Defender Restore to Williams Multigame - Upgraded - JROK's WSF All In One

[RetroACTIVE]

This project has been floating around in my mind for 1.5 years now...

Finally got the defender cabinet... I have all of the guts.

She does'nt look too bad on the surface but there was a considerable amount of mold and water damage along the bottom front... so I decided to rip the "but" out of it and re-fab some new pieces.... The worst piece was the kick panel... it is the only piece of the cabinet made from MDF and it was pretty "puffy"...  Not to mention the thing kind of stunk!

I have to fix some incidental damage before I put Humpty-Dumpty back together again... nothing a little bondo can't handle...  I had no idea how tricky it is pulling these suckers apart!  Williams used these little "staples" on the inside + glue... man what a great way to put these things together!

Anyway... I have all of the guts from it... I fixed the defender board set... it had 2 bad PIA's, bad CMOS, bad audio amp, and a leaky capacitor causing the sound board to make one heck of a growling noise!

Once the body work is done, I have a robotron boardset equiped with Clay's multigame kit waiting for a new home!

 

[TOK]

Great project! I've been kind of looking around for a non-working but complete Defender also.

[Apollo]

nice project good luck. Staples and glue is still one of the the best ways to put a cab together it's just a matter of getting a staple gun and away you go, too easy.

[RetroACTIVE]

nice project good luck. Staples and glue is still one of the the best ways to put a cab together it's just a matter of getting a staple gun and away you go, too easy.

Definitely... getting them apart is a different story alltogether!

Finally got all the body work done today... allmost ready to glue it back together!

Great project! I've been kind of looking around for a non-working but complete Defender also.

I got 3 machines off e-bay... the Defender was non-working... Ms. PacMan worked but needs clean up... that one is next... basically clean it up, re-sell it and get my money back so Defender ends up free! (well free is a relative term in this hobby).


Thx for comments!

[RetroACTIVE]

She's back together again.  I've began coating the inside with BIN... Also polished down the blackness.  I will repaint black areas and I plan on hand touching the artwork where needed ( I have a set of stencils but they are not 100% accurate... ).  When I'm done I will re-coat it with gloss lacquer.

Oh yeah... since I was bondo happy... I decided to start my MsPac restore...

[1cal]

That  is such a cool idea! I'd love to see how it turns out.

What sort of control panel layout and CPO design are you planning on having?

[RetroACTIVE]

That  is such a cool idea! I'd love to see how it turns out.

What sort of control panel layout and CPO design are you planning on having?

something like this:

http://www.localarcade.com/arcade_art/details.php?image_id=231&mode=search
(cut to fit defender of course!)

I plan on keeping the original defender panel too... so the machine can look  and behave like a real defender (on the inside and out).  With Clay's multi-game you can have it start up with a specific game (in this case defender) so you really can't tell that it is actually a multi-game using robotron/joust hardware.

fun stuff!

[RetroACTIVE]

I went to HobbyTown USA today... took a stab at Defender yellow and red.

The yellow is dead nuts on!  The red is a little off but real close...I want to try clear-coat over the finish first to see if that is indeed the case.

They are Polly Scale Model Railroad... BNSF Yellow: F414398,  Peacemaker Red: F414263.

I'll let you know how the red works soon.

These colors really do require the use of an air-brush... and would be considered useful as touch up paint.

[RetroACTIVE]

Ok... red definetly out... after clear-coat yellow still looks great... red looks worse... its too dark.

[SavannahLion]

These colors really do require the use of an air-brush... and would be considered useful as touch up paint.

I can't remember the last time I had Polly S. paints in the house. What's the spray thinner and clear coat you used?

[RetroACTIVE]

I can't remember the last time I had Polly S. paints in the house. What's the spray thinner and clear coat you used?

These are acrylic... I will be using a 15% ish reduction with distilled water... I actually am using American Traditions clear coat lacquer from Home Desparate... it works very well... surprisingly...

My plan is to use simple wood filler to fix chips and scratches in the artwork then use the air brush to fix the finish... after that I will coat the whole thing with the clear lacquer.

[RetroACTIVE]

Ordered new speaker grille material from McMaster-Carr:
9255T251  Steel Perforated Sheet 36" X 40", .0625" Hole Dia, 41% Open Area, 20 GA
http://www.mcmaster.com/nav/enter.asp?partnum=9255T251&pagenum=381

Original grille is plastic and mine was busted... I plan on rebuilding the speaker board totally and fit it with a different speaker because there are no real good  replacement speakers of the same exact dimensions of the original.

I will have to paint the perforated material... I wish I had powder coating capability though.  After I make mine, I may build up a few grilles for folks who want a replacement, we'll see.

[spacies]

I love Defender cabs.

It was a silly idea of Williams to make the kickplate out of MDF 'cos it swells when wet and loads of Defenders have water damage.

You are doing a fantastic job here mate.
Keep it up 'cos you are inspiring me to build one!

 

[RetroACTIVE]

I love Defender cabs.

It was a silly idea of Williams to make the kickplate out of MDF 'cos it swells when wet and loads of Defenders have water damage.

You are doing a fantastic job here mate.
Keep it up 'cos you are inspiring me to build one!

 

Thanks... I will be posting exact measurements for each panel, the one thing that is missing in all the plans I've found here and there.  I'm no autocad guru so they will be just plain old sketches... but I promise... they will be accurate for those who want to build an exact replica.  My original intent was to do a scratch build... but since I could not find the data... I chose the restore route...

I'm glad I did..

[spacies]

Oh really,

That would be awesome!

There are plans floating around but not sure how good they are.

I just ordered a Multi Williams PCB from the Arcadeshop so that will go inside along with a full compliment of new gear as well.

I am not sure how good your paint codes will be to me so I will be guessing.

I will use stencils for the art and a full clear coat as well.

Look forward to more updates.



 

[RetroACTIVE]

Speaker grille (perforated metal) arrived today!  The stuff looks great! I'll put some pics up later...

Here it is (top stuff is new bottom is old):

[spacies]

Cool,

Great to see you are keeping things original.

I am interested to see how that mounts too.

[TOK]

Looking forward to the full set of measurements! This will be great, thanks. 

[RetroACTIVE]

I'll post bits of measurements at a time... eventually I will put it all into a document...

Here is the speaker panel... its made from MDF... material is irrelevant, its wrapped with mesh and anchored with aluminum L brackets. you could use either 3/4", 18mm ply or 3/4 MDF

[theCoder]

Nice job on the grill work.  How did you form the metal at the corner?

[RetroACTIVE]

Nice job on the grill work.  How did you form the metal at the corner?

Kind of misleading... thats a picture of the original "bad" panel... I don't plan on making the corners the same... its not neccessary to accomplish the same finished effect.

[RetroACTIVE]

Here is a drawing of the rear base panel... I know this seems rediculous.. but it keeps me motivated to do it... If I try to do the whole thing at once... it won't get done..

[RetroACTIVE]

I will be doing the floor, front kick, coin box and coin door entry panels next... Please feel free to comment... Like I said I'm not a mechanical engineer... so I really don't know the "right" methods... besides... I'm using power point!  Either way... I want them correct and useable...

[spacies]

Great job with the measurements.

Keep 'em coming!

[RetroACTIVE]

Here is one more... Coin Box and Power Switch Access Panel....

...when it is all done I will double check all measurements... there may be some inaccuracies at the moment... since the pieces are old... and a bit fractured from being removed... as I get more and more data... the "true" numbers will begin to emerge...

[clanggedin]

This thread is starting to make me feel guilty that I gave the empty Defender cab I was going to restore to my brother. He's converting it into a Donkey Konga Cab.


Goo luck with this project. Can't wait to see it finished.

[RetroACTIVE]

This thread is starting to make me feel guilty that I gave the empty Defender cab I was going to restore to my brother. He's converting it into a Donkey Konga Cab.


Goo luck with this project. Can't wait to see it finished.

Yup... its a fun one...I can't wait either... the thing thats slowing me down now is my decision to heavily document the cabinet dimensions... So I'm not putting the pieces back together until I get all the data recorded.

I just got finished with the coin door panel, front kick panel as well as all the external numbers and miters... I'm putting them into .ppt now... hopefully have more posted this evening.   I'm a bit of a Defender fanatic so I really wanted to create a set of blue-prints to be able to fab one later if need be.

[RetroACTIVE]

Here are two more... cabinet floor and kick panel

[RetroACTIVE]

Here is the coin door panel

[RetroACTIVE]

Here is the sidewall(s)...

I've yet to test it... I will be drawing it on paper 1:1 scale and comparing it with the actual cabinet to make sure everything is copacetic.  Pretty sure its ok though... the edges are not perfect on the cabinet so that could cause some innacuracies... probably nothing worse than 1/16" though.

[spacies]

Well done!

So whats left?

Just the Control Panel, monitor cutout?

It is about time someone has done this to a Defender Cabinet.

Congrats to you!!!

[RetroACTIVE]

Monitor shelf... Control Panel, Control Panel Ledger... and panel grooves on the inside wall.

I have it all done w/pencil + paper... its just a matter of keying it in.

I had quite a few errors initially but I believe its all good now. BTW: I've updated side wall dwg... it had 1 angle improperly referenced.

[RetroACTIVE]

Another two... the control panel / bezel shelf is a wierd one... the Defender cabinet has a special plastic piece that fits over the bezel then comes up the front and sits on top of the control panel... kind of combination bezel/control panel trim piece... If you were building one from scratch... you may wish to consider an alternate since the piece is unique to Defender..

oops... updated monitor shelf drawing... the length was like 15 inches too short.. 

[RetroACTIVE]

This one has been done a million times... but just the same...

[WunderCade]

This one has been done a million times... but just the same...

How's this one going Retro?

[rockin_rick]

WOW - I just found this.  Thanks a lot for taking the time to document this.  It's obvious that you want to provide accurate plans for this.  If I may make a request, when time permits, could you post measurements for the side panel where you reference one point and the angles (corners) are measured like coordinates on an x-y axis, rather than transversing the perimeter?  I think that with all the angles, there is a lot of potential for errors to build up and to get quite off the intended path.

I'm thinking that it could be like the measurements for the CP.  Reference the back bottom corner, and call that 0,0.  Then measure the horz distance and vertical distance to each of the 'corners' (inside and outside angles) of the side.  Sort of like if there was a grid over the side panel.  Assuming that the back is 90�� to the bottom and the front "kick panel" is also 90� to the bottom - then the 'corner' that is the first bend away from the back angled up towards the marquee would be coordinate (0,57 1/2)  The corner where the bottom turns to go up the kick panel would be (26 1/4,0).  The corner where the kick panel angles out to the coin door panel would be (26 1/4,21 1/8).


Then one could measure out where all the corners are, and then just connect the dots.

If you do not have time to do this, I understand.  You have already done a lot regarding this.  I certainly appreciate it, and I'm sure many others do to.

And I am also very interested in any updates you have with this project (non-documentation wise).

Thanks,
Rick

[RetroACTIVE]

This one has been done a million times... but just the same...

How's this one going Retro?

WunderCade,

Things have kind of slowed for me... summer time is really tied up with family vacations and such... Here is what I've done...

- Rebuilt the coin door
- Williams Multigame artwork done
- Monitor rebuilt
- Defender joystick rebuilt
- Both Defender and multigame panels cut
- Purchased new Defender control panel overlay and monitor bezel (Arcadeshop)
- I've also gathered up all of the materials needed for wiring and such...

All I have left is to finish the outside.  Then I can put it together and start using it.

Sorry for the lack of updates... should have known better than to start a project in the spring!  Things will pick up very soon!

WOW - I just found this.  Thanks a lot for taking the time to document this.  It's obvious that you want to provide accurate plans for this.  If I may make a request, when time permits, could you post measurements for the side panel where you reference one point and the angles (corners) are measured like coordinates on an x-y axis, rather than transversing the perimeter?  I think that with all the angles, there is a lot of potential for errors to build up and to get quite off the intended path.

I'm thinking that it could be like the measurements for the CP.  Reference the back bottom corner, and call that 0,0.  Then measure the horz distance and vertical distance to each of the 'corners' (inside and outside angles) of the side.  Sort of like if there was a grid over the side panel.  Assuming that the back is 90�� to the bottom and the front "kick panel" is also 90� to the bottom - then the 'corner' that is the first bend away from the back angled up towards the marquee would be coordinate (0,57 1/2)  The corner where the bottom turns to go up the kick panel would be (26 1/4,0).  The corner where the kick panel angles out to the coin door panel would be (26 1/4,21 1/8).


Then one could measure out where all the corners are, and then just connect the dots.

If you do not have time to do this, I understand.  You have already done a lot regarding this.  I certainly appreciate it, and I'm sure many others do to.

And I am also very interested in any updates you have with this project (non-documentation wise).

Thanks,
Rick

Hey Rick,

Yeah... I agree with you... I will do the ref diagram for you and others... It won't be too too hard... before I populate the cabinet... I will lay it on its side trace it out to get the coordinates...

[spacies]

Hey RetroActive.

Your plans were most helpful.

Look:







I still look forward to your end build up mate.

Keep at it!

[rockin_rick]

Hey Rick,

Yeah... I agree with you... I will do the ref diagram for you and others... It won't be too too hard... before I populate the cabinet... I will lay it on its side trace it out to get the coordinates...

Thank you!

Re-reading my post, I think that I should clarify (although I believe that you understand what I meant).  My referring to coordinates is not exact method I think is best, but I used that terminology to help make my point.  The easiest and best way probably is like my (super crappy photoshop) pic...  Should be pretty easy, no need to trace (unless you want a tracing).  You could just put a tape measure to it and measure to the corners.  But you may require a straight edge to "extend" the back panel and accurately measure 'A', 'B', and 'I' (if 'I' is different than 'B' - AKA if it's not parallel to the back panel).  'E' and 'F', too...  Also, is the coin door panel parallel to the back panel?  (so that 'J' is the same from the top to the bottom of the coin door panel?)

Thanks again,
Rick

[RetroACTIVE]

Hey RetroActive.

Your plans were most helpful.

I still look forward to your end build up mate.

Keep at it!

Spacies,

Awesome! That Looks spot on!  Glad to see they worked out! Looks like your done!

Hey Rick,

Yeah... I agree with you... I will do the ref diagram for you and others... It won't be too too hard... before I populate the cabinet... I will lay it on its side trace it out to get the coordinates...

Thank you!

Re-reading my post, I think that I should clarify (although I believe that you understand what I meant).  My referring to coordinates is not exact method I think is best, but I used that terminology to help make my point.  The easiest and best way probably is like my (super crappy photoshop) pic...  Should be pretty easy, no need to trace (unless you want a tracing).  You could just put a tape measure to it and measure to the corners.  But you may require a straight edge to "extend" the back panel and accurately measure 'A', 'B', and 'I' (if 'I' is different than 'B' - AKA if it's not parallel to the back panel).  'E' and 'F', too...  Also, is the coin door panel parallel to the back panel?  (so that 'J' is the same from the top to the bottom of the coin door panel?)

Thanks again,
Rick

No prob Rick... I get what your saying... the reason I wanted to do a tracing is to normalize all of the cuts and validate the angles... you see the inside corners are not perfect... they are cut with a cutting bit... therefore there rounded and have irregularities.  The outside edges are also not perfect, kinda rounded too.  Its difficult to pick the point in the air, if you will.  If I trace it I can be sure all my points are accurate, cause I can eliminate the round offs.

Either way... it will be accurate... I promise.

Thanks again