TRON - A Dedicated Maming (Finished)

[BUCKETHEAD]

One of my buddy's is in the amusement business.

So he get"s all kinds of cabs. Some empty, Some working etc...

So i go to his shop one day, There sets an empty Tron. 

Trick is somebody thought it would be a great idea to hack the SH!T outta it.

And turn it into a RAIDEN ?   


So i asked him what he wanted for it?

We agreed on a price. And home RAIDEN i mean TRON came.

When i got it home, I went over it.

Bad water damage in the bottom! Rotten i would say?

Lower back panel needed to be replaced also.

Bottom sides chewed up pretty good!

Wiring inside hacked all to hell, and Jamma put in.

Buttons installed on each side of the coin door ?

This should be a fun project!   


Still had original bezel, Lowel CP artwork and Blacklight cover.

That was the only original TRON parts left.

See Picture below.

[BUCKETHEAD]

So, Tron happens to be one of my Favorite games!

Since this cabinet was in such bad shape?

Wiring hacked all to hell.

Not knowing what's missing? etc....

And considering the unpredictable behavior i have heard about with the original pcb's

I decided to go with a dedicated mame.

No extra holes drilled, No extra buttons and No franken panels !

Just what appears to be a TRON with a PC running it.

For an idea of what im getting at?

See my last project


http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=79183.0




So first i stripped her down to see what i had to work with?

[BUCKETHEAD]

I knew the bottom had to be replaced.

You can see the water damage! And it was flimsy as hell.

So i cut a cross shape and knocked it out with a hammer.

Then cleaned up the inside edges, To get ready for a new bottom.

[BUCKETHEAD]

The water damage didn"t appear to go too far up the cabinet.

I was thankful of that! It looked and felt to be pretty solid.

Here is a picture with the new bottom installed.

Also had to cut out a new lower back piece.

It was pretty flimsy and breaking apart.

Also added 4 casters.

I kept the old ones, They could be added later.

[BUCKETHEAD]

Next i knew i needed to brace everything that was loose.

I cut new wood blocks and braced the bottom of the cabinet.

I will post a few of the brace pictures.

Excuse the dirty bottom of the cabinet, There was sanding also going on at the time.

I used wood screws and also wood glue, to help with this process.

[BUCKETHEAD]

Next i decided to sand down the whole cabinet and bondo all the rough spots,

Broken corners and screw holes from the bracing.

And of course, The mysterious 2 extra button holes    in the front.

[BUCKETHEAD]

Here is what i call the BONDO era.

I hate to see any cabinet that has been thru a beating in it"s lifetime.

But the bondo phase is one of my favorite parts.

Reshaping corners and such!

Usually if a corner is missing?  I will, Make a template from the other corner.

And work with that, To rebuild the missing one.

[BUCKETHEAD]

Ok, So now with all the Bondo completed.

Time to move to the priming phase,

I also use PRO FORM joint compound to fill in all the minor dings and blemishes.

Stuff works great !

[Namco]

Wow. You work quick my friend! I think you should let that bondo and primer dry before you start painting, I mean it's been an hour since your fist post on this. 

Just kidding. It's going along fabulously. I wish I spent more time on this phase of my cab and used bondo. I still have a corner that can use that treatment.

Just wondering though why you didn't use any locking caster wheels? The tron stick gives you a lot of leverage and that thing is going to move around on you while you're trying to beat the MCP program to get into the I/O tower. 

[BUCKETHEAD]

Just wondering though why you didn't use any locking caster wheels? The tron stick gives you a lot of leverage and that thing is going to move around on you while you're trying to beat the MCP program to get into the I/O tower.

Once i get it in the house in my gameroom, The carpet is kinda thick.

Trust me, It will not move. My PAC-MAN and GALAGA have the same casters.

They don't budge on the carpet.

I have many more pics to post. Just got to round'em up.

Im not done with the machine, But im getting closer!   

[Namco]

Looking at your pics is making me nostalgic for Tron. I can remember my first time seeing it, I nearly crapped my pants. I'll never forget seeing the lint on my shirt illuminate bright white under the blacklight, and seeing my brother's white sweatshirt glowing a brightly too. It was like magic. The game was a bit too hard for me though, I was 7 or 8 then. I liked killing the spiders though 

How hard would it be to build one from scratch? Are there repros of the artwork and bezel framework you think? Your stuff looks to be in great shape though, congrats!

[BUCKETHEAD]

You should be able to build one, No problem i see there?

You would need to find a monitor bezel.

As far as i know? There are no reproductions of those.

But ebay is a good source. Plenty of them on there all the time.

Here is a link for the artwork.  http://www.phoenixarcade.com/art.htm#tron

The stuff is $$$  But the best you will find!

I already have all the artwork ready to go!

[BUCKETHEAD]

Some people use a heat gun to remove old CP stickers.

I perfer to use gasoline and a match.

I get faster and better results!   

[BUCKETHEAD]

Here is the CP with the new sticker applied.

[WunderCade]

Nice job so far....more pics please..more...more...more!!!

[BUCKETHEAD]

Nice job so far....more pics please..more...more...more!!!

LOL.  OK?



Here is the rework i did on the Nonworking Blacklight fixture above the CP.

I stripped all the old stuff off the frame.

And replaced it, With the guts from a Blacklight fixture i got from Spencer Gifts a long time ago.

I hot glued everything in place, That didn't fit back right on the frame.

All i have to do now, Is plug it in the powerstrip which will be in the bottom of the cab.

And leave the switch on the fixture.

And it will come on, when the cab is powered up.

[mccoy178]

Cool project!  I dig the quality of the work.

[ArtMAME]

Glad you are making progress on your Tron. 

Mine is still buried in other projects.  Cabinets seem to fall out of the sky over here, and land in my driveway!!! JK...  But really, people just give me empty cabinets of all kinds and I pretty much have to do something cool with them... then they go to good homes. 

I will get to the Tron someday... and the Journey... and the Gravitar... and the Star Trek... right now I don't have space in my game room if I did tackle one of those anyway.

PS, when you coming this way to check out my collection?

[BUCKETHEAD]

PS, when you coming this way to check out my collection?

Man, I really need to get down that way!

We will have to set something up?

I would love to check out the collection!

Hey, If you ever have a MIDWAY COCKTAIL TABLE fall in your driveway.

And you don"t want it?  LMK !

I'll come get it !

Thanks man !

[BUCKETHEAD]

Here's some pictures of the Control panel finished.

Gotta add the KEYWIZ and OPTI-PAC.

I took the JOYSTICK apart and sanded everything down.

And did the same with the spinner.

I replaced the old optical board, With one i had in an old trackball.

I hot glued it in place on the original bracket.

It works perfect !!

[WaRpEd]

Looks excellent so far and That CP really came out well.
Look forward to more updates.
Cheers

[BUCKETHEAD]

Looks excellent so far and That CP really came out well.
Look forward to more updates.
Cheers

Thanks man!

Failed to mention i picked up the JOYSTICK and SPINNER off ebay.

They were full of feathers!  Like they were in a barn or something ?

LOL.

They cleaned up nicely though!

[stan2323]

I will get to the Tron someday... and the Journey... and the Gravitar... and the Star Trek... right now I don't have space in my game room if I did tackle one of those anyway.

What kind of Star Trek is it?  I am so jealous. 

[BUCKETHEAD]

Here's a picture of the freshley painted cabinet.

Another with the coin door installed.

And yet another of the CP brackets, I sanded all the metal down and used rustoleum primer.

[BUCKETHEAD]

Here's a picture of the reworked ballast installed and working.

And i slapped on the CP just to see if everything fits ok?

I'm also going to be using Dark Blue T-Molding instead of the black leather texture.

I think it will look great, The blue T-Molding matches well with the blue in the artwork.

[mcfreak]

Looks really good.  I hope my Tron turns out as good.  Mine has about 12 inches of water damage as the guy I got it from keeps his stuff in a open barn on a dirt floor.  It's a shame some of these machines end up in places like that.

[Havok]

Let me just say thank you for saving a Tron - it is one of my personal favorites, and I hate to see them rot away. The restoration is really coming along nicely - you are doing a great job. Keep up the good work!

 

[ArtMAME]

What kind of Star Trek is it?  I am so jealous. 
[/quote]

It is actually an old Champion Baseball cabinet that was converted to a Double Play baseball game.  It is the big cabinet with brown formica sides just like most of the upright Star Trek machines that you see.  I just need a control panel and artwork and I will use MAME for the guts.

[_) (V) (-)]

Looks awesome so far, great attention to details.
Always liked these colorful cabs. Can't wait to see the artwork.

[BUCKETHEAD]

Added the T-Molding today.

I think the color will look great, Once the artwork is added.

Looks a little out of place right now.

[BUCKETHEAD]

Here's the lights i will be using for the Marquee and Control panel.

Like $6.99 a piece at Wally World. 

[BUCKETHEAD]

I couldn't resist !

I just had to light it up !!!

[leapinlew]

hot.


looks good. Can't wait to see it all together.

[ArtMAME]

Very exciting!!!

 You have inspired me to tackle my Journey project.  I stripped it down last weekend, so it's on like Donkey Kong...

[BUCKETHEAD]

Very exciting!!!
You have inspired me to tackle my Journey project.  I stripped it down last weekend, so it's on like Donkey Kong...

Cool !  Don't forget those measurements!

Start a thread too!

Let's see some pictures my good man !

[BUCKETHEAD]

Worked on the Ballast that goes behind the MCP artwork,

That is behind the Monitor shroud today.

Since my cabinet was missing that part when i got it.

I came up with a way of replacing it.

I used an old ballast, And transfered the guts out of another Light Fixture.

Exactly the way i did the CP blacklight fix.

[BUCKETHEAD]

Next i had to figure out a way to mount the MCP artwork ballast.

I wanted it to have enough clearance,

So that it does not lay up next to the artwork.

I attached some gold angle brackets,

And mounted it on the wooden beam, where the original ballast was mounted.

[BUCKETHEAD]

Bought a pair of speakers at the thrift store for $5.00

They were brand new and still in the box!

Stripped the fabric off the front of them.

Took them apart and Hot Glued them above the speaker holes.

So they are not going anywhere.

Added 2 gold L" brackets to the back of the Amp,

And mounted it to the original beam inside the cab.

So the volume is accessible through the coin door.

[BUCKETHEAD]

Also cut a shelf for the lower CP light.

Since the machine was missing the original ballast also.

Figured this was the easiest work around for this problem.

Gotta pick up a Blacklight bulb for it though.

It is supported with shelf brackets underneath.

Also drilled 3 holes in the MDF so that Opti-pac, Keywiz  and other wires,

Can run down to the computer.

[BUCKETHEAD]

Well i couldn't help it.

I just had to put some stuff back on the cabinet.

The Lower CP artwork and the upper CP blacklight cover.

And light her up!

I need to get a blacklight bulb for the lower cp.

Here are a few pictures.