Won't see what bikes finished? The Manx TT? I'll post an image of the finished article as soon as I can get the decals onto them. It's the Hang On I traded, not the Manx TT
See the TT thread for updates ;-) Parts arrival ! Skater grip for the pedals White & black seat parts: 10mtrs of rubber for the footwell: You can, just about (with a bit of trimming, patience and a steady hand) get the original artwork to work on the wrong seat. I was never too happy with taking the long-strip ID artwork and crossing it over the originally intended seat art. So, I cut the "Initial D" part out, shortened the piece above with "Night Kids & Emperor" written on them and then you splice it all together as best you can. The "Initial D" text has to be cut in two places in order to ensure that you don't just get massive crease lines. Also, it's a real pain to get all the bubbles out of it as it warps considerably as you apply it. The piece on the bottom with the black & white car artwork has to be trimmed considerably on both sides. Not the prettiest of attempts, but it at least looks akin to the original and I will spend the next couple of hours chasing little bubbles out of vinyl - wish me luck! ** Edit, this is because Sega issued official UK artwork that didn't fit the seats provided on the final UK revision. The only alternative is to import a Japanese seat at the cost of £150 for the plastic back panel. No thanks! Skater grip tape applied to peddles. I might trim the edges a little better as this stuff is excellent to use, but can look a bit rubbish when it doubles up or creases on the edge of the peddles. Smooth finish on the front and most of the surround. Trimming required to rear of peddles. Also just glued & cut the new rubber footwell mat. One screw head broke off and the underside was rusted tight to the nut, so will need to be completely replaced. I have replaced the missing sub with a genuine Sega one - didn't cost as much as I had expected and it arrived very quickly! The I got round to rebuilding as much of the seat as I possibly could. I was respraying the main base of the seat as it was rusty, plus I had to use a heavy duty contact adhesive to get those seat pads back on.
I decided not to use the studs version of the seating foam. Firstly because it reminds me of some kind of weird 1960's chic leatherette nonsense and because I think the version of seat I had was more attractive. So, a minor detail that might send ID fans into fits of rage! B'ah!
Nice work. Sizing the grip tape so it's slightly smaller than the pedal (leaving a metal edge around it) would prevent the frayed edges and give it a more detailed look, in my opinion. You could also use some color-coordinated rubber piping around the perimeter of each pedal.
This is how far I can go until the card reader turns up. Before: After: Well, I am nearing the end of this long restoration. Someone on another forum is itching to purchase the unit from me as soon as it is complete and is even prepared to let me use it for a little while and then hand it over. I'm not so sure. Another offer actually made to me is hiring it out to a local gaming place. However, it seems to me that this is a bit of a collectors unit for private use rather than a get thrashed type! Either way, I have really enjoyed putting this together. A recap image has been posted above for comparison. I do need to find force feedback boards from somewhere, but they are hellishly expensive.
There must be a few arcades in San Diego? Why not attempt something similar. Honestly, it's good fun :nod: We need more AG members posting about arcade stuff!
Honestly there about extinct in my town. There is a chain down here called tilt, but its always the same games, daytona usa, couple of capcom vs games, snk vs capcom chaos, initial d stage 3, ddr and tekken,etc. There is also dave and busters but their selection too is kinda joke. Really sad cause at one time there use to be alot of arcades down here. In fact only time I ever saw a dedicated Virtua fighter 2 machine with the little cardboard stand on top was outside a taco shop by the hospital! Man I should of offered them money to take it off their hands, after 3 months they got rid of it. I really want to do this stuff myself, but atm space and money and skills is the issue really. Once I get a good paying job and enough space probably get into it. Sadly my only option is eBay for this stuff. Tilt sometime does sell their machines but they want way too much for them. The bowling alley/rec place sometimes sells some arcades with a really good monitor for 100 if it doesn't have a popular game in it. But again it's hauling it and space. I am considering going the supergun route but really have a difficult time understanding how to make one. I'm still kicking myself for not buying that virtua fighter 4 arcade for $400. Sure the monitor wasn't in the greatest shape, but the thing had a naomi 2 in it, and they aren't that easy to come by on ebay. I'm still eying a gdrom of virtua fighter 4 final tuned myself. Anyway without going into a further rant I must admit you work inspires me. Phew sorry to everyone for such a long post.h:
No time, no space, no money. My big arcade highlight for this year was buying some Neo Geo carts. I'd LOVE to have the time/money/space to sit down and do nice projects like you're doing though, Parris. Really, excellent work. With your regards to the potential sale of that cabinet...I'd only be doing it if the buyer was offering like a HUGE premium, like one that he'd be an absolute moron to pay. The kind where I could afford to go out immediately after the sale and buy another cabinet like the one I just sold and still make PILES of money. Why? Something just doesn't sit too well with me about the idea someone swooping in and offering a large amount of money for a project that somebody else did and wasn't particularly planning on selling in the first place. I don't like it when people feel like anything I have is for sale just because they have the money to make a somewhat attractive offer. If I wanted to sell it, I'd put it up for sale. You'll probably appreciate the work that went into much much more than anyone else, too.
I've been asked to assist with the Insert Coin 09 conference here in the U.K. Initially I was asked just to refurbish a cabinet for one of the organisers in return for an Atomiswave cabinet, which I am currently working on. However during discussions with Alan O'Grady (Chief Organiser) it transpired that he needed some input in relation to Media & Press. So, for the next 35 days or so my time will be spent assisting as and how I can. To that end, please forgive my lack of posts here for a while :nod: www.insertcoin-09.com
Just heard from Giz10p that the card reader is en route - a few alterations need done on the coin case then wiring it in. Hopefully it'll be finished next week or so as I am in London this coming weekend.
I didn't realise it had been such a long time since I last updated this thread and posted any information. Well, it's take a long time to find all the parts and the missing dashboard was purchased and now all I need to do is fit it and work on the electrics. I also fitted the card reader / writer and thought I had posted images of this, but perhaps not... The annoying thing with using a different cabinet to the intended one is that the cash box is the wrong shape and doesn't have the fixing points required to attach the card reader. I had to modify it, which took about an hour. You have to first line it up, put a large enough hole through the side of the cabinet for the cabling (I used some cable tidy piping to ensure that the cables didn't become tangled, dragged or damaged) then cut a hole in the top of the top box, drill holes to the rear to attach. Card reader / writer thanks to Craig (giz10p) and artwork from AndyGeezer (AGS). I also obtained the version of ID3 that I was looking for: I received the dashboard some time ago, but due to one thing or another it's only now that I've obtained all the parts to recondition it and get it up and running. The dashboard clearly needed taking apart and maintained, which is what I'd do with any second-hand or used dashboard before I used it anyway. I spent about 3 minutes before I took it apart moving the steering wheel and looking into the mechanism to see which parts were not acting properly or where the problem might be. * Note some of the images are in the wrong order. Things like simply cleaning up plastic cogs for the VR pot make a bit difference and in this instance took a "knock" out of the steering that had previously been present. The reason being that some of the plastic teeth were chewed. I took a file to the teeth and removed debris then refitted it and smeared it in silicone grease. All moving parts that were mechanical were loosened, sprayed with WD40 and then retightened and rotated to ensure they moved smoothly. I also took the steering column completely out and tightened it up. I had noticed that the large pulley had moved about 3mm and was rubbing against another part causing the steering to be laboured and stick. I moved it back and took a file to the rear edge which had become damaged. The whole unit was put back together following the instructions in the manual and tested... And once any issues were traced and sorted, following the manual guide so the cam, stopper, key and d cut are in the correct positions, it was put back together and finished off with a new steering wheel decal (thanks Andy!) It's perfect now. Nothing is knocking or rubbing and it turns properly, feels miles better than before. I just need to take the dash that is currently attached out of the unit, remove the gear stick and complete the unit. If anyone has a spare plastic dashboard decal for Initial D, please let me know. It's the only part that's missing now
