F1 Mini Pinball Cab - COMPLETED

[Speed Racer]

EDIT: Build plan PDF is now attached to this post

G’day all.

The time has come for my first build – a mini pinball cab . I definitely got a lot of inspiration from a few of the builds on this forum, in particular Superfrog’s Kiss Pinball (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,136020.0.html), Martijn’s Multiball Madness (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=134336.0) and Swaffar’s Digi Pin (http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,120248.0.html). All of them are incredible. I will be happy if my first attempt turns out half as good as one of these!

So… some basic info:
*2 monitor setup – at this stage. Still tempted by a 3 monitor setup, but I feel it will be difficult to get it in a mini cab without the back box being overly large compared to the main cab.However,  the 3 monitor setup has more of that pinball “look”….
*Playfield – 27” Samsung monitor. Bought this new. It has a decent refresh rate and doesn’t go dim when viewed from the side.
*Backglass – 19” 4:3 HP monitor. An older (and free) monitor. Does the job well enough. I will change this to a widescreen if I go with the 3 monitor option.
*Hardware – An old computer I had lying around. C2Duo 3Ghz (I think), 4Gb RAM, 500 Gb hard drive. Upgraded vid card to GTX460.
*Software – mostly sorted already!!! (And boy was that a headache!) I did this before committing $$$ to the project. Pinball X frontend. Primarily I’ll use Visual Pinball for its excellent physics. I’ve also setup Future Pinball with BAM because it looks impressive. Will also try Pinball FX2 at some point later.
*Sound – some sort of 2.1 speaker setup. Keeping my eye out for something suitable.
*Other stuff – no plans for anything too fancy. I would like the cab to be simple and look good. No relays or shakers etc. It is a mini cab after all.
*Artwork – TBA. Suggestions welcome!

So that’s it for now. I am totally keen for feedback – it might save me a huge stuff up! I don’t have heaps of spare time so work will happen as time permits.
Lastly some photos. Wood has been cut!

[PL1]

You may want to search my posts with the keyword "MagnaSave" for some VP considerations and wiring tips.   


Scott

[Speed Racer]

You may want to search my posts with the keyword "MagnaSave" for some VP considerations and wiring tips.   


Scott

Thanks for the tip. 

That is a pretty awesome idea. Full functionality with just two buttons per side.

[PL1]

Thanks.   

BTW, that's 3 buttons per side + 1 on the front for "Up Nudge" if you want L/R/Up Nudge without a plumb bob/accelerometer/sliding lockdown bar with hidden microswitches.   


Scott

[Speed Racer]

BTW, that's 3 buttons per side + 1 on the front for "Up Nudge" if you want L/R/Up Nudge without a plumb bob/accelerometer/sliding lockdown bar with hidden microswitches.   

Cool. I'm going to try an accelerometer setup for the nudge.

The nudge is way more important to me than magnasave/upper flippers, so if the accelerometer doesn't work too well the left and right nudge will go on the 2nd button each side.

[Superfrog]

I could nudge up/ down/ left en right with my analog stick on the lockdown bar...
That worked good and simpel.

I was planning to nudge with a accelerometer, bud I didn't want to push the machine all the time... I'm a sissy now? 

[PL1]

I didn't want to push the machine all the time... I'm a sissy now? 

Maybe you learned your lesson playng this game. (at 7:15)   



If your pincab is properly aligned, this will cause a tilt.




Scott

[Speed Racer]

I could nudge up/ down/ left en right with my analog stick on the lockdown bar...
That worked good and simpel.

I was planning to nudge with a accelerometer, bud I didn't want to push the machine all the time... I'm a sissy now? 

Ha, I wouldn't call you a sissy. Not after the amount of effort that went into that cab 


Bit of an update on the build.

Some general build notes from the photos in my first post...
* For cutting out the sides an other panels, I whipped up a saw board. Highly recommend this - it improved my cutting with a circular saw by a mile.
* With the two sides cut, I clamped them toghether with the factory cut edges lined. I then ran the router around the edge with a flush cut bit. Result = two sides exactlly the same size 
* Temporarily assembled the panels with wood screws and brackets. The brackets are ok, but the panels don't always line up perfect. Might have to clamp and glue as well when I am happy with the cab assembly.

Now for the new stuff..

Routed a slot in each of the side panels so that the playfield monitor can slide in without any of the case showing. Was a bit tricky, because of a tiny cable that runs to one corner of the screen. To accommodate this I had to put a tiny step inside the slot.


Test fitted the playfied monitor.


Repeated the same process to make the back box and fitted the screen. It's pretty rough right now, but I want to see if it looks and feels right.


Hooked it all up to the computer for a test run 



Good fun so far! Now if only I had some more free time 

[VoltaTom]

This is looking like it will be pretty cool. Good idea to figure out all the software first - I think that headache is why I never want to put pinball in my plans.

Might need to reconsider as this looks cool and pinball is so damn fun.

[Speed Racer]

This is looking like it will be pretty cool. Good idea to figure out all the software first - I think that headache is why I never want to put pinball in my plans.

Might need to reconsider as this looks cool and pinball is so damn fun.

Thanks. It's not too bad once you get started - but you have to make changes one at a time so not screw everything up. There's some detailed tutorials on vpforums for setting up Visual Pinball and adding animated back glass. Future Pinball is a bit easier to get going, until you want to use one of the versions with tweaked physics. Very confusing!

[jaharr01]

Yes it is confusing. On mine I built it first and the setup the software because I didn't have my computer yet. I'm still setting up software and trying to get the software to place nice with each other. I actually got a nanotech plunger, everybody says there are junk but mine works fine. The only thing is I count figure out how to set up vp with an analog plunger. Also I have some issues trying to get 3 screens setup on future pinball. I actually like future pinball with bam pretty well. I have most everything done except wiring the solenoids up and mounting and wiring the LEDs up. Mine is sort of a mini with 32 inch tv. You have to plan carefully when u put everything in the cab or u will be moving all kinds of stuff around. Anyway urs looks good so far.

[Speed Racer]

Yes it is confusing. On mine I built it first and the setup the software because I didn't have my computer yet. I'm still setting up software and trying to get the software to place nice with each other. I actually got a nanotech plunger, everybody says there are junk but mine works fine. The only thing is I count figure out how to set up vp with an analog plunger. Also I have some issues trying to get 3 screens setup on future pinball. I actually like future pinball with bam pretty well. I have most everything done except wiring the solenoids up and mounting and wiring the LEDs up. Mine is sort of a mini with 32 inch tv. You have to plan carefully when u put everything in the cab or u will be moving all kinds of stuff around. Anyway urs looks good so far.

Cheers.

Good to hear you have had some succes with the plunger. I have ordered one from virtua pin, which I think has arrived today. My understanding is that analog plungers work great in future pinball but are not well supported visual pinball... they might require editing of the individual table script files? Will post how successful I am with it.

As for Future pinball with BAM - it's definitely the way to go. Generally I prefer modern tables that have been optimised for Zed Physics and older tables with non Zed physics.

Currently I am thinking about how to get a 3 monitor setup working, but I don't have the right PC hardware to do it. My motherboard has only 1 PCIe slot and doesn't have VGA or DVI out  Old PCI video cards are almost non-existent and USB powered monitors are expensive, but short of getting another PC I think that is my only real option.

I am keen to know if you have success with Future Pinball and a 3 monitor setup

[swaffar]

Welcome to the Mini Pincab Builders Club.  There aren't many of us, but every now and then someone on here seems to like what we do enough to build a mini.  After moving back to the states from Germany, buying a house, and spending most of my free time hunting for retro console games (something I couldn't really do in Deutschland) my pincab has been neglected.  I really need to get around to finishing this thing.  I did remove the 220v smart strip, replacing it with a good ole 'Merican 110v strip, but that's about it.  I was truly honored to have inspired Martijn's build, but a bit depressed as well.  I knew he would finish before me the day we began communicating.

Cheers.

Good to hear you have had some succes with the plunger. I have ordered one from virtua pin, which I think has arrived today. My understanding is that analog plungers work great in future pinball but are not well supported visual pinball... they might require editing of the individual table script files? Will post how successful I am with it.

As for Future pinball with BAM - it's definitely the way to go. Generally I prefer modern tables that have been optimised for Zed Physics and older tables with non Zed physics.

Currently I am thinking about how to get a 3 monitor setup working, but I don't have the right PC hardware to do it. My motherboard has only 1 PCIe slot and doesn't have VGA or DVI out  Old PCI video cards are almost non-existent and USB powered monitors are expensive, but short of getting another PC I think that is my only real option.

I am keen to know if you have success with Future Pinball and a 3 monitor setup

If you revisit my thread, you'll see that you don't need a second graphics card for a three monitor setup.  I went with a 7" mimo monitor and it works great.  It gets power and video through USB, so that solves the graphics card problem.  The display is only 800x480, but this is more than enough for a DMD display.  My only recomendation is that you stay away from the 710s model, as I had nothing but problems getting it to work with Windows 7.  Go with a 720.  It's a lot of money, but having a dedicated DMD screen sitting between two 4" speakers really makes the cab come together.

Another expensive, but equally eye-catching, was the custom lockdown bar.  Again, I can't recommend this enough, as it really makes the cab IMHO.  You'll have to wait a little while for the fabrication, but you can get one direct from VirtuaPin http://virtuapin.net/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=45

[Speed Racer]

  Thanks swaffar. It's nice to be part of the community.

Yeah, I was tempted by the Mimo from the start, but the real killer is the extra $70+ in getting it sent here. The total cost would almost be as much as what I paid for my 27" playfield monitor 

So as an alternative I am going to try one of these - http://www.dx.com/p/cy-u3-125-usb-3-0-male-to-vga-female-video-graphic-card-display-adapter-cable-for-windows-7-8-260523 I didn't know such a product existed until just now. If all is ok I will get a regular 7" vga lcd screen which can be found for about $50.

I agree that the custom lockdown bar does look awesome. I have some time to think that one over, as it's probably the last thing I need to get sorted. I work in a heavy manufacturing industry and know some welders/boilermakers so I might be able to get something custom made for free... we'll see.

Anyway, hopefully some actual progress coming up this weekend. Have been busy this week re-installing all of my cab PC's software after having major issues with my windows install    The one part of the job I didn't want to do again!

[wicketnezz]

This looks really good!  I am hoping to do one of these after I get my mame cabinet finished up, they seem to be more complicated, and I wanted to make sure I could do what I thought would be easier before I do a more difficult build.  My hats off to you sir I will be watching for updates

[njay]

I would also considering going the real dmd tour





I first had only a 2 display setup

then later on someone created a dmd underbox for me and i ordered the pindmd and plasma dmd with 12v supply from mouser

[Speed Racer]

  Cheers guys.

Time for an update! 

I bought a set of doors and a matching coin mech. I realise they are not exactly "pinball authentic" but the doors are a nice size and will suit my smaller cab.





I had a couple of problems with these doors though. First, if you look at the door with the hole pre-cut in it, it is closer to the bottom than the top. The problem with this is that when I mount the coin mech, the coin mech internals sit too low inside and hit the lower part of the door frame and prevent it from opening. You can kind of see what I mean from this crap photo.



I could have just mounted the door up-side-down (with the lock on the left, not the right) but I just don't like the look of it. I've never seen a pinball with a "backwards" door. Instead I decided to cut out a hole in the spare door closer to the top. While I was at it, I removed the ugly tabs from the door, near where the lock is mounted (see first photo). A few coats of satin black paint and we are good.




Also, I got my PC up and running again. It's surprising how much of the software setup I had forgotten in such a short space of time 
I gave the three monitor setup a go using one of these:



I am happy to say that these usb to vga adaptors seem to work just fine. It saved me having to find another video card or change my motherboard to get the 3rd vga/dvi out. There is one catch with these though - if you want higher resolutions you must connect it up to a USB 3.0. On USB2.0 the adaptor can only display 800x600, which is fine for me as it will be the DMD

Lastly, my plunger kit arrived from virtua pin. I gave it a quick test run in Future Pinball and it works fine. I think it auto calibrates every time it is turned on, so there shouldn't be any issues. Also, the PCB it connects to has a joypad encoder built in which will handle input from the cab's buttons, and an accelerometer to detect table nudging.



More progress to follow soon...

[Speed Racer]

And now for the rest of the update...

Originally I decided to mount the playfield screen horizontally like so many other virtual pinball cabs have done before. However after a bit of testing I feel mounting the screen on an angle is the way to go. I didn't really feel like cutting out new side panels so I started by filling the slots for the monitor with "builder's bog".



After sanding the filler flush, I routed new slots for the monitor at a slight angle. I kept it neat at the front end since that will be visible above the playfield. The back end is a bit rough because it will be out of sight.






Next up I am going to cut holes in the front panel for the coin door, plunger and buttons.

[Speed Racer]

Well it has been ages since I've done an update, but I finally managed to get some more work done on this build. Things are coming along nicely, even though I've made plenty of mistakes. My work is a bit sloppy in places because everything I'm doing is pretty much a new experience 

First up, I've partially cut out the front panel. It now has holes for the coin door and the plunger, but I've still got to figure out what I am going to do with start, exit and coin buttons. I also unscrewed the cabinet panels because the alignment was quite bad. Have now clamped and glued them with (most of) the edges lining up good enough to be sanded flush later.



I've also added a drawer shelf with the back panel attached to it. I've used "push to open" drawer slides which work ok. I'm not 100% convinced I want to use these over regular drawer slides.



For mounting the motherboard on the shelf I have taken the mounting screws out of an computer case. With a small pilot hole they easily screwed into the MDF. It won't be super strong but is fine for this purpose.



and up close...



Lastly, I removed the back panel to cut some holes and route a recess for some cooling fans. I'm using just a couple of regular 120mm PC fans. I will place another 2 on the underside of the cab to promote airflow in to the cabinet and then out through the back.





That's all for now. I'm really enjoying the build process, even though it's hard to find the time and my skills could be better!
Next update - should have some significant progress on the rebuilt back box - with added monitor for DMD

[Speed Racer]

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve posted so it’s time for an update.

The backbox has been completed, but not after some pain. I had it mostly done when I accidentally knocked it off the work bench  All the joints came apart and I had to rebuild it, doing the best I could to smooth out anywhere it had become uneven. It will never be quite the same as before, but overall I’m happy with the outcome.

Since I decided to go for a dedicated monitor for the DMD, I had to make a panel to house it at the front of the backbox. I will also fit the speakers in this panel. I started by routing out a space for the monitor.



I rounded the top edge of the panel, and cut a DMD aspect ratio size hole where the monitor sits. A lot of the small 7”monitor will not be seen, so that the correct aspect ratio can be kept. I also cut out some round holes for the speakers and routed a square cavity behind them where I will eventually put some speaker mesh.



Here is the mostly complete backbox, and a view from the top showing the hinged back panel and where the monitor slides in. That grill at the back should look better once I paint it black.



And here it is with the rest of the cab. I got some authentic pinball cabinet legs – these make the cab look a whole lot more legit.



Some photos from the back showing the slide out drawer for the PC and the backbox access.



I put all the guts inside for a sanity check and to see if I have to make any adjustments to the cab before I start prepping for painting. Everything fits ok but I will have to make some extra holes to run some cables to slightly different places. Lastly I gave it a test run. I think it looks a lot better than my original 2 monitor setup.



So I'm happy with the build so far. I think it is time to start getting some coats of paint on this thing. My plan at this stage is to throw on a few undercoats first, inside and out. The outside sides and front surfaces I am planning to cover with printed vinyl, so I will spray these with gloss black (I read a smooth gloss surface is best for adhesive vinyl). All other visible exterior surfaces will get a few coats of satin black.

[mike boss]

I love these projects.
I'm always truly floored by these.
I'd love to tackle one.
But they seem (A) hard to do (B) costly.

None the less this project rocks !

[Speed Racer]

Cheers 

I wouldn't say building the cabinet itself is that hard. I have never really built anything before this and I'm going alright. I just take time to plan things and test stuff out before I commit. The limited space inside makes things difficult, a bit like building a bartop I imagine. But it's also simpler because you don't have to build a control panel. As stated above, the hard part is getting the software sorted. I might post a "how to" software thread at some point in the future...

You are right about the cost though... I haven't quite totalled up how much I have spent, but it is already over $1000 AUD (about 850 USD) and that was with a free computer and monitor (for the back box), and does not include extra tools I had to buy! Although stuff here tends to cost a lot more than in the US, and getting anything shipped from overseas hurts the wallet.

Is it worth it? Totally 

[jaharr01]

I love mine. It seems like they are always a WIP though. The toys are what seem to cost a lot. Seems like $100 here or there starts to add up. I probably have $2500 in mine. Much less without all the add ons. Yours looks great. Any art ideas yet?

[Speed Racer]

Your cab looks great jaharr!

Yes, I have been thinking about artwork. Unfortunately I have zero talent with such things and am considering either:

1) I use something someone else has made previously, or

2) I get some idead together and get someone else to make a custom theme.

I have been checking out Stuzza's art http://imgur.com/a/MhlPm over on vpforums - the same guy that did the Scooby Doo theme. Gotta, say the quality of his work is pretty good considering it's given away for nothing. I could use these, but I would need to get it resized for my mini cab, and probably tweaked to my liking.

My favourites so far are below. I really like the Back to the Future one. If I was to use the 50s theme I would probab change "pinball memories" to something else. If anyone has any thoughts or suggestions, fire away.

[jaharr01]

I like the BTTF and the 50's both I was going to do a WW2 bomber theme something like this
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,113707.0.html

[Speed Racer]

Well after spending some time fiddling with the above cab art I downloaded, I figured out that these files are only compatible with Photoshop, and wouldn't open properly with Paint.net or Gimp, even though they both programs have some level of support for .psd files. Without Photoshop or help I can't resize them to fit my cab. D'oh 

But that's ok cos I decided to have a go at creating my own, despite my total lack of creative experience. I chose an F1 theme - not really anything to do with pinball but what the heck. I like it, and it's something my wife and I both follow.

I can't really draw as such. I just pinched some high res pics and upscaled them and worked them into my design. The white parts are either the edges of the cab or where the image will be covered by buttons/plunger etc. The grey is to give an indication of where the side rails and lock down bar will be.

So... honest opinions: is it ok? Or total garbage? I wasn't too sure about the logos on the side of the back box. Initially I didn't have them there and felt it was too bare, but now 

[BorgDog]

Honest opinion, the F1 design looks just Ok, something about the scale of the images or the border seems to throw it off for me at least.  The more I look at it the more I think it's the border, especially on the backglass.

Enjoying the build so far though, I'm a big fan of mini.. well most everything.  Here's my tabletop minipin, at the playable so not ever going to be "done" stage.

[Louis Tully]

.

[Generic Eric]

I like your pinball memories the most.

[Superfrog]

Well after spending some time fiddling with the above cab art I downloaded, I figured out that these files are only compatible with Photoshop, and wouldn't open properly with Paint.net or Gimp, even though they both programs have some level of support for .psd files. Without Photoshop or help I can't resize them to fit my cab. D'oh 

But that's ok cos I decided to have a go at creating my own, despite my total lack of creative experience. I chose an F1 theme - not really anything to do with pinball but what the heck. I like it, and it's something my wife and I both follow.

I can't really draw as such. I just pinched some high res pics and upscaled them and worked them into my design. The white parts are either the edges of the cab or where the image will be covered by buttons/plunger etc. The grey is to give an indication of where the side rails and lock down bar will be.

So... honest opinions: is it ok? Or total garbage? I wasn't too sure about the logos on the side of the back box. Initially I didn't have them there and felt it was too bare, but now 



If you want the BTTF artwork, I can set it up for you so you can use it in a other paint program.
If you send it Photoshop file to me, I shall take a look for you 

Greetings

[Speed Racer]

Thanks for kind words/offers and honest opinions guys 

Honest opinion, the F1 design looks just Ok, something about the scale of the images or the border seems to throw it off for me at least.  The more I look at it the more I think it's the border, especially on the backglass.

BorgDog - can you say what it is in particular about the image or border that might need work? Border too thin or big? Yellow stripe or the colour around the outside of it? Should I remove the border from the back glass etc? I can do some quick mock ups post back.

My initial concerns were that the images on the sides of the cab don't "match" each other (in terms of style that is)... but you won't be able to see both at the same time, and they're not that dissimilar. I'm also not so keen on the large open space under the F1 logo on the left side of the cab.

[Superfrog]

If you want the BTTF artwork, I can set it up for you so you can use it in a other paint program.
If you send it Photoshop file to me, I shall take a look for you 

Greetings

[Rick]

This rocks. I love virtual pinball builds. I wish we had more of them! I can't wait to see more.

[BorgDog]

If it was me I'd probably just lose the borders altogether.  I like the background you have on the backglass, see what it looks like extended all the way out maybe.  I do like the two different colors and how they blend together on the front/coindoor side.  In the end, it's really what you like that counts, hopefully some others will chime in, there are some pretty good artist types on this site. 

[yamatetsu]

I agree with BorgDog. With those borders it somehow looks like you just took some stickers and put them on the cab. If you have to have the borders, I would at least have them follow the contours of the cab.

If this was my cab, I would extend the graphics so that they merge at the front. The borders would be replaced with two stripes, one at the bottom and one at the top. Both stripes would go around the entire cab, the top one following the contours of the cab, the bottom one just a straight line.

That way you would have something that flows around the entire cab rather than having a collection of single pieces.

[Speed Racer]

OK - I've done some quick mods to my existing art just for comparison.

No borders


No borders and no logos


Stripe at top and bottom only



With the first two I have removed the borders as BorgDog suggested (and the logos, just to see what it looked like).
The last one was a quick attempt at what yamatetsu suggested. I don't think I can extend the graphics to the front - the source pictures just aren't wide enough. I like the idea of running a border at the top and bottom only, except for the mismatched colour I get where the left panel meets the front.

I think I like the original design with the borders better, but I can still be persuaded! 

[BorgDog]

I like those better, definitely keep the logos unless you come up with something else for the backbox.  I like the no borders look.

[yamatetsu]

Number three does it for me. One small detail somehow bothers me though : The top stripe going through the driver's left hand, that kinda looks like the finger gets cut off.
I would put the hand to the foreground, so that the stripe goes behind it, maybe even do gradients so that the stripe fades out at the left side of the finger and fades in again at the right side.

Oh, and one small niggle should you decide to go with the initial design : The border on the front plate. I think it would look better to have the border follow the contours of the white edges so that you get a complete border rather than having the cab's legs covering parts of it.

[Louis Tully]

.

[Speed Racer]

One small detail somehow bothers me though : The top stripe going through the driver's left hand, that kinda looks like the finger gets cut off.
I would put the hand to the foreground, so that the stripe goes behind it, maybe even do gradients so that the stripe fades out at the left side of the finger and fades in again at the right side.

Yeah, totally agree. I didn't bother fixing at the time, but I've moved the hand in front now.

I'd dig a no logo stripe combo. But that right side has the Red Bull stuff all over it. Is it possible to make that just a generic car?

That is definitely beyond my skill level. I'm not so bothered about the Red Bull logos. Even if I removed them, the car's colours are immediately identifiable as Red Bull anyway. My best (easiest) option for a generic car would be to mirror the left side on the right instead of having two different sides.