SlikStik *New Product Sneak Peek*

[SlikStik-Christian]

All,

  Here is a sneak peek of our new 2-piece design, ball top joysticks. The colored "anodized" balls are aluminum and the polished ball is solid stainless steel.

In addition the shafts are also stainless steel.

They will be made to fit Happ Optical, Competition, Super and Ultimate joystick bases.

Creating the new 2-piece design is necessary to counteract the cost of manufacturing our solid stainless steel joystick handles due to stainless steel prices which have been on the rise for over a year and continue to do so with no relief in sight.

The final pricing is not yet available but they will be less than the solid versions.



They will be available on the SlikStik website with in the next 2 weeks, enjoy...

Comments and questions are welcome.

[SirPoonga]

Cool

[Santoro]

Comments and questions are welcome.

Those look great... Nice!

[SirPoonga]

We were talking in chat.  Now come up with a clear one we can light up

[mozzer]

Sexy!  

[SpamMe]

How long will the finish last in a high-use environment?

[grueinthebox]

Those are hot - much better looking than the plain stainless, IMO.

How tall (long) is the conbined shaft and ball top on these things?  I notice your old sticks say they're 1/4" LONGER than the original Happ part...  Any chance of getting something maybe a bit shorter?  I'd personally like something about 1/4-1/2" shorter than the standard Happ stick...

Need anodized aluminum pushbuttons to match...  O.o

[Bgnome]

We were talking in chat.  Now come up with a clear one we can light up

is it just me, or does that shaft look like it might have a hollow area through the center?  if you stick an acrylic sphere on there with a LED, you might have some pimpin sticks..

[paigeoliver]

If you want shorter handles then just install a piece of wood between your joystick base and control panel as a spacer. I have seen this done on several conversion games I have owned.

[Gunstar Hero]

How long will the finish last in a high-use environment?

Well, I'm sure they're meant more for home use.

[SirPoonga]

We were talking in chat.  Now come up with a clear one we can light up

is it just me, or does that shaft look like it might have a hollow area through the center?  if you stick an acrylic sphere on there with a LED, you might have some pimpin sticks..

I think their shafts are lathed.  But yeah,a  hollow shaft and LEDs would be cool.

[GGKoul]

Looks cool. But I wonder how much.

[grueinthebox]

If you want shorter handles then just install a piece of wood between your joystick base and control panel as a spacer. I have seen this done on several conversion games I have owned.

Cab in question has a metal CP and insufficient clearance underneath to add a spacer.  Adding Happ joysticks at all would be pushing it for clearance.  

[paigeoliver]

Well a metal panel doesn't mean you can't space it with wood!

But since you are having clearance issues then I suggest forgetting about these and going with short handled wico balltops (old school ones).

[clanggedin]

I really wanted the one piece stainless sticks, but they were way out of my price range. If these are half the cost of the others then I'll be picking some up.  I may have to talk the wife into getting me some for x-mas.

[SlikStik Christian]

Apologies for the delayed reply, my account on this board is all messed up so I had to create a new one; I have answered all your questions below;

SpamMe
How long will the finish last in a high-use environment?

(Since the Anodizing process actually grows a layer on the aluminum which is harder then the aluminum itself and is extremely tolerant to wear and tear, it is expected to be in the "years" range.)

grueinthebox
How tall (long) is the combined shaft and ball top on these things?  I notice your old sticks say they're 1/4" LONGER than the original Happ part...  Any chance of getting something maybe a bit shorter?  I'd personally like something about 1/4-1/2" shorter than the standard Happ stick...

(The new shafts with the new balls installed are the same 1/4 higher as the previous joysticks. As for a lower joystick, I may be able to make you a custom set. Once they are released email me at info@slikstik.com if you are interested and i will see what i can do.)

Bgnome
is it just me, or does that shaft look like it might have a hollow area through the center?

(The hole that you see in the photo is not actually a hole, it

[grueinthebox]

But since you are having clearance issues then I suggest forgetting about these and going with short handled wico balltops (old school ones).

Going to do as Christian suggests and shoot him an e-mail after these become available to see if something can be worked out...  Until then, I'll just "stick" with my Sanwa sticks (har har).  

Thanks for the advice, though!

[ras2a]

We were talking in chat.  Now come up with a clear one we can light up

Yeah, that would ROCK! - I'd certainly buy some.

[Minwah]

Looks pretty cool

A few questions:

1) Would these work / could they be made to work with a Happ 49-way stick?  I don't know if the shafts are the same as any of the 8-way sticks, but it looks very similar.  I have a Happ 49-way so could take some measurements if it would be any help...

2) Could the top of the shaft be turned down and threaded in order for a Sanwa plastic ball-top to be attached?  What I mean is use the same thread on the ball-tops as existing plastic ball-tops (maybe the Happ shaft is too fat for this to be possible / look right?).  Alternatively could you supply plastic ball-tops to fit?  I don't really care for the anodised look personally...

[DYNAGOD]

im curious how that onion peel feel of anodized aluminum is going to go over in sweaty hands..
I do like the idea of aluminum overall as a substrate. i own a SS bat top on a happ360 optical and its just to much stick for me..
aluminum imho is a much better choice of material. you can polish it to a nice 15-32 finish like the SS and enjoy the light weight.. all the cosmetic appeal with nonoe of the negative RTC problems

[Stingray]

Very neat item! Blue anodised ball tops would sure look great on my cab.

-S

[NoOne=NBA=]

The 49-way is the only Happ stick I own, so I'd be really interested in one of these if they'll fit.

[pointdablame]

Those look really great.  If the price isn't out of my range, I'd really love to get a few blue anodized ones for my cab.

[Will]

Is the ball top a little bit smaller than your older one peice design?The reason I ask is i find the stainless version a bit big for my hands.Thanks..

[Hoagie_one]

My experience with anodized aluminum has shown that it is a very strong coating and unless you have your keys in your hand whle playing, you should be alright, but if you have any rings on that may be harder than the anodized aluminum, it could scratch.

[mahuti]

Sometimes red & purple fade too, depending on the process.