Q*bert. A man and his grail... FINISHED !!!

[level42]

Good to know !

Ha, look what I found back.....a picture of the very first moment I ever saw what is now my Q*bert:

It was 7 januari 2006 

I vividly remember the excitement of seeing not just 1 but 2 Q*berts.....a machine I had never seen before in Europe until then....
I also vividly remember that I started asking like mad who owned the machines......

How lucky was I that both were in the hands of some of the best friends I have found through this hobby 

[level42]

Does anybody happen to have two spare leaf button holders for metal panels that they won't be needing ?

They may be of the newer kind, I don't really mind since they are for the P1 and P2 buttons only.
Of course some older ones are fine too.

[Luigi]

Do you have a picture what button holders you need? I'm sure I/we have some left

And I'm also sure it was later than 2006.....digging out the pics....2010

[level42]

Hah, already thought that couldn't be right LOL

Must have been an incorrect date on a camera

Something like this (already have the leaf switches).... They may be old/dirty, I don't mind

http://www.arcadeshop.de/popup_image.php?pID=291

[level42]

Fuck black paint.

Oracal 631 black Matt just arrived from Germany 

[Tyrem]

Fuck black paint.

it is the way to go! i am deeply in love with that stuff now.

[level42]

I have a hunch I am going to be too !

It looks 100 times better already. paid a little over 20 euros incl. shipping for 5 meters at 63 cm. wide.

[level42]

Well mmmmmm....so i installed the black vinyl yesterday....and is it love ? In fact it's more a love/hate relation I guess....

The stuff is very thin and very flexible. This is both a blessing and curse IMHO.

The bad thing is that it wrinkles very quickly if you are not extremely careful. I wasted three large parts, one for the kick area and two for the top. I finally decided to pre-cut the stuff to size for the visible (forward) part of the top only and leave the back in the black paint as it was....

I did also use it for the inside of the bezel area but I got plenty of tiny bubbles there. However, since the nature of the material and the matt black it's not very visible and I just accepted it as another tiny imperfection....I am SO done with the black on this cab...

Anyway, I AM very pleased with the look of the vinyl. It's tight and matt not the ugly shiny like the paint was so that's great.

[level42]

Back side. Door re-insatlled. I didn't bother prepping the door's back side....no holes filled etc. It's the back and it has some battle scars and that's just fine, it gives it some character....

I found a "new" and quick way to de-rust the hinges and CP supports: I got out my belt sander and hit the parts with it....worked GREAT and QUICK

Really happy about the top side, as mentioned I reversed the inner and outer metal vents and installed brand new (metric) carriage bolts.

Found a nice switch, not 100% original but acceptable. Soldered it and I had to drill the hole in the metal mounting plate a bit larger.

[level42]

Assembling parts and harnesses....always a good feeling

Found out that I probably forgot some bolts/nuts when re-installing the boards section. I reinstalled the (rather useless) silvery cardboard and that weird metal strip that used to be there for closing the now missing part of that silvery cardboard. I could ditch the parts and save some weight but gotta keep it as complete as possible, right ?

[level42]

And so....step by step....it's going in the right direction

All black parts on the front side are covered with the Oracal, up to the lower part that holds the marquee.....


Now..........where on earth did I leave the top (and only) marquee retainer.....can't believe it, I kept ALL parts together in one crate at all time to not make this mistake again but somehow........i lost it .....I'm sure it will surface though

[Etienne MacGyver]

Its starting to come to the end !

Nice work my man 

[level42]

Thanks Etienne !

Yes getting close....biggest problem is coming up though....the monitor.

I want it to be positioned 100% correct  and that's pretty hard without the (inside) bezel/shroud. Going to be hard anyway.....I'll have to figure out how to position the supports and the monitor and the combination of both....

If anyone has a vertical monitor like used in Q*bert and could measure some sizes while the monitor is standing on a desk that would be brilliant.

[Thwocker]

Ah, forget about the monitor and just put the cab in your living room and admire it as a piece of art - it's almost too nice to play it!   

[level42]

Waha, Thanks Marco.....but it would be like a gorgeous woman without a brain