37 replies to this topic

[dboyrecords]

I replied to a Craig's List ad wtb old pinball machines. I asked him to let me know if he ever got one that was too far gone for restoration. A few months later I get an email and $50 later I'm the proud owner of a 1974 Williams Lucky Ace cab! Broken backbox trim and no legs but all the stainless, 3 buttons and plunger were included.

Here's the guts...

Attached Files

•  IMG_20130222_075103.jpg   105.11KB   132 downloads
•  IMG_20130222_090909.jpg   51.04KB   113 downloads
•  IMG_20130222_090935.jpg   87.09KB   109 downloads
•  IMG_20130222_090840.jpg   98.81KB   107 downloads

[faralos]

wow only $50 huh? great deal even if it is stripped out like that!

 that cab is in very good  shape considering how old it is

now you can drop all that mess into a real cab instead of sharing desktop space

 with what looks like a professional mixing board!

 nice mixer too btw!!

 if it were me I'd build a brand new back box with the specs from that beat up one you now own

given that it really looks beat up

don't forget to post on your progress as you build it!!

[dboyrecords]

Thanks!
So, I put all that mess in the cab and I couldn't stand the little monitor. When I found the perfect monitor I went back and got another for the studio but really as a backup.

Now I need a new backup because I sunk in in the cab for a traditional sized backglass.

TOTALLY FREAKIN LOVE IT!!! Can't sing it loud enough!!

I have half of the backbox trim to copy.

Attached Files

•  IMG_20130605_183322.jpg   69.54KB   115 downloads
•  IMG_20130608_203046.jpg   83.42KB   133 downloads
•  IMG_20130609_110116.jpg   96.6KB   128 downloads

[Gamester]

Looks great!  

[faralos]

great job tossing it all in so it fits and plays too!

looks cool!!

[zebulon]

Nice....I like the look of the wedge-heads.

[htamas]

That backglass solution looks really good. You lose a little resolution in width (1080 vs. 1280, compared to the usual 1280 x 1024 backglass images), but this makes up for width / length ratio, especially on EM machines. Those often look squished on the usual widescreen backglasses.

Big Bang Bar (and similar DMD tables) look a little strange with the elongated backglass though... still, it's acceptable.

[pinuck]

It's not actually a wedgehead, but it still looks awesome!

[dboyrecords]

Thanks guys! I stretched the dmd backglasses because it seemed fair... all the others get stretched more on 16:9! Maybe when the newness wears off I'll quit stretching! For a couple days I was gonna not sink it but have it stick out of the top which might have looked cool for toppers like Big Bang Bar.

[MTPPC]

If I had that setup, I would slide the playfield display all the way to the lock bar and lower it so you could place the DMD at the bottom of the BG screen between the playfield and the backbox and look through the table glass to see it like cirqus voltaire. Then when you are playing non-dmds it would just be black in there.

[htamas]

That's a neat idea, except that with this setup, you pretty much have to use the two-screen backglasses for DMD tables because otherwise the image gets stretched vertically even more and that would look bad.

For certain special tables such a Cirqus Voltaire, your suggestion would indeed be a good way to go.

[dboyrecords]

Never thought of that! My plan is a 5 1/2" control panel with 2 joysticks and 5 buttons so I can play mame as well. More on that to follow...

[dboyrecords]

Here's the guts. You can see the subwoofer behind pc and bg mon peeking down in top of cab.

2 things I love the most: BIG backglass and the feel of leaf buttons.

Attached Files

•  IMG_20130612_103256.jpg   130.64KB   51 downloads

[gamefixer]

Wow, that coin doo alone is worth more than $50! Nice score, looks good with the new hardware in it too!

[Shadowsclassic]

Nice set up. I have a similar cab I am building into; hope mine turns out looking as sweet as yours.  Out of curiosity, what size monitors did you go with on this build?

[dboyrecords]

Thanks all! They are both 39" still in original cases. I still totally love it! Dmd era and others get a little stretched but I like it. Keeps it all old school looking. At least everyone gets taller and skinnier!

I was planning to put joysticks and buttons and load up mame but I'm so in love with pinball now I'm gonna maintain the purity and build a seperate mame cab. So time to order glass and fix trim.

One thing I've learned, this not a product its a hobby!

[Shadowsclassic]

Could you post a picture of how you have the BG monitor sunken in cab? That was my original idea, but I couldn't think of a good way of doing it. So I was planning on going landscape and just building a new backbox.

[dboyrecords]

I had to do some cutting, trusty sawzall! Had to cut backbox and cab.
 IMG_20130611_155934.jpg   99.66KB   41 downloads
You can barely see bg mon sticking out of bg. Bg mon is just resting on strips of plywood scabbed on inside of cab.
 IMG_20130612_103408.jpg   78.74KB   36 downloads
Back of backbox.
 IMG_20130612_103521.jpg   83.49KB   36 downloads

[Shadowsclassic]

Interesting, I guess when you get the backbox on, it supports the monitor pretty well.   Well, from the pics you submitted I must say both types of BG's look good to me. I really don't notice the stretching. 

The way I currently have my system setup the EM BG's get stretched horizontally and some do look stretched out.  I was actually wanting the BG to be wider than the table but after looking at yours...

 

Decisions, decisions.

 

Thanks for the pics and info!

[dboyrecords]

Haven't updated in a while... finally added pf glass. I thought I'd share my placement of ps cams for head tracking. Works great from behind the glass. Scab wood will be black.

 IMG_20131211_223400.jpg   182.76KB   39 downloads

Edited by dboyrecords, 12 December 2013 - 04:43 AM.