Because... Horizontal Multi- Vector

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bobbyb13:
I'm at a good spot in this build where I can take 30 minute slots of time and actually accomplish something.

Some resin detail on this panel was in order and after staring at it- quite a lot- and considering the less is more concept, it came to me that just mirroring what was on the yoke already was a good place to start.
I also decided that it should have some solid black border in places just to contain the pattern a bit.

So a bit of tape that the resin won't immediately melt the glue right off the back of-

Just doing the black hadn't reminded me that the way to really do detail like this is to use gloss resin- which is a blend that is quite a bit thinner than the stuff I use generally, and it also gets considerably harder in a much shorter period of time.
The fact that it is thinner makes it flow out flatter and because it is harder it polishes up to a mirror finish more readily than the laminating resin I like- which has a double dose of blue-ing agent, making it MUCH brighter and more clear when catalysed but also softer/more flexible.

Polyester resin blends are a rabbit hole all their own it turns out.

After I got the black border I wanted on both pieces I got to play with some pigments to try to blend something close to what was on the yoke body to mimic the pinlines there already.
I already have a few different blues and white and black too of course so it wasn't too bad to sort out something close.

The fact that I did NOT have any gloss resin handy made this a huge pain in the ass and actually required I go through the process with the blue line FOUR times before I got it to behave properly.
It required thinning it with acetone (not recommended- but the styrene monomer I had and would choose to use had hardened into a little brick because I hadn't used it up fast enough) and still meant that I had to pull the tape before I normally would, risking a drooling blob of wavy pinline.

I'll still call what I wound up with after more effort than normal a win.

At least now both pieces are to a point that I can clean them up and put the last coat of clear on them before I try to figure out what grade of shiny I want this stuff to wind up after all this.
I'm still leaning toward something a few grades less than polished, but the carbone stuff does look pretty cool when it is super shiny.

Maybe I will have to run with tooled out finish in spots and mirror polish in others?
Still debating whether or not any more detail other than button labeling is going to happen here as it is.

As I put my hands on the panel after this was done it has occurred to me that I may be remiss in neglecting a full complement of buttons to play Star Trek (?!)
Although I am a fan of the story I never got to play the game BITD so without nostalgia points I myself may never miss it actually.

I can always drill more holes.

The other thing is that there aren't player start buttons on this yet and although I had considered putting some volcano style ones on the wart just for fun they could wind up elsewhere.

What could consume a portion of my weekend is that I decided on which cabinet this should be finally.
Since this has already run far our of hand already it made sense to go full ridiculous and build the one I came up with while thinking about an entirely different build- which will now be something else of course.
Yeesh.

bobbyb13:
And almost forgot-

Using graph paper for layout makes it easy to find shapes and proportions you like and then you can just pick a point (I always begin with contol panel height) and do the math to get the ratio per square for your real world measurements.
Easy scaling.
A protractor makes checking your angles easy too, but if you get your measurements proper then everything falls into place when you template stuff anyway.

Apart from control panel height (and in my case thinking about how the whole thing fits upstairs with my ridiculous knee wall- hence more back angle) the cabinet depth where the CRT neckboard winds up- relative to screen face pitch- is the only other thing to really sweat.
20" from front of tube face to interior back of cabinet has been really safe so far- no matter what size or angle tube.

Leaving yourself 1" of slack for any dimension in regard to tube, speakers and controls helps when you try to put all these things together in the end and it ensures that you don't wind up with something that your components simply don't fit in.
Have to accomodate using 3/4" thick plywood, yeah?

As a full size cabinet this thing allows for pretty much anything so I'm confident this will just go together after I have cut the panels out.

It has elements of other cabinets I like and maintains a kind of '80s era lozenge feel that suits me and this crazy build.

Fun graphic treatment for the sides that keeps that vibe but isn't cheesy is going to be hard to sort out for me.
I know that I will be glassing a small panel of carbon fiber on the sides for continuity with the control panels but I want it to have the feel of a sticker with some appropriate illustration/image/name etc. within the field.
Or should it be a/a few stripe/s of carbon somewhere on the sides?

Some single element that suits a multi-vector machine but isn't screaming "Multi-Vector Vidyagamez!!!!"

Oh boy-
Any thoughts from a real artist are very welcome.

firedance:
I also use pencil n paper for designs, would take me years to learn design software :D I've also designed a side profile on a sheet of MDF before then cut it out, saved on paper.

Great work as always 8)

Mike A:
I am available to do artwork.

I work for beer and peanut butter pretzels.

Javyerh didn't use my concept for his bartop.

It was his loss.

bobbyb13:
I really liked that one myself.
No accounting for taste though!

Not sure I can afford enough beer and pretzels for the scope of this circus I am ringmaster of presently.

Of course I still need to figure out why the stupid Pi doesn't recognize the Alan-1 yoke or all this is masturbatory anyway.

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