Project Announcement: Super Spacefortress Macross - 100% Complete

[opt2not]

I'm a big fan of clear washers (mainly because it doesn't obscure the art!), but especially when the CPO has been properly installed and the hole-cuts are clean. Which looks like you've done.

Usually I put a black or coloured washer underneath the panel, so that you can see it through the clear. Like what I did with my candy cab panel:


But having Neph's lighting solution show through makes complete sense and looks very stylish.  Nice job bud.   

[yotsuya]

OK, I decided to overhaul my control panel, as I wasn't happy with the way the black overlay was adhering to the metal. The CPO was one I picked up on eBay, and when I got it, it was bubbling up from the backing already. You couldn't tell from the photos, but it was lifting and bubbling in spots. Well, that wouldn't do. I ordered some new material from TwistedQuarter.com and stripped the old material off. I'm rebondoing some areas for better shaping, will repaint and take my time with the CP as I wait for the finishing touches from the printer. I'm also swapping the Happ Competitions with a pair of IL Eurosticks that have original Cherry switches. Those sticks are great for casual 8-way games, plus they come with matching color dustwashers, which should pop with the NephRings and clear dustwashers.

In the mean time, I made a little something for the machine: a topper in the style of the one made for Galaga.

I designed it, printed it, and mounted it on foam-core board. It's held on with removable adhesive.

[AlienInferno]

Nice topper.

[yotsuya]

OK, with ZapCon a little more than a week away, it's time for an update.

After I posted the last round of photos, I wasn't happy with the control panel. The overlay I put on, that I got off eBay, was bubbling way too much for my liking. I ordered a new overlay from TwistedQuarter.com, stripped the panel, patched it a bit more and repainted, then applied the new overlay and stripe. Much better.

I'm still waiting on some decals to make this 100% complete, but I did get something today that is pretty awesome. I'm using NephRings and had clear dustwashers on, but something came along that I saw and had to add...



You can see in the photo one of ParadiseArcadeShop's custom dustwashers with the UN Spacy logo from Macross. Bryan, as always, was a pleasure to deal with, and he really gave me what I wanted.

[yotsuya]

Nice topper.

Thanks! That was fun to put together!

[Xiaou2]

Man.

Oh man.

Side art installed. Pants wet. Quite chuffed.

See photo.

Check out Lucian045's stickied thread for installation details. I'll go into more detail later, but I just had to share.

 Boring cabinet is Boring.

 Also, It looks like you just stuck on a movie poster to the side of the cabinet.   

 Like some sort of bad conversion cab nightmare.

[Le Chuck]

Man.

Oh man.

Side art installed. Pants wet. Quite chuffed.

See photo.

Check out Lucian045's stickied thread for installation details. I'll go into more detail later, but I just had to share.

 Boring cabinet is Boring.

 Also, It looks like you just stuck on a movie poster to the side of the cabinet.   

 Like some sort of bad conversion cab nightmare.

Don't be a ---meecrob---.

<admittedly it's like telling water not to be wet. Your douchiness is your defining characteristic>

[Warborg]

Man.

Oh man.

Side art installed. Pants wet. Quite chuffed.

See photo.

Check out Lucian045's stickied thread for installation details. I'll go into more detail later, but I just had to share.

 Boring cabinet is Boring.

 Also, It looks like you just stuck on a movie poster to the side of the cabinet.   

 Like some sort of bad conversion cab nightmare.

You are now and forever more dubbed Sir Richard Cranium...

[yotsuya]

Man.

Oh man.

Side art installed. Pants wet. Quite chuffed.

See photo.

Check out Lucian045's stickied thread for installation details. I'll go into more detail later, but I just had to share.

 Boring cabinet is Boring.

 Also, It looks like you just stuck on a movie poster to the side of the cabinet.   

 Like some sort of bad conversion cab nightmare.

You know you've arrived when Mr. Idea Man feels the need to give his two cents.

I like traditional, classic graphics. I wanted it to look like an updated conversion kit, which the game originally was. I'm very pleased with the results, and I've appreciated all the feedback and suggestions I've gotten from everyone here. Thanks for your feedback, X2, we can't all aspire to make stuff that ends up on CrapMame.

[Warborg]

Man.

Oh man.

Side art installed. Pants wet. Quite chuffed.

See photo.

Check out Lucian045's stickied thread for installation details. I'll go into more detail later, but I just had to share.

 Boring cabinet is Boring.

 Also, It looks like you just stuck on a movie poster to the side of the cabinet.   

 Like some sort of bad conversion cab nightmare.

You know you've arrived when Mr. Idea Man feels the need to give his two cents.

I like traditional, classic graphics. I wanted it to look like an updated conversion kit, which the game originally was. I'm very pleased with the results, and I've appreciated all the feedback and suggestions I've gotten from everyone here. Thanks for your feedback, X2, we can't all aspire to make stuff that ends up on CrapMame.

LOL...  Anyway, don't listen to him...  I don't think the doctors were able to remove the corncob that was lodged in the unmentionables...   

I think it looks like a quality job, the topper looks great...  Not to mention great theme (yeah, you know I'm a Macross fan)... 

[opt2not]

Boring cabinet is Boring.

 Also, It looks like you just stuck on a movie poster to the side of the cabinet.   

 Like some sort of bad conversion cab nightmare.

Funny there isn't the usual Xiouche verbal-diarreia in this post.  Ok there trolly, let's see your cabinets.

[yotsuya]

Now now, my good friends on here know that I am a firm believer in this place being a open and free place for ideas and criticism. I'd prefer open and honest criticism to it being circle-jerky. 

If X2 doesn't like my cab, I firmly support his right to typically sound like an ---uvula--- in saying so. X2 gotta X2, after all. 

[matt4949]

Man.

Oh man.

Side art installed. Pants wet. Quite chuffed.

See photo.

Check out Lucian045's stickied thread for installation details. I'll go into more detail later, but I just had to share.

 Boring cabinet is Boring.

 Also, It looks like you just stuck on a movie poster to the side of the cabinet.   

 Like some sort of bad conversion cab nightmare.

You know you've arrived when Mr. Idea Man feels the need to give his two cents.

I like traditional, classic graphics. I wanted it to look like an updated conversion kit, which the game originally was. I'm very pleased with the results, and I've appreciated all the feedback and suggestions I've gotten from everyone here. Thanks for your feedback, X2, we can't all aspire to make stuff that ends up on CrapMame.

LOL...  Anyway, don't listen to him...  I don't think the doctors were able to remove the corncob that was lodged in the unmentionables...   

I think it looks like a quality job, the topper looks great...  Not to mention great theme (yeah, you know I'm a Macross fan)... 

Oh, Boy!!!! I sure have missed you guys. Glad to see everyone is still playing nice.

[pbj]

Not to encourage it but I think you should have either gone with the cabinet stenciling or the poster side art.  But not both.

 

Yes, your project is much nicer than anything I've done.

   etc.

(and give the crapmame thing a rest. That was 10+ years ago and we've all had our mistakes)

[yotsuya]

Not to encourage it but I think you should have either gone with the cabinet stenciling or the poster side art.  But not both.

I didn't stencil the bottom. It's vinyl side art printed and cut by Lucian045. The quality is outstanding, and it blends really well in person because it's clear it's the same material.

I like it, and everyone who's seen it likes it.

[rablack97]

Kinda late here, but did the guy rebound from the crapmame mistake?  I would think before you rip someone you would showcase what you've done to regain credibility.

To make it on that site, you've done more than make a mistake, you laid a massive terd.

Anyways negative opinions are good when relevant and helpful.  It's your vision so stick to it.  Regardless I like it, simple clean and playable, thats all that matters.

Keep it up bro

 

[opt2not]

I just think his comments were completely hollow and unwarranted. 

He states:

Also, It looks like you just stuck on a movie poster to the side of the cabinet.   

 Like some sort of bad conversion cab nightmare.

How many licensed games based on movie/tv franchises had original artwork and not rehashed posters?  Look at T2, Moonwalker, Aliens, as prime major titles. The nature of these types of conversions is that you don't get the originality of artwork created from scratch. It was cheaper to use pre-existing art!
So to say he "just stuck" a movie poster on it, is exactly what he did.  So what? It works, and at least there is a bit of customization at the bottom sides that help tie the theme together.

Then the "bad conversion cab nightmare" comment  No no no, a bad conversion nightmare is throwing a mismatch of artwork on it (most likely capcom diamond patterned, or lighting/electricity) in most cases not even relating to the game installed...hacking up existing harnesses, cutting a billion holes in the CP rendering it like swiss-cheese, painting over existing side-art, and installing some kind of pseudo security measure like an alarm horn or a crap-ton of security bars.
The alarm horn was a funny one... I found that installed in a converted Williams cabinet, nearly shat myself when I opened up the back door.
I've seen nightmare conversions. This cabinet is definitely not one of them. Yots did a classy job here, and even the insides are clean and well installed. He even went through the details of adding the documents inside! 

And the aesthetic elements of this cab seem to go well together, though my only critique would be to have lifted the bottom side-art decal stripes an inch or two higher up because they feel a bit low to me. But that's just nit-picking.

My bet is Xiaou2 got miffed at something yots said in another thread, and decided to troll on this one. Otherwise he would have written a ton more. That's my guess.

[pbj]

Opt, if you're angling to churn up a good spittle flying diatribe you need to say his name three more times.

[zanna5910]

 Boring cabinet is Boring.

 Also, It looks like you just stuck on a movie poster to the side of the cabinet.   

 Like some sort of bad conversion cab nightmare.

Coming from the guy who adamantly defends all people's choices to do whatever they want to do in no fewer than 5,000 words per post.   

[Malenko]

other than the missing bingo ball dispenser on the front I think its a great little cabs.  X2s gonna X2, and all that jazz.

[Vigo]

  I wouldn't get so upset by X2 doing his thing. The best confirmation that you did an excellent job is that X2 bitches about it. 

[opt2not]

X2s gonna X2, and all that jazz.

I know I know, but it's Monday and I'm hungover and have a short-fuse right now. Time for coffee #3. 

Plus I felt the need to stick up for my homie yotsuya.

[yotsuya]

And the aesthetic elements of this cab seem to go well together, though my only critique would be to have lifted the bottom side-art decal stripes an inch or two higher up because they feel a bit low to me. But that's just nit-picking.

Funny you say that - I was just thinking the same thing myself last night. 

I wouldn't get so upset by X2 doing his thing. The best confirmation that you did an excellent job is that X2 bitches about it. 

I'm putting that bad boy next to the "Inspected by Pinball Jim" Sticker....

Again, I welcome all feedback and opinions. More fire, less circle-jerking is how this community will make itself better and evolve. I **like** that we have higher expectations of projects as far as quality. Sure, X2 is an ---uvula---, but he's our ---uvula---. He probably doesn't know what constructive criticism is because he's never heard it.

Oh, and to address the "slapping a poster on the side" comment - Opt2Not is right about the style. Conversion kits didn't have full-side art - it was usually a rectangle or circle with some elements to personalize the cab. That's what I remember on most of the games I used to play at the local convenience store. This cabinet, the way I designed it and built it, is the way I would have wanted to see it when I was 13: Some OP in the Phoenix area had an Atari cab that wasn't earning anymore, so he slapped a Macross kit in it and put it in the Circle K by my grandmothers house. I would have been there every day in the summer just to play that thing. In reality, he probably would have painted it black, and it would have either had a) no side art or b) a big FABTEK sticker and control panel overlay, so I did a little dreaming there.

I'm still waiting on the one element to finish off the control panel. ZapCon is this weekend, so I'll post photos of it in action. Looking forward to it!

[Malenko]

Vigo, <3 that!

[Slippyblade]

I'm a total Macross whore and look forward to playing this bad-boy this weekend!

[Louis Tully]

.

[DarakuTenshi]

I love it! Great job bro.

[yotsuya]

OK, the last piece of the puzzle is sitting on my desk at work. So by this time tomorrow, the CP, and thus the cabinet, will be completely finished.

Oh, and here's a little piece I'm going to add to the back of the cabinet, next to the FBI and FCC stickers...

[pbj]

Sweet, I beat malenko.

[matt4949]

Sweet, I beat malenko.

PBJ beats  Malenko HEE HEE

[Nephasth]

It was awesome watching this project evolve from a PCB on eBay into what it is today.
Can't wait to hear about the reactions this machine gets at ZAPCON.

[Malenko]

Sweet, I beat malenko.

Just happy to be mentioned. 

[pbj]

This has been an eye opening thread in many ways.  First, I find out some Canadian that clearly doesn't get the original joke has made these:



It took them a month to arrive and came with a quintessentially hand written Canadian apology (pictured).

Then a guy I've known for 15 years decides to rip off the Konkey Dong artist and flake on shipping a t-shirt.  Opt2not got a rare pbj apology and refund.

Then I find out that Phoenix has over 4 million people.  What do they do?  How do they eat?  The mind boggles at the sheer collective lunacy of four million people living in the desert, and I fear the terrible acts they do to each other when the saguaro juice ferments.

[yotsuya]

This has been an eye opening thread in many ways.

Then I find out that Phoenix has over 4 million people.  What do they do?  How do they eat?  The mind boggles at the sheer collective lunacy of four million people living in the desert, and I fear the terrible acts they do to each other when the saguaro juice ferments.

As you can see, we're pretty spread out...

[yotsuya]

Sweet, I beat malenko.

Just happy to be mentioned. 

Of course! It was pretty much me going through the thread and listing them in order of posting, with one or two move-arounds to make things fit better. I remember pixelhugger giving people shoutouts in his Final Countdown video, and I thought that was a classy thing to do. This is my way of showing thanks. The color scheme, the side art, and the design (hell, even the dustwashers) all evolved from my original concept based on feedback and ideas from you guys. For that I am grateful.

[Vigo]

This is my way of showing thanks. The color scheme, the side art, and the design (hell, even the dustwashers) all evolved from my original concept based on feedback and ideas from you guys. For that I am grateful.

Thanks, Brother! You do great work, I am happy to be a small part of that.

[yotsuya]

You know, I think that face there personifies the saying "quite chuffed". 

[Vigo]

  Yes it does.

[jdbailey1206]

[yotsuya]

I tweaked the font a bit since it's going to be black on silver foil, plus there were a few people I wanted to mention. Finally, I added the Macross "screw" iconic imagery you see on all the fighters.