First pinball cabinet 'Pinball Mania' 42"/28"/17"

[Gunner]

So I've started my first virtual pinball machine build, inspired by the many great projects here.
Not bringing anything new to the table but I know I love viewing build pics so I'll share mine with everyone.

What I'm using..

-42" 1080p Dynex LCD TV
-28" 1080p Hannspree LCD TV
-15" LCD monitor
-Dell PC
-Nvidia GT9800 video card(playfield/backglass)
-Nvidia GeForce video card(DMD)
-legs/coindoor purchased from Terry at Pinball Life(awesome guy)


Plans for the build..

-cabinet will be a close copy of my mid-80's Gottlieb pinball machine
-3/4" maple plywood construction
-'bezel-less' design with the sides of the cabinet notched out to fit the TV
-custom lockdown bar(as the 42" is too wide for a standard one)
-siderails will be stainless steel, cut by a local metal shop
-cabinet will be covered in black vinyl from Parts Express
(I plan to apply some sort of sideart decals later)


Got all the pieces for the cabinet body cut out yesterday..


http://members.shaw.ca/pinballmania/pm1


Just working on assembling it now. Will post more pics later..

[kurt]

A man with a plan, looks awesome good luck.

[billpa]

Sweet! You cut those pieces yourself?

[Gunner]

Sort of a plan :) thanks again for the coin door dim's Kurt.

Yes Bill I did all the cutting. The back side is actually 3 pieces I joined together.

Well here's a picture of the assembled cabinet piece. Lots of biscuits and glue holding it together..

http://members.shaw.ca/pinballmania/pm2

I'm just making a little mod to the TV now. Then I'll drop it in and post another pic.

Stay tuned...

[kurt]

No problem, looks very clean mate well done.

[Gunner]

Thanks. Test fit of the monitor, fits like a glove..

http://members.shaw.ca/pinballmania/pm3

Backbox build starts tomorrow.

[Gunner]

Got the frame of the backbox done today, and carved out the DMD panel.

Also mounted the leg brackets. Unfortunately the left front leg bracket is covering my bottom button hole.
Guess I'll either have to fill the hole or cut part of the bracket off..live and learn.

Threw the legs on for a test fit, couldn't help myself :)...

http://members.shaw.ca/pinballmania/pm4

[kurt]

Very nice, you will have that finished in no time with the way your going.

[Acorn]

looks absolutely amazing. I cant wait to see more.

[njay]

nice work m8

[Elfman12]

Lookin' good!

[Firebat138]

very nice.. Good inspiration

[Gunner]

Thanks guys, appreciate the feedback. Keeps me motivated.:)

Ordered the stainless siderails this morning. Should take approx. a week before they are ready.
They quoted me $25 per rail, good deal I think.
Now I just need to get my buttons and glass ordered then I should be set.

BTW the Logitech Z2300 speakers hiding under my other pinball machine are going in this one.

[lettuce]

Coming along nicely!! Gunner where are you getting you custom lockdown bar from?

[Gunner]

Thanks. I'm making the lockdown bar myself, out of MDF.
It's sitting on the cabinet in the last picture.

I inquired with the metal shop that's making my siderails and they couldn't make anything with rounded corners.
Also asked Terry at Pinball Life and he said a custom size bar would require a custom mold costing $30,000..lol

[rosezentrier]

Wowww your are fast! And it look so good, wish you luck and like it to see more, good foto quality too. It a eyecandy to look on it.

[Rawd]

Thanks. I'm making the lockdown bar myself, out of MDF.
It's sitting on the cabinet in the last picture.

I inquired with the metal shop that's making my siderails and they couldn't make anything with rounded corners.
Also asked Terry at Pinball Life and he said a custom size bar would require a custom mold costing $30,000..lol

I was lucky enough to have a friend with a setaline torch, cutter and a welder. Found an old metal table support that had the one long side already curved. We used the torch and a vise to bend the other corners in and welded them. With the right equipment and available parts, it was pretty easy to make.

I had origanlly tried a lockdown bar made of PVC. I am curious to see how your MDF one comes out.

[Gunner]

Wowww your are fast! And it look so good, wish you luck and like it to see more, good foto quality too. It a eyecandy to look on it.

Thanks, I love looking at build pics too :)

Rawd I think it's going to work out well. I'm hoping it'll end up being an easy/cheap alternative for future builders.
After contacting a few places I'd say the supply of widebody bars has just about dried up.

All I can tell you so far is that it's very comfortable, and it took me about 30 min's to make it.
Getting a decent metal-like finish on it will be the real trick though.

If anyone has any tips I'm all ears..

[Rawd]

Wrap it in aluminum foil? :) j/k

Not sure man. I used 'metal' paint on my mini cabs legs... They came out looking pretty good, however that will not match your nice chrome finished legs and siderails.

I went with Black legs and siderails on my full size to match my black lockdown bar.

[tagi3d]

looks GREAT!

You adding a door in the back? Makes life so much easier.

[chriz99]

nice work Gunner! you're really fast ;)

[Gunner]

Thanks Chris, your cabinet and videos are very inspiring.
I was playing with your DMD coloring idea a few minutes ago. :tee:

So I made the mistake of showing my project to a buddy and I am now building 2 of these things instead of one.
I have to double my efforts and put the brakes on my hopes of a fast build.

Anyway I have his cabinet and backbox all cut and assembled so I'm back to mine for a bit.
I got the vinyl covering on everything and it turned out nice. I attempted to take a pic for you.

The backbox is completed now. Just waiting for my playfield glass and siderails to be done so I can get those on.
Haven't decided if I will be painting my lockdown bar to match the stainless siderails or if I'll just go with black.

Here's a few pics that show where I'm at as of today..

http://members.shaw.ca/pinballmania/pm6

http://members.shaw.ca/pinballmania/pm7

http://members.shaw.ca/pinballmania/pm8

http://members.shaw.ca/pinballmania/pm9

[rosezentrier]

What for a wonderful work. :congrats: Thanks for sharing with us.
Can't wait for see the cab is finish.

[epthegeek]

Really coming together great. Looks awesome!

[Elfman12]

Nice, great job!

[kurt]

Looking great mate, Be interesting how the lockdown bar turns out if you paint it as i am thinking the same thing as everything else is black... Powder coating may screw with the dimensions alittle

[Rawd]

Beautiful.

[chriz99]

Awesome! I love it!

[Gunner]

Thanks guys!

Should have the rest of the parts early next week so mine be done by the weekend.

Just sorting out the software now.

[jazzcat007]

Awesome cab!

[kurt]

A question re vinyl application, did you wrap it around the corners of the cab? If so does it stick down tight around the rounded edges?

I have undercoated my cab and have a 10m roll of black vinyl on its way to me and a little unsure the best way to apply it.

[Rawd]

A question re vinyl application, did you wrap it around the corners of the cab? If so does it stick down tight around the rounded edges?

I have undercoated my cab and have a 10m roll of black vinyl on its way to me and a little unsure the best way to apply it.

I cut one piece flush with the edge (trimmed with a knife), and then overlapped with the other piece by about 1/8" over the edge. It has not tried to come off yet. I guess it depends on the adhesive on your vinyl.

[Gunner]

Yes Kurt I painted the bottom of the cabinet black and then covered all 4 sides with a single seamless piece of vinyl.
The real trick is to run an iron over it afterwards to firmly adhere the vinyl.
Set the iron on low and wrap the bottom with an old T-shirt or something similar.

I'm going to make a post about the vinyl I used.

[kurt]

oh ok cool thanks, hair dryer would do the same then?

[Gunner]

Yea I'm sure it would. If it's hot enough.

[kurt]

What type of finish is that vinyl you applied to the cab? is it flat or shiny?

I bought a roll of vinyl but its very shiny and im considering ditching that idea and paint it a flat black or or getting some laminex to cover it it.

[Gunner]

It's a flat finish Kurt, nice stuff. I can mail you a scrap if you want to see it in person.

So after some issues that delayed my order by 2 weeks I finally got my custom siderails on Friday..

http://members.shaw.ca/pinballmania/pm10

And here's a pic of my buttons all ready for install...

http://members.shaw.ca/pinballmania/pm11

I'm working on the cabinet right now. Should have more pics later today.

[lettuce]

Very Nice!

[Gunner]

Thanks. Buttons are in and lit. I replaced the bulbs with LED's for deeper color..

http://members.shaw.ca/pinballmania/pm12

Also lit up the reject buttons with some large red LED's.
They are yellow on the Happ(Data East) doors that most people are using but an LED behind them will change the color nicely.
They look orange-ish in these pics but they are a deep red in person...

http://members.shaw.ca/pinballmania/pm13

http://members.shaw.ca/pinballmania/pm14

[Elfman12]

Buttons look great!

[kurt]

Looks awesome, what type of LED's did you use i went and bought an LED-WIZ board so i can use them rather then bulbs.

I like the side rails they look very pro.

[Gunner]

Thanks Kurt. I used the standard 5mm 'Superbright' LED's, had them left over from another project.
I sanded the tips down to diffuse the light across the entire button.

Pinballlife has LED's pre-made to replace those style of lamps if you're looking for the easiest route.
You'll just have to check on what voltage they require.

[Gunner]

Well this one is finished. Not perfect but I consider it a learning experience.
Took some pics for you all with/without flash. Not great but here they are..

http://members.shaw.ca/pinballmania/pm15

http://members.shaw.ca/pinballmania/pm16

http://members.shaw.ca/pinballmania/pm17

http://members.shaw.ca/pinballmania/pm18

http://members.shaw.ca/pinballmania/pm19

http://members.shaw.ca/pinballmania/pm20

http://members.shaw.ca/pinballmania/pm21

[chriz99]

well done man! thats freakin awesome!! :top:

[Rawd]

Very nice work! Nice and clean.

Second flipper buttons?

[epthegeek]

Looks really nice. Sure, black might be dull compared to fancy artwork, but the build looks good.

I'd be curious to know what it is you're unhappy with, what you'd do different, or what you "learned" on this build. That's the kind of stuff people who haven't built yet could really use.

[Elfman12]

Nice cab, well done!

[Gunner]

Thanks guys. Sorry if I seem less than thrilled with it.
Getting the software running properly on this thing has really sucked the fun out of it.

Rawd I will be adding the second flipper buttons at some point.
They were supposed to be cut into the stainless in a revision I sent them but it got missed.

The ones that are already on there are leaf buttons and took some work to install. I could only find the short style so I had to route out the inside of the cabinet to fit the switch assembly in there. Not anxious to repeat that procedure.

[kurt]

Nice work Gunner, You should be proud its very well built and a clean finish.

Don't let the software setup get you down it's half the fun adding additions and new features to your cab.

Two thumbs up from me.

[mwong168]

I feel you pain on the software and part of it was me not reading Rawd's instructions carefully.

http://www.hyperspin-fe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7546

Some of my biggest software woes were:

1. Not knowing about the cabinet version of Vpinmame.dll
2. Renaming Vpinball907.exe to Vpinball.exe in order to work in HyperPin despite specifying the write executable in the settings.ini file.
3. The HyperPin desktop shortcut created by the installer didn't fill the "Start In" folder location by default so everytime you double click on it nothing happens and when you double click it a second time the screen goes black.
4. Setting the display to "Default" in the Setup Paths option in the VPinMame setup

I only struggled for a little less than a week but now I have everything pretty much figured out and all I have to do is learn how to change the table script to rotate or flip the DMD.

Your pinball cab looks great either way and when I first saw pictures I thought to myself great i don't need a set of second set of flipper buttons but guess not after reading your final thoughts.

[Gunner]

Yes a thorough reading of the Hyperpin help file BEFORE starting is the best advice I can give anyone looking to tackle this.
That and 'ask Rawd' :)

As it stands I think all my bugs have been worked out.
Well, the new Dell I bought for this would not run my 2 Nvidia cards so I still need to do something there.

[Rawd]

Yes a thorough reading of the Hyperpin help file BEFORE starting is the best advice I can give anyone looking to tackle this.
That and 'ask Rawd' :)

Lmao man. :) I must be hanging out here too much :)

I went through all of this crap myself a year ago, and there were alot of helpful people here. Just trying to pay it forward. :)