Not a project announcement - cab age weathering?

[TZC]

Hi

I wonder if anyone here had any ideas on how to realise a 'weathered' old look on various parts of an arcade cab. I've been thinking about building something that gave the impression that it is 35 yrs old, but with the benefits of being a customised new build- and not really being a knackered old soggy box with puff pastry edges sinking into the floor - stinking/falling apart in my living room as a real one would be

A strange request for help perhaps.. I thought of posting here just in case anyone else was interested in thinking/talking about it. I do feel that something like this could look absolutely atrocious depending on the quality of the immersion factor.. No doubt some reading this will think it's an atrocious idea full stop 

My main vision was to have the look of something circa the early 80's 'resurrected' hence the name of the cab "coin-op resurrection™". So a smallish cab, maybe in a similar shape to stargate, zaxxon, ms pac man or design points from all of them with a generic, ominous, maybe haunted kind of theme to it.. so the exact opposite of mame bling, basically. More original and used half to death bling if there was such a thing. Exposed screws, cigarette burns and fanta spills, oh my!

The only thing I've really considered at the moment is building a graphic of the zaxxon style faux wood vinyl, faded scratched and with a slight mould tint in places for the side art      Some ways to mimic age any/everywhere on a cab would be interesting to hear if anyone has any.

Anyway I'll be looking around elsewhere not specifically about arcade cabs, and if I find anything useful I'll post in here just in case anyone else is as mad as I, you never know

[Le Chuck]

It would just be cheaper to buy a beater and fix it up just enough to allow in the house. Nothing screams three decades of filth like three decades of filth.

You can even wear the beater with the sander to give it some more appeal and then clear coat the whole thing in matte.

[TZC]

Yeah, you're right and I hadn't thought of sealing in the crap,    thanks for the comment

But regardless if I end up working it out and going ahead with false aging or not I'd like to actually build a custom cab, it needs to be slimmer than an original to sit right in the house really. I thought that keeping the width low as well could maintain the original dimensional look.

I have another idea to fall back on regarding aesthetics if not, and honestly I'm not sure I could pull this off. Still interested in thinking about it and others opinions though.

[wp34]

Make sure you give some thought to how you age it.  The Disney Fix-it-Felix cabinets were faux-aged in such a strange way that some of them look ridiculous.  If you scuff the paint or t-molding make sure you do it in such a way that looks realistic.  I'd suggest looking at some older cabs that have been naturally aged and mimic what you see.

[mgb]

To really be accurate, you should consider laying a lit cigarette on the
edge of the control panel and t molding.

[SavannahLion]

To really be accurate, you should consider laying a lit cigarette on the
edge of the control panel and t molding.

Exactly what I was thinking. While you're at it, get a six to twelve year old to drink soda and eat Pizza, french fries and McDonalds chicken nuggets while playing the cab for a few days. That'll work the grease and sugar right in there. A six year old boy is your best bet to get the grease on the CP as quickly as possible.


Really, your best bet is to hit up a real arcade. A cab that spent the bulk of its life at a Chuck-E-Cheese will have a slightly different characteristics than one that spent the bulk of its life at a bar, a skate arena or a summer camp.

But if you're like me, you might live in an area where arcades are a growing rarity, relegated to more museum-like or redemption only places.  In that case, another option is to hunt down actual photographs or era correct films of people hanging around cabs, especially those that pre-date the whole "no eating, no drinking, no smoking" that's so prevalent today. Pay special attention to how people touch the cabs, not just the player but the people watching.

Good luck

[TZC]

To really be accurate, you should consider laying a lit cigarette on the
edge of the control panel and t molding.

Really, your best bet is to hit up a real arcade. A cab that spent the bulk of its life at a Chuck-E-Cheese will have a slightly different characteristics than one that spent the bulk of its life at a bar, a skate arena or a summer camp.

But if you're like me, you might live in an area where arcades are a growing rarity, relegated to more museum-like or redemption only places.  In that case, another option is to hunt down actual photographs or era correct films of people hanging around cabs, especially those that pre-date the whole "no eating, no drinking, no smoking" that's so prevalent today. Pay special attention to how people touch the cabs, not just the player but the people watching.

Good luck

Thanks . I've been searching for 'before' pictures of restorations and that's brought up some useful examples of rust, flaking, dust settling, wear and water damage   There aren't any arcades left around here and haven't been for a long time. And when there were it was all ddr and thrill drive with a hundred gamblers behind them, sad. I guess I should feel lucky to have experienced the atmosphere of the old days at all though 

I won't post all the pictures as a most are huge but talking of cigarette burns..



If I was to see a beater as le chuck put it  that I could get locally then I'd consider going for it but I don't really see anything going cheap let alone free to collect. It's usually all reasonable quality working machines, not very cheap and also not quite right. And the other problem being I don't drive. So even if it seems like a strange thing to want there's some more insight to the whys.

Never mind eh.  I'll keep looking and try to finish a design shape


 

[yotsuya]

If you're going with a slim or woody shape, I wouldn't even bother with weathering.

[matsadona]

Interesting... a few ideas that comes to mind... heat gun, strong IR lamp, bleach... subtle sanding...

[RoyalScam]

Saw this on YouTube.  Adam Savage weathering a box he'd built.


Regards,
Scam