Affordable Joust Side Art/Stencils

[campbelldave]

I recently started my first project.  I bought a cabinet for $56 and started cleaning it out.  It was a "Crown's golf" (complete with crappy side art), but once I got inside of it, I figured out it had been converted from a Joust (only because there was a manual for converting a Williams game to a Crown's golf inside of it and the cabinet measured/looked like Joust cabinets I found on-line).

The side art that had been applied would not come off, in addition, he used a roller to paint over the rest of the cabinet AFTER he put on the Crown's Golf decals.  Needless to say, I could not recover the original art work.

I have seen Joust stencils for $150+ and Joust decals for around the same price.

Any ideas on where I can get something more affordable, as I am on a budget?

Thanks!

[SavannahLion]

Well...

I've always been taught that you get one of three things when buying something like this. You have the option of any two of it being fast, cheap or good.

So if you want it cheap and good, you're probably not going to get it fast. I would venture to guess that your best option is to find the vector art, scale it to the size you need (if needed) and print it out on multiple sheets of paper or take it down to some place like kinkos or a signage business and have them print it out on card stock. Then proceed to create stencils from it.

You can print it up as a decal from some place like Kinkos, but I've heard less than steller comments about color accuracy when people do that. 

[SirPeale]

Wouldn't come off even when heated with a heat gun?

Paint wouldn't come off with Goof-Off?

[campbelldave]

I tried sanding it off and was able to get the paint off, but the decal was stuck on way too well.  It was like pulling off old wallpaper.

[ArtMAME]

Oleszak Creative has Joust stencils for great price.   

http://www.oleszakcreative.com/store/shop/item.asp?itemid=13
http://www.oleszakcreative.com/store/shop/item.asp?itemid=86

Of course, you do have to factor in the cost of paint unless you already have it.

I have used the Robotron stencils from there for $80.  I had to buy paint, so it ended up costing close to $130  to do the full sideart on my Robotron.  But definitely worth it.
Check it out:

http://home.earthlink.net/~asumner/artsarcadelab/id20.html

This guy did his own Robotron sideart:

http://www.adamsarcade.com/restoration.html

I emailed him a few times and got some tips about how to do it.  But I decided to go with Oleszak stencils anyway.   

 

[campbelldave]

Thanks for the links.  $60-$70 is way more affordable and they look good

[SirPeale]

I tried sanding it off and was able to get the paint off, but the decal was stuck on way too well.  It was like pulling off old wallpaper.

Wrong tool for the job.  You want to use a heat gun to loosen it up.

If you don't have one you can use a blow dryer.