286 replies to this topic

[antropus]

UPDATE 1/22/14

 

Time to rename my project for the second time...

Pacific Rim is an awesome movie and I'm proud of the work we did on it, but now I got two sons, James and Mathias (Jam.Ma ... got it? ) and this machine will be theirs one day, so I'll FINALLY name it after them.

I got some exciting updates to show. I should post something over the weekend, if time permits. Rest assured that the name DOES have to do with the updates!

 

Cheers,

-Kris

 

UPDATE 7/28/2013
 

Done and done! Thanks to Russ and RoccoC, who were kind enough to send me some courtesy transformer/pinDMD2, I was able to FINALLY put all pieces together. Next stop: finish the artwork!

So happy that the Plasma DMD is now fully working!!! :DDD

 

Watch it in HD:

 

Ps,: background sound effects by my wife and son

 

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UPDATE 06/19/2013

 

Coming back to my project. I decided to move to a "Pacific Rim" theme this time around!

I'm really proud of the work we did on this movie and the artwork will be featuring a giant robot and a giant creature I modeled for it, so stay tuned!

 

Cheers,

-Kris

 

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Long time reader, first time poster!
 
Thank you so much for all the inspiration, generous contributions with all your knowledge and thanks for the amazing work done by people like Noah, Zebulon and Mameman, who are producing some of the key pieces of my built.
 
The theme for the artwork will orbit around the movie "Rango". I was lucky enough to have the chance to work on this movie, as a Senior Modeler (I sculpted a few characters, like The Mayor, Waffles and The Spirit of The West, among other background characters). Since the movie won an Academy Award for best animation last year, I decided to pay homage to it. If you haven't seen it yet you should! It's a great little flick.
 
I consider myself ok with computer hardware/software stuff, but I'm almost clueless about the electrical stuff (although I managed to put together my own mame arcade machine, but that was a fairly simple built), so I'm pretty sure I will learn A LOT from you guys in the process.
 
Here's a little bit of what I have in mind (thanks chriz99 for the inspiration and the template
 
Cabinet
- Noah' Widebody VirtuPin, flat pack and no holes cut
- The backbox is slightly wider than the norm, about 1-1/2" to accommodate my 32" TV
- Speaker panel is being CNCd by mameman to mimic a WPC95, only slightly wider to conform to the custom back box
- I took the time to photograph and carefully trace the Williams logo applied to the original speaker panel from my Monster Bash pinball machine and I'll be doing some tests trying to get a good match to the original one, possibly by getting it laser cut in metal. If I get a good match I'll not mind making more copies for anyone interested.
- Ultimate Cabinet Kit Widebody: brand new legs, all metals, lockbar and trims
- Perforated Aluminum Sheets to cover the fans
- Routed channel to fit the 46" playfield in the Widebody cab
- New Williams/Bally Pinball coin door
- Tempered glass to protect playfield and backglass
- Fully wired/functional coindoor (I hope...)
- Internal trays: not sure if one or two. I'll be using two Ikea red doors that we removed from a bookshelf (my wife hated color )
 
Paint
- white interior (easier to locate things under low light)
- black exterior (matte)
 
Screens
- 46" Samsung LED Full HD 1080p UN46ES6003 via HDMI - great viewing angles, excellent contrast and black levels. Recommended TV! (got a great deal before Xmas)
- 32" Panasonic Viera TC-L32X5 720p - via HDMI
- Plasma Vishay DMD 128x32... not the 12v kind :-/ (I'm aware this is not going to work with the pinDMD2 for lack of power supply, but I'm hopeful that a solution will come to light at some point soon, thanks to some of the geniuses in this forum, so I'll hold to it for now
 
PC
- Windows 7 64-bit
- Intel i7-920
- MSI X58A-GD65 Motherboard
- 6GB RAM (OCZ3x3GB RAM DDR3 1600 - PC3 12800)
- Galaxy / Nvidia GTX650 GC 1 GB GDDR5 PCI Express 3.0 DVI/DVI/MINI-HDMI (Hardware render and all Nvidia settings set to max. The games run smooth like butter!)
- Samsung 840 Series SSD-250GB Sata 6GB MZ-7TD250BW (overkill for VP, but since this machine will double as a juke box, it turned necessary)
- Onboard Realtek HD Audio
- Logitech 2.1 Speaker System Z623
- OCZ ModXStream Pro 700W Modular PSU (main system)
- Antec VP-450 - 450Watt (dedicated to Zebulon's booster board)
 
Additional Details
- Ledwiz USB + Zebulon Booster board to control: 5 3w RGBs, 4 LEDs, 8 Siemens 3RT1016-1BB41 24v contactors, shaker, knocker and gear motors.
- Looking for a good digital nudge solution, mostly between the mini mercury switches or 3 tilt bobs
- Plunger will be a simple giant button, just like the one in my original Monster Bash
- Belkin Conserve Socket with Energy Saving Outlet
- I found this nifty little PSU, 2A, with a molex connector that can feed all my cabinet fans at once. Kind overkill since I can use the main PSU for it, but for 11 bucks it works great and it will surely be useful if not in this machine, in my arcade or home theater! Picture attached
 
I'll keep updating the list as I go. For now, here are some pictures of my progress while I wait for my cabinet (make it happen Noah! ), Zebulon's board and mameman's speaker panel to arrive.

All cabinet fans, 3x 200mm + 2x 120mm and perforated aluminum sheet to cover them up, also covering the back vents:
 


Little PSU with a molex running all fans:


32" LED will not fit the regular backbox. Noah is building a custom one for me:


De-cased:


Some parts delivered, waiting on many others:


Bare-bone computer waiting for the cabinet:


Good deal on those two. The Samsung has a kickass image quality!


Trying out some tables:


LedWiz and IPac ready to go. Waiting on Zeb's booster board, probably delivered this week:



One of my favorite tables. I can't wait to play it in the cab:

 
-Kris

Attached Files

•  DirtballLores-5195.JPG   74.35KB   1683 downloads
•  DirtballLores-5205.JPG   33.98KB   1627 downloads
•  DirtballLores-5208.JPG   54.07KB   1605 downloads
•  DirtballLores-5222.JPG   44.35KB   1604 downloads
•  DirtballLores-5231.JPG   74.65KB   1612 downloads
•  DirtballLores-5234.JPG   54.65KB   1623 downloads
•  DirtballLores-5258.JPG   64.17KB   1679 downloads
•  DirtballLores-5267.JPG   59.81KB   1727 downloads
•  DirtballLores-5274.JPG   77.28KB   1723 downloads
•  DirtballLores-5276.JPG   98.33KB   1658 downloads

Edited by antropus, 04 February 2014 - 12:46 AM.

[hotdp]

Sounds great :-)

[antropus]

Thanks hotdp

I'm thinking about adding an apron to the cabinet. I custom made one today, as a proof of concept, using a spare piece of plexiglass I had at home. I used a fine jigsaw to cut it and a heat gun to bend some of the borders. I used both my physical Monster Bash and the digital T2 (GORGEOUS game, btw!!!) to design the apron. It turned out fairly decent, so I'm thinking about using it, but that would mean that the TV/playfield would need to be installed deeper in the cabinet and the flipper buttons would have to be installed over it, instead of under. Still thinking about it, but I will only know when I finally get my cab delivered I guess

Here's some of the recently delivered stuff :


Here's my Plexiglass apron, proof of concept over T2:


A closeup:


I had this smoked plexiglass hanging around from my old mame machine and decided to give a try cutting and folding it with a heat gun today. Got some minor cracks, but not too bad for a first try:


Closeup to show the TV quality. Pictures surely don't do justice:


Here's a shot of the whole table with the apron placed on top of it:


-Kris

Attached Files

•  DirtballLores-5281.JPG   87.56KB   1628 downloads
•  DirtballLores-5285.JPG   88.94KB   1630 downloads
•  DirtballLores-5288.JPG   75.21KB   1602 downloads
•  DirtballLores-5291.JPG   78.26KB   1595 downloads
•  DirtballLores-5299.JPG   112.17KB   1651 downloads
•  DirtballLores-5302.JPG   48.8KB   1592 downloads

Edited by antropus, 24 January 2013 - 12:28 AM.

[antropus]

Got many new parts in the mail!

Legs, trims, lockdown bar, coindoor, last 4 contactors for a total of 8:


pre-wired Williams/Bally coindoor:


5 RGB+ LEDs, wires and the magnificent ledwiz to ZEB booster board!


Zeb booster board assembled. Too sleepy to wire it today, but soon:


Still waiting on the cabinet. I'll probably get it at the beginning of next week.

-Kris

Attached Files

•  DirtballLores-5304.JPG   59.19KB   1492 downloads
•  DirtballLores-5306.JPG   59.18KB   1506 downloads
•  DirtballLores-5314.JPG   128.14KB   1535 downloads
•  DirtballLores-5319.JPG   87.28KB   1504 downloads

Edited by antropus, 24 January 2013 - 12:29 AM.

[Nemo]

This is gonna be a nice build, really love the high-end hardware you're using, that ES Sammy series sure gives

an extremely nice picture, perfect for a vpin ! You're in for a treat with this build.....have fun !  

[antropus]

Thank you Nemo and I'm glad to know you're also a Monster Bash fan! I love my machine and so does my 2 year old son!

I really hope someone will come up with a better VP version of the game. It deserves to look every bit as good as the brilliant T2 reproduction. I thought about taking some highres pics of my machine to try to improve the grafix, but the layout doesn't look quite right for some reason and the ball looks huge! I'm new here, but I hope I can contribute somehow, by improving the existent machine.

 

-Kris

[hotdp]

Have you seen the newest FP version Monster Bash 0.612beta ? It is not 100% done yet but looks great.

[antropus]

Oh, I took a pick and it does look better than the VP version, at least from the pictures. I wonder how it plays? The 3D models can be improved. I think I can help with that

 

-Kris

[zebulon]

Nice touch with the apron, I did the same thing (out of MDF) for my current build.

 

Looks as though your build is progressing nicely....

[mameman23]

apron looks nice, I thought about going that route at one point. just struggled with how it would blend with the various tables out there and placement.

 

certainly looks real on the T2

[zebulon]

Finished mine in textured black, just a fancier version of a black fillet really.

[antropus]

Thank you Zeb and Mameman.

Yeah, the apron is kinda of a concept at this point. I might paint it or I might actually add a gradient, going from black close to the lockdown bar to transparent closer to the playfield.

The cabinet was sent today and I should get it by Friday! Mameman's speaker panel is coming this Wednesday.
For now I'm just having fun testing stuff around:

Here's the infamous and not so original Amazon box/Control panel for test drive:


Here's the temp test bench, with Zeb's board driving 6 contactors (out of 8) and flashers. Working perfect!


The amazing wiring inside of the box (I'll be neater when time comes )


Here's the whole mess, all working 100%:


Here's something I started over the weekend, still far from finished, a 3D model of my future machine! It's being useful to discover what I can fit in it already, and will be very helpful when I start the artwork:







Cheers,
-Kris

Attached Files

•  DirtballLores-5329.JPG   30.08KB   1473 downloads
•  DirtballLores-5332.JPG   91.23KB   1499 downloads
•  DirtballLores-5335.JPG   40.6KB   1473 downloads
•  DirtballLores-5342.JPG   91.76KB   1503 downloads
•  render1.jpg   31.81KB   1490 downloads
•  render2.jpg   42.31KB   1475 downloads
•  render3.jpg   57.23KB   1481 downloads

Edited by antropus, 24 January 2013 - 12:30 AM.

[faralos]

Rango was a neat little flick and since Johnny Depp was a voice in it

 that made it all the better!

as for the Williams logo have you ever tried just Googling for it?

I did and there seems to be tons available to use however you want

I thought of taking a pic of my pin with the williams logo then thought of google

getting back to Rango (dirtball) when can we expect to be able to play it?

 

oh and your cab build looks fantastic same goes for that home made

rube goldberged apron  you cooked up

Attached Files

•  williams logo.JPG   119.71KB   52 downloads

[antropus]

Thank you faralos.

Yeah, I found those logos when I was researching and downloaded all of them and also a couple of vector ones. I found fonts that are pretty damn close too, but not exact. Then I took a picture of my Monster Bash's speaker panel using a very flat lens (200mm) to make sure it was as distortion free as possible. I overlapped all the logos I found with the picture I took and NONE of them was a 100% match (I would say 85% match using the closest one...). What I believe is that the official logo printed in the manuals is different from the speaker panel one, because the official one was made for print and the other was made to be visible and readable on a plastic piece, gold on black, so the speaker panel one is bolder (and "softer"). That was the reason I used the picture to trace it manually. It's a really close match. When I get home tonight I'll post the picture and the vectors on top of it so you get the idea. I'll be sharing this file as soon as I clean it up. I believe that if you manage to round the edges, this is the closest you will get to an original wpc95 speaker panel Williams logo.

 

-Kris 

Edited by antropus, 22 January 2013 - 05:14 PM.

[faralos]

rereading about Rango on a site with TimConway

he also starred in a series in the 60's by that same name

Rango was a western comedy starring comedian Tim Conway

which was broadcast in the United States on the ABC television network in 1967.

good to know the pin is about the more recent cartoon and not the tv series

oh and TV Guide ranked the series number 47 on its TV Guide's 50 Worst Shows of All Time List list in 2002

so it must have sucked big time

Edited by faralos, 22 January 2013 - 06:06 PM.

[antropus]

Hahaha! Good find!

[antropus]

I just got the tilt bob assembly I ordered the other day and decided to try something different. I've seen people either using joypads, mercury switches, 3 tilt bobs or the 1 tilt bob against 3 screws for nudging. My approach was to use the original tilt bob assembly, only splitting the metal ring into 3 different points of contact for left, right and front nudge:

Here's the original:


Here's the modified version:


The reason I tried this is to keep the inside of the machine as clean as possible while using real parts to do the job. It's ready to be mounted and tested!

-Kris

I forgot to mention that I will isolate the opposite side ("back nudge" area) with tape, to avoid front to side ghosting nudge. -Kris

Attached Files

•  image.jpg   125.58KB   1449 downloads
•  image.jpg   100.22KB   1446 downloads

Edited by antropus, 24 January 2013 - 12:31 AM.

[Nemo]

That's exactly how I've made my tilt bob, take an original (in my case out of my Williams F14) and divide it up in 3 segments,

the lead cone shaped blob needs some tinkering with but in the end it works great, and for a budget price !

 

Here's a pic, this is just prior to cutting the thing up, but it now looks almost the same, you'll get the idea....

( i also, just recently, put a terminating switch between the contacts, so if i don't wanna nudge ((TILT)) i just

flip a switch on the cabinet's side) 

[antropus]

Oh! Cool man! I'm glad to know it works well and the flip switch is a great idea too! Looking at your pic I noticed that the ring is installed against the side wall. Because of the way I cut mine, I think I will have to install it against the front of the machine, with the little plate used for front nudge (or on the side, if I use an "L" attachment to make it face forward). -Kris

[faralos]

the flip switch is innovative and beats bending the heck out of the ring

which is how we used to do it to 'turn off' the tilt

I guess you could also mount the tilt bob on a wire with maybe a set screw holding it in place

so that you can slide it up or down to adjust the sensitivity of the tilt

out of curiosity do you cab builders use the two tilt mechanisms that most real pins have?

My flash pin has one on the side with a ball that rolls along a track if you lift the pin any

do the cabs get that much abuse to have to install both or do you guys just do a tilt bob?

not that lifting an electronic pin would make a difference in ball travel

but it's the same theory that keno or Joker Poker players show when they shake the heck out of a machine

thinking that would change the outcome of the cards/keno balls