually uses 8x8 LED segments to comprise the pixel array.  Mine, actually has one uniform array of pixels (read more expensive).  The version with the single pixel array (LEE-128G032-1) does look a little nicer, IMO, but the other version is a good compromise between price and image quality.

Here's a closeup of the version on virtuapin (you can see the squares):



And here's mine:



There is also a couple other makers for the DMDs.  There is one called the PinLED (http://www.pinled.de/shop/product_info.php?products_id=1), and their latest version uses 16x16 LED segments, and looks pretty good.  But it's hard to get a hold of here in the States.  There is also one called the Xpin (http://xpinpinball.com) which also uses 8x8 segments.  They have a few different color options.  If you purchase from them, you have to be sure to request the 5v version.

So basically the Vishay LEE-128G032-1 is really the only game in town that has a non-segmented display.  Vishay is also what most of the real pinball machines use and is considered the standard.  But to get the top-of-the-line, there is definitely a price premium to be paid.  To me it was worth it, because it's really the centerpiece display in the cab.

Also, be careful.  There are plasma versions of the Vishay that might lure you with their seemingly low price.  However, they have very special power/voltage requirements and are much more difficult to get working.  The expense of the extra gear to provide all the right voltages, and the extra effort involved is probably not worth it.

[mcseforsale]

sub


scribed


AJ

[dandro]

wow, this needed some explicit advisory notice about the parts porn!! Subbed as well! 

[DaveMMR]

Damn that's insane. My keyboard is all covered in drool.

[darthpaul]

I wish I did see this, I was trying to save some money  . I could see me getting sidetracked again and building one of these.

[Gamester]

Thanks for the compliments folks.  Some of them have really given me a chuckle. 

@darthpaul - looks like you've got your hands full with your cab project. I like the led-lit sith symbol.  You've definitely given me some things to think about for my project. 

I can't wait to get to the bling part of my build.  I've got some ideas I think you guys will dig.   

[mackey256]

Holy cow this build looks great.  I can't wait to see how it turns out.   

[Gamester]

Was hoping to start construction on the cabinet this weekend, but the weather had other plans.  So in the interest of still being productive, I started on the artwork.  Here's my first pass for the cabinet side.  Obviously the full size artwork is over 4 feet long, so this is a VERY tiny representation.  The full size version obviously has a lot more detail...

[Roo5676]

That artwork is awesome -- very professional looking.  It has a lot of detail, but it's not so busy as to be distracting like some of the "mashup" style artwork I've seen.

It will go great with Zen's Star Wars tables.  Maybe if they get the cabinet-ready PC build out, your machine can be part of some viral/social marketing for one of the later Star Wars table packs...

[griffindodd]

Nice first run at the artwork. If you're looking for input I think it looks kinda 'bitty', the central logo works well but the other objects around it lack structure in their layout. Also a good general rule is not to put objects with direction pointing out toward a frame, better to either...

- Have them point in
- Or break the line of the frame

Obviously you know your way around your graphics software and this is just advice for taking or leaving.

Either way, top notch build looking great

[Le Chuck]

Building on what Griff said if you bring the border in a bit and have ATAT, MF, Tie, and X-wing all breaking both the inner and outer boarders it might look pretty good and give the sideart a nice non linear appearance like a lot of the classics.  Of course that will give the appearance of having a side art in your side art so, um, cue Xzibit.

[Gamester]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

So second pass on the artwork.  Been tweaking it a bit more and adding little details here and there (see the glow of the thrusters on the X-Wing as an example). I also decided I didn't like the arrangement of the spacecraft and wanted it to appear a bit more cohesive (reinforced by griffindodd's feedback), like something a bit more organized was actually going on up there.  So I changed a few things so that it represents a battle occurring.  The Rebels are in hot pursuit of a Tie Fighter, and the Millennium Falcon is cracking off a few rounds. 

So based on that, here's the latest iteration:

[yotsuya]

Just beautiful, my friend.

[Acids]

Just beautiful, my friend.

I agree.     My only concern would be that the pinball word is super busy.
perhaps keep the amazing background with the characters etc. but just have the wording star wars and pinball without all the extra stuff..

Make the wording less "busy" ??

Awesome !!

[Generic Eric]

Just beautiful, my friend.

I agree.     My only concern would be that the pinball word is super busy.
perhaps keep the amazing background with the characters etc. but just have the wording star wars and pinball without all the extra stuff..

Make the wording less "busy" ??

Awesome !!

Funny...I had sent a PM about making the purple area transparent.  Is that what you are referring to?

[Gamester]

@yotsuya, thanks for the compliment!   

@Acids, thanks for the feedback, and I hear you regarding the logo possibly looking busy.  However, one lesson I learned when doing the artwork for my Arcade machine is that what looks 'busy' in an image only a few inches wide on a computer screen looks much less so at full size, which in this case is over 4.5 feet wide.  I expect that when the art is viewed at it's actual size, it may look considerably different.  Before I finalize it, I'll do a test print to get a better feel for it.  If it still looks busy on the full size art, one compromise may be to fade the background of the logo a bit so the text is more prominent.

@Generic Eric, got your PM, and thanks for the feedback regarding giving the 'Pinball' text a little transparency.  I think it was a good idea in theory.  Will see how it turns out on the full size test print.  The ability to see the background through the text may be contributing to the busyness that Acids is concerned about.   

[griffindodd]

I wouldn't worry too much about busy on an arcade or pinball machine. The very nature of many if machines is to be splattered with KAPOW and bright colors to attract your attention in the arcades

[Gamester]

I wouldn't worry too much about busy on an arcade or pinball machine. The very nature of many if machines is to be splattered with KAPOW and bright colors to attract your attention in the arcades

Point taken my friend.  You are absolutely right.  Pinball machines are really at the pinnacle of KAPOW, with all the colored flashing lights and other bling, which mine will certainly be sporting.   

EDIT:  The above being said, I do need to make sure things are tastefully done.  My wife offered to convert our formal dining room -- the first room you see when you walk into our front door -- for the purpose of housing this pin and my arcade machine, as well as any similar toys that may find their way into the house some day.   I have a 'real' game room upstairs, but she has mobility problems periodically, and has trouble getting up there.  She doesn't want to miss out on playing it, so the formal dining room table gets the boot in favor of games.  Yes, I'm a lucky man... 

[griffindodd]

Usually I try not to stick my nose too much into people's designs as they really are a matter of personal taste, but this build has got so much potential to be great I have to jump in and wave my design stick around a bit. Please take all of this as advice given from a seasoned art director to be taken, left or cherry picked...

If you look at most back glass / translights you will notice that the art style is very much a collage or mural structure, as I mentioned i my previous post these machines were designed to grab your attention from across a busy room, competing with whatever else may be in the environment, there's a reason why they are loud and covered in flashing lights. Although, be careful not to mix up busy with bitty.

Using Star Wars as your theme is actually a perfect choice because Drew Struzan's paintings were so iconic and also mural like in their execution having many elements of a cohesive theme gelling together to form a balanced composition that tells a story.

I see that you are also going for the same approach but you have two competing composites in the same space, the logo with it's collage background and the larger mural behind. You may want to consider losing the border around the logo altogether, making it a leader for the main image behind. Take the elements that you have used in your existing logo collage and weave them into the greater picture, in much the same way the original movie posters did.

You have all the elements of a great piece of art already, they are just fighting each other.

[griffindodd]

with all the colored flashing lights and other bling, which mine will certainly be sporting.   

Lol looks like we were typing the same thing at the same time.

[Gamester]

@griffindodd, thanks for the well presented feedback.  I agree, and I absolutely would love to compose something that looks as iconic as the example images you provided.  I will definitely let those ideas simmer a bit.

One challenge I've run across is finding source material that is similar enough in artistic style -- and high quality/resolution enough -- to work together nicely.  Mixing photorealistic images with those that are manually composed (e.g. paintings/drawings/cg) is a tricky business and one that can easily fall flat on its face.  That's the advantage to being a true artist, like Drew Struzan; you can create every element of the design from scratch, which ensures that everything in the composition is one cohesive style.  Not easy for a backyard artist like me to accomplish, but that doesn't mean I won't endeavor to do so. 

I think it's actually turning into a blessing in disguise that I was forced to work on the artwork before starting construction.  It gives me time to truly flesh this out and make it something special.  Had I built the thing first, I would probably have produced the artwork in a haste to call the cab finished, and it would have been a big-time missed opportunity.

Again, thanks for putting so much thought into another man's project, and taking the time to convey it here.   

[griffindodd]

You're welcome man, I hope my ranting is helpful lol. As for mixing source material, perhaps some creative Photoshop artist filters can help you achieve something a little more painted and retro while balancing out the differences between the artwork you find.

[Gamester]

You're welcome man, I hope my ranting is helpful lol. As for mixing source material, perhaps some creative Photoshop artist filters can help you achieve something a little more painted and retro while balancing out the differences between the artwork you find.

Yeah, more subtle differences can often be masked with judicious use of filters.  But using the filters on elements that are too different, the result can look, well, filtered...    Admittedly, that may just be because my Photoshop Kung Fu isn't at the levels required to pull it off totally seamlessly.  I'm pretty proficient, but there are some folks who are just on a whole other level and can really make that software dance.

EDIT: And btw, your ranting is very helpful.  I just have to decide when good is 'good enough' or this project could drag on for a long time.    I'm not saying I'm there yet by any means, but it is something I have to be conscious of.  I don't want to be sitting here a year from now still with an 'unfinished' cab (disclaimer: I realize around here the term finished is used very loosely), still pushing pixels around. 

[griffindodd]

Yeah gotcha, I don't think you're far off, can't wait to see the next version.

[Gamester]

So beautiful Spring weather has arrived in Texas, and with it, my opportunity to get moving on the 'outside' portion of the build.  Woodworking has begun!

I won't go into lots of detail about this process, but I will say, if you have access to professional tools (full size table saw, router table, large work surfaces), the job is a lot easier.  Unfortunately, I don't have access to those items. But, with a few key tools, and some extra time you can achieve the same results.

The tools that I have found to be invaluable for both my Arcade build and this Pin build are:

- Circular saw with a fine tooth blade
- Jig saw with wood finish/smooth cut blade
- Metal saw guide (worth its weight in GOLD)
- Clamps to hold the saw guide TIGHT (but without damaging the wood)
- Big T-Square
- Big 'L' Square
- Accurate ruler (in my case with Millimeters, since I'm following metric plans this time)
- Router (best tool ever?)
- Assorted Router bits (Flush trim bit, 1/16 slot cutting bit for starters)
- Router circle jig

I make almost all of my cuts with the jigsaw, guided by the metal saw guide.  The jigsaw is just easier to control, and the blade is much smaller/narrower, so it makes more accurate cuts than the circular saw.  But, the circular saw is invaluable for one simple thing: 45 degree cuts, as needed for the front and back joints of the cab.

I tell you, the age old adage of 'measure twice, cut once' was in full effect.  In my case, it was measure 3-4 times, cut once.  Can't tell you how many mistakes I saved myself, when I realized on my 3-4th measurement that something was off, especially after working for a few hours.  That ruler gets harder and harder to read right when you're tired! 

So anyway, here's a few snaps of the process so far:








Woohoo, a finished side! Exciting right?  Yeah, until I realized I was a little too careless with my cutting on that piece and screwed up the dimensions of the top.  Lesson learned.  Luckily there was enough ply on the second sheet to make a new one.




Hey, a puzzle! 



After a while I became a machine; I got to where I could cut the pieces to within a fraction of a millimeter tolerances.  But all of the working on the ground sure took its toll on me physically.  After two days of kneeling, leaning over, measuring and cutting ad nauseam, boy am I sore!    So a table saw not only would have probably taken 1/3 of the time, but it would have saved me a lot of back pain.  Ah well, I guess it's like a woman giving birth, the pain only lasts a short time, but the reward continues on. 

Now that all of the shapes are cut, I have to start working on all of the detail work like holes for fans, subwoofer, coin door, buttons, etc, etc..  Stay tuned!

[Gamester]

So decided to give my body a break after two days on my hands and knees doing the woodworking and tweak the artwork a bit more.  So here's round 3...

For this version I decided to open up the logo a bit by getting rid of the border around it and taking the character images from the background and integrating them into the lettering.  I think it opens the scene up a little and helps blend the logo into the background action better.  Also added a couple more details, like some rebel artillery.  One of their cannons didn't fare so well against the imperial onslaught.   

There will inevitably be some adjustments required once I complete the construction of the cab, but from a design perspective I think I'm close to calling this 'good enough.'

[dandro]

So decided to give my body a break after two days on my hands and knees

Oh man I hear you here! I need to invest in something other than buckets to use as a bench. I ruptured my left quad and have arthritis in my left knee as well, so working on the ground down low, etc.. rough times. I was happy when my project became upright and allowed me to stand and work.. LOL.

Looking good so far, love the progress and sub'd for sure!

[ids]

Latest artwork looks incredible!

[Gamester]

Thanks guys!  I'm really looking forward to seeing the full size printed image down the road.  Viewing a 4.5+ foot wide image at 1:1 on a monitor, you can obviously only see a section at a time.  Will be cool to be able to step back and see the whole thing at once, at actual scale and in full detail.  Then I'll know if I really succeeded... 

EDIT: PS- nice avatar there ids! 

[ids]

Judging by the avatar, you have exceptional taste and intelligence, and I'm certain the final result will be most excellent 

[RetroACTIVE]

"Impressive.  Most impressive"

[mrPiklz]

gonna check this build  avidly !

[BC_Jeffro]

we shall all be crushed under the weight of the glory 

[Gamester]

Thanks for the compliments guys! 

Spent a several hours on the cabinet over the past week, and made some progress on the woodworking...

Cut slots in the cabinet sides for the playfield TV using a 1/2" router straight bit.  After cutting the initial half-inch slot (which took three progressively deeper passes), I adjusted my metal guide to enlarge the slot just a hair, since the TV is pretty much right at 1/2" thick, and I didn't want the TV to bind or rub too much when sliding it in and out.  I cut the slot 3/4" from the top edge in the front and approximately 4.5" from the top edge in the back, which seems to be a pretty common approach lately.  Gives the monitor some depth in the cab, but also a decent angle toward the player.  The shape of the side almost gives the illusion that the playfield slopes backward, but it doesn't. 




Also used a 1/16" slot cutting bit and the router to cut the slots for the playfield glass plastics and t-molding, which I'm planning to put around the backbox.  I hear 1/16" is pretty tight for the glass plastics, so I may end up enlarging those slots slightly.  We'll see when I get them.  Luckily that's something that can still be done after the cabinet body is assembled.





Backbox partially assembled.  Got some intake ventilation holes cut, as well as an access hole for the wiring between the backbox and the cab body.






Test fitting the pieces for the cabinet body.  Strap clamp was a new purchase for this project.  Love it!  Every project is an excuse to buy new tools, of course! 





Playfield TV de-casing time!  Have to admit, it's a slightly cringe-worthy process, taking apart a several hundred dollar, brand new piece of electronics like this.  Luckily this thing was extremely easy to de-case.



Inner cover removed:


The on/off switch and remote sensor were just held in with two screws and then slid right out:


After unplugging the cable, the speakers simply lifted out:




Fastened the on/off switch and remote sensor board onto one of the available screw holes (after insulating the board from the metal of course with some tape).  Faced the sensor toward the front of the monitor (front of the cab) so if needed, I can simply open the coin door and point the remote in to make adjustments, etc.


This TV is perfect for a cab; even after de-casing it has a nice black bezel around it.



Test fitting the TV:


About 1/4" of black bezel showing on each side, so the playfield isn't completely edge-to-edge, but looks really nice.  Once the sides are painted black and with glass over it, I doubt anyone would even know the difference.


Installed some 1x2 railing to give the monitor extra support on the sides. I actually made the slots a bit deeper than I needed to.  I'll probably run some insulation through there to fill the extra gap and give the monitor a little cushion on the sides.


Woohoo!  Finally taking shape and looking like a pin!  But oh so much more work to do... 


So remaining woodwork items consist of cutting the holes for the fans, intake vents, coin door and subwoofer, building the support framework for the backbox monitor, and cutting/routing the DMD/Speaker panel.  As soon as I get the cabinet hardware, I'll make sure everything fits okay, and then I'll probably add some glued blocking to reinforce the joints too.  So hoping to have the woodworking done over the next week or so, so I can start on the finishing/painting.

[Fursphere]

That's some excellent work you're doing there!  keep it up! 

[kahlid74]

Dolla Dolla bill yall!  Very nice man.  I love the build and idea.  I'm definitely stealing this stuff when I embark on my Pinball creation.  Subscribed.

[dandro]

Very nice, I especially like the proper tools for the job, in regards to the clamps.. I had to use a dog leash as a cable clamp the other day...LOL

[Gamester]

@Fursphere - Thanks!

@kahlid74 - Steal away! That's what these forums are for. I've definitely done my share of 'stealing' ideas from here.  Now it's my turn to give back... 

@dandro - Hey, you gotta do what you gotta do.    Amazing what can be done with a little ingenuity.  But yes, having the right tools makes a big difference, if not in the final result, usually at least in the time spent to achieve it. 

[griffindodd]

Looking good Gamester, you're making me feel guilty for not working on mine more lol.

[Gamester]

@griffindodd - Thanks!  You have nothing to feel guilty about...you've accomplished a lot on your build already!

So I managed to get in a few more hours of woodworking yesterday...

Cut and routed the 120mm fan hole for the backbox cover, cut and installed the hinge and used the router to round the edges of all of the fan and vent holes.  Also built the framework for the backglass TV and installed it (the TV) temporarily.  And finally, I cut and routed the fan holes for the back cover of the cabinet itself.

I had originally purchased those huge 200mm fans for the build, but I've since decided to just stick with 120mm fans. The 200mm units look impressive, but I found that I kept having to re-think every choice I was making with the dimensions of the various back pieces just to accommodate those big fans.  Ultimately, it's not worth the hassle to me.  Those big fans are really major overkill anyway.  I think three 120mm fans for the cabinet and one for the backbox, with strategically placed intake holes, will be plenty of ventilation, and these 120s I purchased are extremely quiet (only 11dBA) too.

So for the woodworking the only major things left are the DMD/Speaker panel, leg holes, coin door opening and button holes. Then it's on to patching and painting!  Luckily that part should not be as brutal and exacting as my last build was since I get to put artwork over it. 

Pics of the latest progress...

[mcseforsale]

Wow.  That looks amazing.  I'm using your thread to coax the executive branch along...  anywho, I found a bag of six 2" soffit vents and a bag of six 3" soffit vents at home depot on clearance for $.99 when I was building my cab.  Worked a treat for vent holes.  I actually don't have any fans in my cab since I'm venting from bottom (2" vents) to top (3" vents) and the airflow is amazing.  The cab's been in the garage for almost a year and I've never had heat issues, even in the Ga heat.

You'll still need the fans, but you could vent the front bottom of the case, near the nose of it (underneath) and pull the air across the entire kit and exit with the fans in the back.  Same with the backbox.  Vent it at the bottom and fans at the top.

They look like these, but mine are crappier.  They also have ones with "filter" screens that can be cleaned:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Speedi-Products-2-in-White-Round-Soffit-Vent-SM-RSV-2/202907297#.UVr2j1fAmb4

Here they are on my cab:


AJ

I had originally purchased those huge 200mm fans for the build, but I've since decided to just stick with 120mm fans. The 200mm units look impressive, but I found that I kept having to re-think every choice I was making with the dimensions of the various back pieces just to accommodate those big fans.  Ultimately, it's not worth the hassle to me.  Those big fans are really major overkill anyway.  I think three 120mm fans for the cabinet and one for the backbox, with strategically placed intake holes, will be plenty of ventilation, and these 120s I purchased are extremely quiet (only 11dBA) too.

[Gamester]

Wow.  That looks amazing.  I'm using your thread to coax the executive branch along...  anywho, I found a bag of six 2" soffit vents and a bag of six 3" soffit vents at home depot on clearance for $.99 when I was building my cab.  Worked a treat for vent holes.  I actually don't have any fans in my cab since I'm venting from bottom (2" vents) to top (3" vents) and the airflow is amazing.  The cab's been in the garage for almost a year and I've never had heat issues, even in the Ga heat.

You'll still need the fans, but you could vent the front bottom of the case, near the nose of it (underneath) and pull the air across the entire kit and exit with the fans in the back.  Same with the backbox.  Vent it at the bottom and fans at the top.

AJ, thanks for the compliment, and for the tip on the soffit vents!  Those definitely make for a nice clean looking solution. 

And your suggestion for the cabinet cooling is exactly what I had in mind, with intake holes in the bottom front of the cab, and fans pulling out of the top of the back panel.  And that's the same approach I've already implemented for the backbox: holes in the bottom and a fan at the top.  One fan is plenty for the backbox as the TV is an LED and I do not expect it get get very hot in there.  I could probably get away with just vent holes in there with no problem, but I tend to err on the side of over-engineering my projects. 

[yotsuya]

Love your clean, traditional lines, Gamester. Great job so far. 

[emphatic]

Great work on the build, and you photos all look amazing!

[wp34]

Great work on the build, and you photos all look amazing!

+1 

The documentation on both your projects is top notch.

[Gamester]

Thanks guys!  It's always exciting when the vision starts to take a tangible form...more than just piles of parts and sheets of wood lying about.   

[Gamester]

Another progress update...

Since the TV is so thin, I was concerned about the long-term rigidity of it mounted horizontally, plus it's my nature to over-engineer stuff.  So I decided to re-install the inner metal back cover, and reinforce it even further by installing brackets using the TV's wall mount holes (M8 size bolts btw).  I used some washers on each bolt to elevate the brackets a bit so they're not squishing the cover.  I think it's plenty rigid now. 






And on to more woodworking...

So this circle jig is the bomb!  Was a little intimidating at first trying to figure out how to use it, but it's actually quite simple, and it cuts PERFECT holes.



For those of you who may have never used one, here's how it works:

1. Attach the jig to your plunge router, install a 1/4" straight cut bit and insert the metal dowel pin in the jig bore that corresponds to the size of hole you want.  There is a grid printed on the jig that makes it really simple to choose the size.

2. Attach a backing piece of wood to the work. Since the backing piece will not be cut, it allows the router to maintain a solid pivot point throughout the cut.

3. Identify the centerpoint for the hole you want to route and drill a 1/8" hole in the center. This hole is what the dowel pin will be inserted into when cutting.

4. Insert the dowel pin into the centerpoint hole and gently set the router down so that the jig is flat.  Be sure the dowel pin is inserted far enough into the wood so that it goes all the way into the second piece.

5. Turn on the router, plunge the bit part way in, lock it down and rotate to make the cut. You'll want to make 2-3 progressively deeper cuts, depending on how thick your work piece is.  If you take your time, you'll end up with a perfect cut, exactly the size you wanted. 

So time to put it to work on the subwoofer hole. Attaching the backing piece...


Marked off the center point, drilled the 1/8" hole and inserted the router/dowel...


Three progressively deeper passes, and voila, a perfect hole.  It's best to let the bit cut into the backing piece just a bit; makes for a cleaner hole...


Ran the round over bit on the edge to give a nice clean rounded off look (only one side done here)...


Also cut the intake ventilation holes using a drill hole saw and rounded those off too...





DMD panel anyone?  Yes, I think so...



Used the circle jig again to cut out the speaker holes...


Did a rough cutout of the DMD window with the jig saw, staying 1/8" or so inside the line...


Built a guide on the back side with inside dimensions to match the exact size that I wanted the DMD window.  Basically just lined the wood up with the pencil lines and screwed them down (being careful not to go all the way through the wood). I then used a 1/2" flush cut router bit to make the finish cut. The roller on the bottom of the bit follows the guide and makes makes a perfect and smooth cut...




Rough cut the edge of the panel with a jig saw...


Then used the edge of the remaining MDF as a guide, once again making the finishing cut with the router and flush cut bit..


Went over the DMD window with a round over bit and we have a perfect DMD panel.  I didn't round the speaker holes because I'm going to be installing the grill on top...





In the home stretch as far as the woodworking goes. Only things left are building the mounting framework for the DMD panel in the backbox, building a light bar for the space above the playfield, cutting the coin door hole and drilling the button holes.

[yotsuya]

 

[dandro]

yeah wow, I love the detailed descriptions and pictures that you are sharing, the details are tremendous and very helpful! I'm with Yots on this one! 

[yotsuya]

Yeah, I just love the clean lines and traditional look to this machine. Can't wait to see the final results. Actually, with the level of detail and shared documentation going in to sharing the build, maybe I can! 

[Dance Commander]

This is incredible. There is so much involved but it almost looks manageable. You are making it look too easy.

[Gamester]

Thanks guys!

yotsuya - you can definitely do it!  It's the same approach as eating an elephant: one bite a time. 

Dance Commander - that is my goal...to try to explain the process enough to make it easier for others to follow suit.  This is my attempt to give back a little, as I've learned a TON on this forum and others.  I've always appreciated the more detailed build threads that explain HOW they did things, not just pics of the end result.

[yotsuya]

Is that circle guide the pro version?

[Gamester]

Is that circle guide the pro version?

It's this one:  http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00009K77A/ref=oh_details_o00_s01_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[TGov]

Pretty awesome!

[kahlid74]

Gamester, did you have a BOM for this?  Did you have all of the information to put one together quickly?  I don't want to waste your time but boy would it be nice to have when I embark on this glorious path in a year.

[Gamester]

Gamester, did you have a BOM for this?  Did you have all of the information to put one together quickly?  I don't want to waste your time but boy would it be nice to have when I embark on this glorious path in a year.

I'll try to go back to my OP when I can and add some additional detail on the parts and materials.  Obviously some of it varies by build, but it should be a good starting point.

[Le Chuck]

Looking sharp as usual man 

I love that type of circle jig, I have a weird palm router and can't find one that fits it so I built my own and just drill the holes as I need them.  I really should look harder for a nice pro one like yours

[wp34]

Looking good Gamester. 

I bought that same circle jig for my Tron build. I let the salesman at the Woodsmith store talk me out of it originally in favor of building your own.  That was fine at first but I got to a point where I needed more precision and picked one of those jigs up. Worth every penny.

Sent from my Atari 800 mobile device using Tapatalk

[Gamester]

Thanks guys!

So another small update...

Coin door cut.  Just did the coin door freehand with the jigsaw...






Holes patched.  Started out using 'Plastic Wood'.  Hate it.  Never fills screw holes well and doesn't sand smooth enough (also tends to chip during sanding).  After getting frustrated with this stuff for the last time, I switched over to Bondo.  It stinks bad, but works much better.  Luckily I had a respirator to keep the fumes at bay.    The only challenge with it, as many of you know,  is that it dries FAST.  Once you mix in the hardener, you only have about 2 minutes  to get it applied before it becomes unusable.  So the key is to mix it in small enough batches that you don't waste too much.  But the obvious advantage to the fast drying is that you can sand and paint it really quickly after application.




Button holes drilled and then priming.  Not too exciting, but the thing I do like about this step is how it makes everything looks so pristine.  All the wood grain, bondo, pencil marks and other blemishes vanish.    Starts taking on a more finished look which is really refreshing.








Installed a slide out tray for the computer gear.  Used 18" ball bearing sliders so it pulls out for easy access to the components.




And painting!  Used a combo of 4" and 6" foam rollers, along with a foam brush for getting into tight spots.  I think for my next project I'm going to invest in a spray gun.  But in comparison to my arcade project, this paint job is a breeze.  I'm going to keep the inside of the cab white.  I like the contrast, plus will make it easier to see in there later on...








A little mockup of the artwork so I could see it at full size. Really glad I did this because it led to some changes.  To do this I took the art and saved it as a PDF within Photoshop then opened it in Acrobat, which has a feature during printing to allow you to 'tile' a large image into multiple sheets.



And Santa (Brad...aka Lucian045 over on the HS Forums) sent me this pic from his workshop.  He was really impressed with how it looks, so that's encouraging..  Can't wait to see it in person!




That's all for now.  Should be lots more updates coming over the next couple weeks.  Stay tuned...

[mcseforsale]

that's cool.  Looks like an operating room inside!

AJ

[sabreerbasAlpha]

Simply stunning, a pleasure to read and look at your work Gamester. The cuts the lines are virtually flawless. Love this build. Cant wait to see it finished mate. 

[yotsuya]

My favorite pinball build since Chris'!  Keep up the great work!

[TheShaner]

This is good stuff here.  I'm gonna enjoy watching this come together!  Any idea what the overall cost gonna be?  I have a pincab in the design phase right now ... not sure how long it will be in that phase, but I am hoping to start building by the end of the year.  It looks like you are doing yours right, among other things, in that you are building your own cabinet to house the hardware, which is what I plan on doing as well.

Really really kick --I'm attempting to get by the auto-censor and should be beaten after I re-read the rules--!   

[TheShaner]

So, I have been hiding out for a while and havent been on the forums much lately.  While catching up, I came across this really cool thread about this bad ass pinball machine called Star Wars Pinball unleashed.  The guy building it has bought all of these cool parts, and has a really good plan laid out.  He's even gone as far as to do a test run of the 3 screens running off the computer.

I think it's cool, so I make a comment stating such ...

After my post shows up, I realize there is more than one page to this thread ... read read read ...

Holy Crap.  This is an awesome build!  Props Gamester, you really are going about this right.  Your carpentry work is top notch.  As I mentioned before, I have wanted to build my own box for my upcoming "PinHead" build.  I can guarantee you, when I get to the point to where I am actually building things, I am going to consult this thread heavily.  This is a well thought out, so far perfectly executed pincab build!  Good job on the artwork too!!

On the artwork, one of the things MaxiGriff was referring to when working with substandard artwork was using filters like the oilpainting filter I have referred to in my signature to clean up those pieces after they have been resized.  It works well. 

Cant wait to see more ... now time to go put on a fresh pair of underwear.

[Maximus]

Looking great Gamester, the woodwork is really coming together and looking nice. It's always a thrill to see your artwork 'fullsize' for the first time, I bet you are really happy with that.

[dandro]

MaxiGriff

LMAO

[Gamester]

that's cool.  Looks like an operating room inside!

Thanks AJ!  Yeah, that's why I decided to keep it white inside.  Just has a nice clean look. 

Simply stunning, a pleasure to read and look at your work Gamester. The cuts the lines are virtually flawless. Love this build. Cant wait to see it finished mate. 

Thanks so much. I'm truly flattered.

My favorite pinball build since Chris'!  Keep up the great work!

Thanks yotsuya.  Chris' build was a big inspiration for me in the beginning, so I'm honored that you would say that. 

Holy Crap.  This is an awesome build!  Props Gamester, you really are going about this right.  Your carpentry work is top notch.  As I mentioned before, I have wanted to build my own box for my upcoming "PinHead" build.  I can guarantee you, when I get to the point to where I am actually building things, I am going to consult this thread heavily.  This is a well thought out, so far perfectly executed pincab build!  Good job on the artwork too!!

TheShaner, your post cracked me up.  And I also appreciate the kind words.  I look forward to seeing your project when you get it under way. 

Looking great Gamester, the woodwork is really coming together and looking nice. It's always a thrill to see your artwork 'fullsize' for the first time, I bet you are really happy with that.

Yeah, and now I have the artwork in hand, and it's everything I envisioned.  I couldn't be more pleased.

[Gamester]

Okay, so let's just say I've been a busy little bee over the past week.  Got a LOT of stuff done on the build.  Oh, and I apologize to anyone trying to read this post on a slow connection... 

Added a couple extra parts to the stash.  Picked up the PSU that will run the toys (flashers, contactors, wiper motor and shaker):



Also got one of these, circa 1998 off of eBay new in box for about $15.  It has a built-in motion controller, similar to the modern Playstation SIXAXIS controller.  This will be used for the nudge functionality.  I'll get into more detail on how it's setup later in the build once I have it installed and working correctly.




Computer is mounted on the slide-out shelf.  Since I de-cased the components, I was a bit concerned about making sure the video card stayed mounted firmly in its socket, so I got this nice back plate to secure it.  I mounted the motherboard using PCB mounting feet, and I needed the back plate to match it in height.  Was too late for a hardware store run, so I tried a couple different things as spacers (cutting tubing, etc.) but couldn't quite get the base I wanted.  So my Macgyver mode kicked in as I shuffled through drawers and boxes.  Ended up using a plastic spacer, a washer and some plastic beads from my wife to get it just right.    Video card is nice and secure.  Used some good 3M double-sided tape to mount the PSU.  It's not budging either.








Coin door and lockdown bar/guide installed...




Doors, fans, grills and door hardware installed.  I'm short one fan.  Will need to order that soon.  I considered using locks, but decided against it.  I just couldn't think of any compelling reason for locks, so I used a double-roller catch on one door and a magnetic latch in the other.  No particular reason I used a different latch for each.  Just what I happened to have on hand.




Speakers and DMD are mounted in the panel.  I cut and mounted a sheet of acrylic in front of the DMD to protect it.  Just used my jigsaw with a fine cut blade, carefully drilled holes and screwed it in.  There was some strategy involved with the dimensions of the acrylic because there are screw heads protruding from the front of the DMD that I had to work around or else it caused a bit more space between the DMD and acrylic than I wanted.

Also got the TV mounted and T-molding installed.  Just need to pick up a piece of glass and make a bezel to hide the TV's bezel and speaker panel interior framing.  I'm pretty pleased with how the backbox turned out. 


Hmmm... what's that peaking around the side there?




Also installed the legs.  The method I used was to screw them just snug into the brackets, and then install the screws for the plates on the back side.  This ensured that the plates would remain in the exact orientation needed for the bolts to thread properly. 

But of course, before I installed the coin door and legs, I installed the ARTWORK. 









Start, Exit and Coin buttons...






I can't say enough good things about this artwork from Brad.  The material he uses is INCREDIBLY forgiving.  I probably stuck/unstuck parts of it a dozen or more times, and it never lost its adhesion.  It's also really easy to get air bubbles out of it.  It's called air release technology, and they aren't kidding.  He includes a felt squeegee to apply it.  One key to installing this stuff is to make sure you have several brand new, sharp X-acto blades on hand.  It's critical to getting a clean edge.  This stuff is pretty tough, so even with a brand new blade, I had challenges occasionally with cutting it.  The important thing is to make sure you keep the knife straight and use the cabinet's edge as a guide.  Just go slow until you get a feel for it.

So back to the legs for a second...when I first installed the legs and leg protectors and tightened them down, I noticed that the tension of the legs up against the artwork caused it to pucker a bit.  I can only imagine the long term implications of this, so a solution was in order.  Here's what I came up with: adhesive felt pads.  Once I installed these, no more issues.  Artwork stayed nice and flat, even with the legs fully tightened.




So, next up is building the light panel for above the playfield and wiring...LOTS of wiring.

We're having a graduation party for my son in a couple weeks, and my goal was to have the pin fully playable by then.  I think I'm on track get meet that goal! 

More updates coming soon.  I'll get into a bit more detail on how I mounted the backbox and how the speaker panel is mounted, and of course all of the wiring.  Stay tuned...

[emphatic]

Thanks to these pictures, I've just cream'd my jeans. 

[Nephasth]

Looks amazing with the art installed! Can't wait to see that DMD in action!

[Gamester]

Thanks to these pictures, I've just cream'd my jeans. 

LOL.  Sorry about that. 

Looks amazing with the art installed! Can't wait to see that DMD in action!

Thanks Nephasth!  Trust me, I'm ready to see it in action too.  Should be pretty soon... 

[yotsuya]

Slowly getting to "Best VP Build EVER" status... 

[Gamester]

@yotsuya - Thanks for the kind words!  I'm flattered man...   

So just wanted to mention that these buttons are just placeholders.  Planning to do lit buttons (or solid buttons with lit outer rings)... 




Mom does stained glass, so I'm going to have her cut the backglass for me today.  I don't trust myself... 

Wiring will probably start tonight or tomorrow.  Taking a bit of a breather after the marathon last week to get it to this point. 

[emphatic]

It would look amazing (I think) if you could make speaker covers shaped like the Tie Fighters' wings.

[sabreerbasAlpha]

Gamester Honestly, Its simply stunning. Beautiful design and execution of it. You must be proud of her..

[ark_ader]

Wow simply wow. 

I definitely have to get a plunge router now. 

Awesome. 

[wp34]

That artwork is simply fantastic.  The cleanness with which you mounted your motherboard is as impressive as the rest of the build.  Nice work.   

[Maximus]

PFFFFT there's hardly any dust on this VPin anywhere. You should see the excellent layer mine is building up, now that's patience!!

Seriously though well done Gamester this is looking great

[TheShaner]

PFFFFT there's hardly any dust on this VPin anywhere. You should see the excellent layer mine is building up, now that's patience!!

Seriously though well done Gamester this is looking great

MaxiGriff ... you have a VPin the works?

[yotsuya]

PFFFFT there's hardly any dust on this VPin anywhere. You should see the excellent layer mine is building up, now that's patience!!

Seriously though well done Gamester this is looking great

MaxiGriff ... you have a VPin the works?

You really haven't been around, have you?

[TheShaner]

Apparently not.  There isnt one in his sig ...

[Maximus]

Apparently not.  There isnt one in his sig ...

I ran out of space in my sig, which is kinda disturbing. At the risk of thread jacking ... http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,130727.msg1338582.html#msg1338582

[Gamester]

Wow, it's been a while since I updated my build thread!  Was on vacation for a couple weeks and also diverted my attention to some real life stuff for a bit.  But in between all that I still managed to reach some major milestones on the build.

So, to catch things up...

I debated earlier in the build whether I wanted to do backbox hinges.  After much deliberation I decided that I would rather not obscure the artwork with hinges just to try to accommodate the very rare occasion where this thing will need to be transported.  Instead I opted to simply use brackets and wingnuts to allow for easy dis-assembly.  So removing the backbox is as simple as unplugging the cables inside it and unscrewing the wingnuts.  There's one of these brackets on each side.




Next I tackled the light bar.  I sandwiched two 1/2" MDF panels together, one because I wanted the lights to be very recessed and secondly to fill the gap at the back where the play field meets the light bar.



Drilled the holes for the flasher caps using a 1 1/8" spade bit, then hand routed recesses for the screw tabs.  Then just primed and painted it using a foam roller and brush.




The heatsinks on my Cree flashers do not have mounting screw holes, so I had needed a retainer to mount the LEDs to the light bar.  These are basically just blocks with holes recessed to hold the heatsinks.  The flasher cap got screwed on and then the whole assembly was attached to the light bar.





Finished product:



Originally I had also planned to include the strobes on the light bar.  After I thought about it, I decided that I didn't want those things beaming me in the face.  So I mounted them just under the front of the cab so they shine down by the player's feet.  That way you still get the effect of the strobes without the blindness.  My plan is to pick up another pair of them and mount them on the back side of the backbox.  You'll also notice in the pic that the under-cabinet accent lighting is installed.  The accent lighting is RGB and is totally configurable using an included remote control.  I have it set up to smoothly fade between colors.




Next up was the glass for the backbox.  For this I just purchased a sheet of glass from Home Depot and had my Mom, who does stained glass, size it for me.  I decided to paint on the bezel.  For that I just masked off the edges, cleaned the glass with alcohol and painted it using a foam roller and black latex.






And then wiring...lots of it.  It would have been much worse though without Zebulon's boards.







I wanted to be sure everything was functioning properly before I started bundling wire and making it all look pretty.  That's still on the to-do list.


Started the installation of the gamepad PCB for the nudge functionality.  After disassembly is when I came to the realization that the gameport to USB adapter was missing from the package.  D'oh!  To solve that I ordered a Belkin F3U200-08INCH from Amazon, which I just received.  UPDATE: this cable didn't work for me unfortunately...apparently you have to use the cable that actually comes with it.  This part of the install is to be continued.




So currently the machine is 100% playable.  All lighting and force feedback options are working perfectly.  It's amazing how much that stuff adds to the gameplay experience!  When the lights, sounds and feedback are all working together in concert, it's simply fantastic.

A few pics of the almost-finished product.














Will probably post a video of it all in action soon. 

[TheShaner]

This is so totally bad ass!!! Excellent work! 

[TopJimmyCooks]

What a great looking virtual pin.  I really like it - How about a gameplay video with some nudging, etc. so we can get a feel for the lights/sounds total package?

[bearzilla333]

  Wow! Very nice!

[Nephasth]

DMD looks tits! Can't wait to see a video!

[ebarlow99]

on point!! they are a blast!!! 

[Maximus]

Wow just saw the pics for the first time, absolutely amazing, this looks spectacular, well done sir!!!

[mcseforsale]

I will be doing a "Hey wife, come look at what can be made in the garage" thing tonight.  It's easy to grease those wheels when it looks like this badass thing.

AJ

[dandro]

I will be doing a "Hey wife, come look at what can be made in the garage" thing tonight.  It's easy to grease those wheels when it looks like this badass thing.

AJ

I tried this once,.. but with a porno. Should have done this first because now she don't fall for it.. LOL

[Le Chuck]

      

Great execution.  Looks fantastic!

[yotsuya]

I will be doing a "Hey wife, come look at what can be made in the garage" thing tonight.  It's easy to grease those wheels when it looks like this badass thing.

AJ

I tried this once,.. but with a porno.

 

[sabreerbasAlpha]

Sweet mother of god. What else is there to say about this.?. You sir have built a thing of gaming beauty  .

What an amazing build truly amazing Gamester.. This has defiantly inspired me to attempt one of these builds..

[emphatic]

Sweet mother of god.

^^This. 

[Sshado]

Will probably post a video of it all in action soon. 

It has been a week, take some time away from playing it and post the video already This is the nicest pinball build I have seen and I know I am not the only one who wants to see this thing in action 

[mcseforsale]

Subscribed....wait, what?

hehehehe.

AJ

[Gamester]

Thank you all for the compliments and for the inspiration that many of you have provided through your own projects.  This is such a great forum!

@Sshado - Sorry to leave ya hanging bud.  Life's been a little crazy the past few weeks.  Video this weekend, I promise! 

[darthpaul]

Impressive, Most Impressive.

[yotsuya]

Can't wait to see the video. My favorite overall build this year, bar none.

[Connorsdad]

I wish I hadn't seen this thread, I haven't finished pouring money into my cab build yet and now I see this. I'm never going to have savings again am I. Awesome job, the skills of you guys on this forum are mental

[Nephasth]

Can't wait to see the video. My favorite overall build this year, bar none.

The year's only half over! But yes, this build was executed with precision. Love the attention to the details big and especially small. IMO the only way to do a Vpin right is with a DMD.

[yotsuya]

Subscribed....wait, what?

hehehehe.

AJ

 

[wp34]

Fantastic work Gamester.  I like the chrome T-molding.  It matches your MAME cabinet.   

[Gamester]

Thank you all for the compliments!   

Here's a video, as promised: 

[Maximus]

Looks good man, lots of fun to be had there.

[Gamester]

Thanks Joel. 

Hopefully the video doesn't come across too pretentious.    It was an excuse to try to get some basic practice with Adobe Premiere, plus I kind of wanted to gear it toward the average Joe who stumbles across it on YouTube and get them interested enough to lure them to this site and assimilate them into our community...kinda like the Borg; once you come here and see all these cool projects, resistance is futile.     That's how it happened for me anyway.

[mcseforsale]

Me, too.  I was just trolling ebay/craigslist for a DK cab for the house and I stumbled in here.  Now, I'm subscribed to just about everything. 

AJ

Thanks Joel. 

Hopefully the video doesn't come across too pretentious.    It was an excuse to try to get some practice with Adobe Premiere, plus I kind of wanted to gear it toward the average Joe who stumbles across it on YouTube and get them interested enough to lure them to this site and assimilate them into our community...kinda like the Borg; once you come here and see all these cool projects, resistance if futile.    That's how it happened for me anyway.

[Felsir]

Very, very cool build!

[a1pharm]

 
Well done!

[SORHP]

Beautiful, Bookmarking for my future Build, sorry for reviving!

[Nestafari]

Yeah

[Viktory2k1]

OK, I just bought my router 3-17-15! Ready to go. I forgot I was a member on this forum, been so busy with the sleds and all.  Now It's time for some pinball!!!
Any idea what that Piece of Art weighs? I bought a plunge router, is that what you used? I already have all the other tools except that circle thing. I even bought an air nailer/stapler. Man thats great! I can't say enough about it. Now you need a pool table! I wonder if you can build those.
I'll be in touch.
Vic

[Gamester]

@Viktory2k1: The router I used has both fixed and plunge bases.

Haven't weighed the machine, but as I'm sure you can imagine, it's not exactly light.

I do have a pool table -- it's just in another room. Don't think I'd want to try to build one of those. 

Good luck with your project!