Stargate Bartop

[TOK]

Seems like there has been a run on bartops. I originally wasn't going to post pics of my project until it was 100% done, but seeing all the cool little cabs guys are building made me want to post pics of mine, too. It's mostly complete other than the art. Need to order a marquee and do the side stencils.


I'm a Defender freak, and I've been making due with a kludge of Player 1 and 2 controls to approximate a proper Defender/Stargate layout. I decided my bartop would focus on them. I have to give big props to Spacies here, as his Multi-Williams bartop is what got me thinking about doing this one. Its quite similar in profile to his. I love the shape he came up with because it approximates the top of a real Williams machine.

For anyone that hasn't seen Spacies machine, here is a pic:
(sorry, link to his pic now dead!)

I opted to stick with a dedicated Defender/Stargate layout rather than the Mult-Williams. It wasn't an easy choice, but my other cab already has a nice layout for Robotron. Initially, I was going to use the art from localarcade.com. It appears to be a nice combo of the Defender art and Stargate button layout, but when I printed it full sized to test, I realized the button layout was just too far off to work for me.



I ordered a real Stargate CPO which set the tone of this project from a low dollar deal using existing parts and printed art into a cash black hole.  


One other tough initial decision to make after opting for the Stargate layout was whether to use a  2 way and ONLY be able to play those games. After some flip-flopping, I decided to use an 8 way, but wanted to have a balltop and mount it at the low height of a real Defender. The Sanwa 8 way was the closest thing I could find, and I ended up liking the light throw of the stick. Had to trim some away to make way for the Reverse button.



Control panel. I used a roundover to mimic the rounded front of the Williams cab.


The garage from hell. I fight a never ending battle with clutter and half finished projects.  


The original overlay was cut down to size. Cropped about 3" off the width and a lot off the bottom since the base of the control panel is flush with the cabinet bottom. My first test of the "real" Defender control panel connected to my desktop PC.


Primered cab... It was at about this point I decided to definitely go with a marquee. It just looked like something was missing.

[Kaytrim]

Looking good TOK.  Bartops do seem to be taking over the project announcement forum.  Maybe it is because of the smaller space requirements.   Are those buttons GGG NovaGems or Happ Translucents?

TTFN
Kaytrim

[patrickl]

Looks great!

Did you cover the CPO with plexi?

[MameMaster!]

that's neat!...really great job.

[TOK]

Around the same time I decided to include a marquee area, I also decided that the 15" CRT wasn't going to cut it. I built a shelf to put a CRT in there, but created a second mount for a 19" LG LCD. This was purchased just for this project, and ended any hope of this being an economy project. 



I was very nervous about how the LCD would play, but its a 2MS unit and the image quality is very nice.
Mounting it was a breeze compared to CRT mounts I did for my two full sized cabs.


Used 12v automotive LED's for the buttons. No messing with resistors or anything. Wire them straight to the 12v supply of a power supply lead.


I used 2 coats of Rustoleum oil based satin black with a foam roller for sides.

[leapinlew]

looking good!

[TOK]

Looking good TOK.  Bartops do seem to be taking over the project announcement forum.  Maybe it is because of the smaller space requirements.   Are those buttons GGG NovaGems or Happ Translucents?

TTFN
Kaytrim

Thanks Kaytrim... They are Happ buttons from Divemaster. I drilled a small hole in the base of them and stuck the LED up inside. I used the colored LED's because I didn't want the buttons to be too bright. I actually was kind of unsure about using translucents w/LED's at all because I wanted to remain as true as possible to the "real" thing. I agonize over the dumbest crap. 

It is a cool look in the dark, so I'm glad I went with them.

[TOK]

Looks great!

Did you cover the CPO with plexi?

Hi Patrick, and thank you. Since its a repro overlay, its pretty thick vinyl with a glossy coating. I didn't use any covering since it feels pretty tough, and I'll always be within punching distance of anyone playing that thinks about vandalizing it. 

[Kaytrim]

Looking good TOK.  Bartops do seem to be taking over the project announcement forum.  Maybe it is because of the smaller space requirements.   Are those buttons GGG NovaGems or Happ Translucents?

TTFN
Kaytrim

Thanks Kaytrim... They are Happ buttons from Divemaster. I drilled a small hole in the base of them and stuck the LED up inside. I used the colored LED's because I didn't want the buttons to be too bright. I actually was kind of unsure about using translucents w/LED's at all because I wanted to remain as true as possible to the "real" thing. I agonize over the dumbest crap. 

It is a cool look in the dark, so I'm glad I went with them.

How much did the LEDs set you back?  I like not worrying about resisters which is why I get mine from Randy.

[TOK]

Here is the speaker panel... I cut up some PC speakers, put them in the marquee base and drilled holes for the original covers. Also have the volume control sticking down through there.

This is the first time on any of my cabs that I've had the volume knob conveniently located. 


Excuse the MDF dust all over... Where is the smiley of a guy coughing out a dust cloud? 

[TOK]

How much did the LEDs set you back?  I like not worrying about resisters which is why I get mine from Randy.

I think they were 5 bucks for a pack of 3. If you have a Pep Boys or Autozone around you, they should be pretty easy to get local.

[Kaytrim]

How much did the LEDs set you back?  I like not worrying about resisters which is why I get mine from Randy.

I think they were 5 bucks for a pack of 3. If you have a Pep Boys or Autozone around you, they should be pretty easy to get local.

Thanks, I might use a set of those to light my marquee if they have white LEDs on hand.

TTFN
Kaytrim

[javeryh]

Wow - this thing looks great so far!  I love the paint job!   

[leapinlew]

How much did the LEDs set you back?  I like not worrying about resisters which is why I get mine from Randy.

I think they were 5 bucks for a pack of 3. If you have a Pep Boys or Autozone around you, they should be pretty easy to get local.

Thanks, I might use a set of those to light my marquee if they have white LEDs on hand.

TTFN
Kaytrim

Kaytrim,

I don't think they are bright enough for that and the light is pretty directed. If you do it - lets see how it turns out. I've used 13" fluorescents from Walmart

[Kaytrim]

How much did the LEDs set you back?  I like not worrying about resisters which is why I get mine from Randy.

I think they were 5 bucks for a pack of 3. If you have a Pep Boys or Autozone around you, they should be pretty easy to get local.

Thanks, I might use a set of those to light my marquee if they have white LEDs on hand.

TTFN
Kaytrim

Kaytrim,

I don't think they are bright enough for that and the light is pretty directed. If you do it - lets see how it turns out. I've used 13" fluorescents from Walmart

I have quite a bit of room behind the marquee so the LEDs can spread out a bit.  I also have some of Randy's White Buton Blaster LEDs that I can try as well.  I'll post more info in my thread when I get there.

TTFN

[leapinlew]

I'm a Defender freak, and I've been making due with a kludge of Player 1 and 2 controls to approximate a proper Defender/Stargate layout. I decided my bartop would focus on them.

I totally agree with you. I built a dedicated multi-williams bartop for the same reasons. It's cool that a bartop doesn' t take up as much room because the button layout is so unique. Any cooling concerns?

[Grasshopper]

Very nice. And a good decision to use the translucent buttons. They look awesome lit up in the dark. The translucent buttons are actually an improvement over the real thing IMHO, and they're not too inauthentic because Robotron used translucents for the start buttons.

[ark_ader]

Wow Tok your excellent cab makes me want to take an axe to mine and start again!

I love Stargate and Defender.

Great Job!

[TOK]

Thanks for the kind words guys. This is my 3rd project, but my first scratch build.

ark_ader: There were plenty of times I walked away from this in disgust to keep from smashing it with an axe. There are also plenty of detail things I could do better if I could start again.
The other bad thing is that based on what I've learned, the control panel of my first machine is an unbearable eyesore. Quite a learning experience. 

[TOK]

This was basically the first time I assembled it, and where I was 100% sure I wanted a marquee.
At this point, the CP was just sitting there, the PC was on the workbench out of frame, and I had no definite plan for mounting the speakers. With all that work ahead of me, I opted to sit in my messy garage, drink beer and play Defender and Stargate until 2am. 


Here is a monitor mask I made out of foam board to help with light leaks and hide the internals. This ended up working so well that you can't even see light through the back with the back door off. It just slides down in and pushes against the monitor mounts, then the bezel slides in front of it.


Had a brand new economy keyboard act up on me the first night I had it playable. Justice was swift. 

[TOK]

My game list is pretty small. I think its up to about 35 games. I have MaLa booting right into a Defender game list with Defender (duh), Stargate, Defense Command (a Defender bootleg included for a sense of complete-ness), and Strike Force, a rather unknown Stargate sequel that did away with the controls that make Defender both frustrating and endearing.

Check it out if you haven't. You'll see all the elements of Defender there, but you'll recognize the graphics as Smash TV era hardware.

Here is Moon Patrol, and just for the heck of it I tried a couple vert games. We're getting pretty close to current day. You can see the marquee area is done, the t-molding is now on, but I'm still using the dark tinted bezel.


The great thing about the dark tinted plexi was how it totally hid the screen. Vert games looked pretty cool with no evidence of cropping.

[TOK]

Finally, here is todays work... I took a clear piece of plexi, and masked the monitor area. My intent was to capture the starfield effect on the Stargate bezel. I made my starfield mask using paper plates and different sized nail holes for the stars.

The incredibly complex starfield mask    and paint. This is Pactra stuff that is made for clear plastic (R/C car bodies specifically). You spray it on the back, and it goes on kind of flat, but the plexi gives it a really nice shine from the front.


The masked clear bezel. I sprayed the stars on randomly first, then took a big chance by spraying the white away from the bezel and letting the overspray land on it for some tiny starts.


I let it dry a few minutes, then painted the black rear coat.


Since the plastic paint won't harm foam, I also painted the white edges of the foam board with it. It didn't really show through the original tinted bezel, but since the monitor area of this one is clear I had to pay a bit more attention to detail. 


Here is the final effect. Excuse the pic... This was my test fit and it had smudges all over and you can see distracting side art from another machine reflected. I took other pics, but none showed the starfield effect as clearly as this one. I even painted the starfield theme in the totally hidden area behind the marquee. What a doofus. 


Next up (if I ever stop playing) is to order the marquee from mamemarquees.com.
I also plan to use a real Stargate stencil on the side, but only do the Stargate logo and one or two of the explosions.

I'm open to other suggestions on handling this part. Here is a pic of the original side art.

[TOK]

Found a pic that shows the starfield effect a little better, but its not on the cab (and still smudged from handling). The tiny "overspray" star effect is much clearer in this picture.

[shardian]

I also plan to use a real Stargate stencil on the side, but only do the Stargate logo and one or two of the explosions.

I'm open to other suggestions on handling this part. Here is a pic of the original side art.

Ask Prok if he can make you a scaled down Stargate Stencil w/ only the stargate explosion included. Heck, it may even cost you less that way!

[patrickl]

Ha, clever idea. The end result looks great. Even with all your gaming you seem to be getting things done rather quickly 

[theCoder]

I'm so glad I created my bartop.  We play it often.  Being portable adds a level of utility not found in a full sized cab.

Great job.  Love the bezel work.

[TOK]

I totally agree with you. I built a dedicated multi-williams bartop for the same reasons. It's cool that a bartop doesn' t take up as much room because the button layout is so unique. Any cooling concerns?

Leapinlew, sorry I missed your end comment there in the replies.
I made a cutout for the PC power supply and also some ventilation holes in the back to help circulate air. I can add an extra fan if I need to, but I think its OK. I wanted to avoid making holes in the side or top for a fan unless it was absolutely necessary. Since I originally planned on using a CRT, then switched to the LCD, there is a lot of open space in there to keep things cool. Its also only a 933mhz P3, which helps.

[TOK]

Ask Prok if he can make you a scaled down Stargate Stencil w/ only the stargate explosion included. Heck, it may even cost you less that way!

I thought about printing the art and making a stencil since it's not real complex. Due to the way the word is split on the cab, the full sized might just fit. I thought about doing it on an angle, kind of "splashed" up the side with a top and bottom explosion.

[TOK]

Ha, clever idea. The end result looks great. Even with all your gaming you seem to be getting things done rather quickly 

Thanks! I have one day per week (Mondays) to work on it, and some weeknights if I can do something quiet after my daughter goes to sleep. The initial work with cutting and sanding seemed to take forever because I was doing it all on my day off, then it'd sit for a week. I tried setting benchmarks to complete for a few days, but then stopped when I started getting bogged down and felt hurried. It took the enjoyment out of the build.

[Kaytrim]

I like the way you did the bezel.  The starfield effect is excellent.  I am going to have to pick up some smoked plexi for my project here soon.  Where did you get yours and how much did it cost?

TTFN
Kaytrim

[CheffoJeffo]

Wow ... nice work and I applaud your choice of control panel layouts. All too often we seem to sacrifice authenticity/playability for the ability to run a few more games.

I love the starfield effect -- cool idea and very effective.

 

[RetroACTIVE]

Very neat!  Great combination of authenticity and up to date "stuff".  I must admit... a bit jealous of you, my Defender project is still a hunk of wood!

[KenToad]

Wow, fantastic work on this one, Tok.  And thanks a lot for sharing so much of the process.  I love the pics and captions.  Keep 'em coming.

 

[TOK]

I like the way you did the bezel.  The starfield effect is excellent.  I am going to have to pick up some smoked plexi for my project here soon.  Where did you get yours and how much did it cost?

TTFN
Kaytrim

There is a plastics place close to me (Philly burbs) called Trident Plastics. I bought a 4x8 sheet of the stuff. It was about $85. I left the stuff on my vert cab because it's all blacked out and I wanted it to look somewhat monolithic. I felt it was a bit much for the bartop.

[TOK]

Very neat!  Great combination of authenticity and up to date "stuff".  I must admit... a bit jealous of you, my Defender project is still a hunk of wood!

With very accurate measurements, that I applaud you for! 

[ChadTower]

I love this cab.

[TOK]

Now for the next chapter of "The Bezel He Couldn't Leave Alone".

I found the tinted stuff too dark, and the clear not dark enough. I decided to try an experiment with 20% auto tint.
Seems like a nice compromise. I'd say even 35% (which is lighter) would be nice.

Before:


After:


I've heard that plexi is hard to tint because it doesn't stick long-term, but I believe that it's because of the sun and vapor leaching through the plastic. I'm hoping it'll be OK here inside.

[Kaytrim]

Oh, I had forgotten about the automotive tint kits.   Next stop Autozone for some of this stuff and maybe some 12v LEDs.

TTFN
Kaytrim

[spacies]

Nice work TOK.

You couldn't resist the tempation of posting until you were finished hu!? 

I wouldn't have been able too either.

Mate, I have just change my screen and now I can see things a whole lot better.
You Bartop looks better then ever now! LOL.

Seriously though, I am glad you thought my design was the one for you.
I did actually base it on the Stargate machine because I am a HUGE Williams fan also.

I love the little personal touches you are showing us all now, which is what separates all of our machines from the others.

Keep it up, the end is nigh. 

[TOK]

Oh, I had forgotten about the automotive tint kits.   Next stop Autozone for some of this stuff and maybe some 12v LEDs.

TTFN
Kaytrim

I think I might tear it off and go to the 35% tint. The 20% is still just a bit too dark.