Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man Pinball - 46/30/15.6 Widebody

[123fakestreet]

On the left, the original 1982 Mr. & Mrs. Pac-Man Pinball. To the right, the replica. Thank you to all cabinet builders for the inspiration, especially chriz99 and mameman!

Playfield Cabinet

The front and back corners are cut at 45 degrees, with miter splines for strength. I also used wood bracing on the inside corners under the leg brackets. The leg bracket holes were drilled at 25/64" which gave a little wiggle room to tighten fully. One problem I ran into: I cut the slots for the side rail plastic channels at 1/16" with a router and Harbor Freight slot cutter set, but after painting they weren't wide enough to hammer the rails down into, so I had to redo that. Slots for the TV were routed to 1/2" leaving only 1/4" thickness. I was worried about this in back with the weight of the backboxes so I made 2 bracing pieces to reinforce. The TV ended up being slim enough to install (fully cased) from the top, if I had realized that earlier I would not have routed the slots all the way back. Because there is a Samsung logo tab sticking out on the bottom of the TV, it sits slightly off-center to the right in the cabinet despite the routing, it is only about 1/8" off though. The remote works fine (needed for switching to 3D) as the sensor is on the bottom right of the TV so ends up near the buttons on the left side. 3D does work, check out the thread by toxie for more info. Because the Samsung UN46ES7100 is active shutter, you need two pairs of glasses turned sideways for it to work and not see black bars. This does make it hard to see the backglass and DMD, and the resolution is cut in half to achieve 3D. I don't turn on the 3D very often but it's nice to have, I did angle the TV downward anyway so it gives some illusion of depth though 2D.

3/4" Birch Plywood
Kreg 1-1/4" Course Pocket Screws (every 6 inches, 2 inches from edges, with wood glue)
46" Samsung UN46ES7100
Widebody Lockdown bar
Williams/Bally Lockdown Bar Lever Guide Assembly
BLACK KNIGHT (Williams) Side rails pair
Spiral nail .15" dia. x 3/4"
Screw 6-32 x 5/8" hex
4X Pin Cushion Cabinet Protectors
4X Williams/Bally New Style Leg Bracket
4X Heavy Duty Leg Leveler With Nut
4X Leg Leveler Rubber Castors
4X Bally Gray Legs
2X Williams/Bally WPC/WPC95 Playfield Glass Side Rail Plastic Channel
Williams/Bally WIDEBODY Playfield Glass Rear Plastic Channel
Grill - speaker 7" x 7"
Vent grill - metal 2-1/2" x 19" (cut to size)
3/16" Smoked Plexiglass
1-1/8" Double-Bitted Lock
Lock Plate
Piano Hinge


Upper Backbox (A bit taller and wider to fit screen)

Also routed to 1/2" to recess the decased screen as much as possible. Routing on all sides presented a problem, how to get the TV in there? I ended up leaving the right side unglued so it is removable, the hole in the bottom is large enough to get a screwdriver in there and tighten with pocket screws. The top trim piece is not glued in as it would cover the screw holes holding things together.

3/4" Birch Plywood
1/4" MDF (Backglass retainers)
Kreg 1-1/4" Course Pocket Screws (every 6 inches, 2 inches from edges, with wood glue)
(all plastic/metal trim was cut to size with a Dremel Fiberglass Cut-Off Wheel)
30" NEC LCD3000 (originally Dell W3000 but it would not turn on reliably, a common issue I have read online)
Trim backglass 3/16" side plastic set-3
Bally Stainless Lift Trim
3/16" Smoked Plexiglass


Lower Backbox (A bit taller and wider to fit screen)

For now, I am using the HannsG instead of a real DMD. (I wanted to use custom color settings and not have the intense reflection on the playfield glass) It is routed about 1/2" and wedged in there tightly. I had to make the box taller, which I justified by having the combined height of the backboxes be the same as a Williams widebody. Theare are 2 pieces of plexiglass with a paper bezel inbetween.

3/4" Birch Plywood
1/2" MDF (Backglass retainers)
Kreg 1-1/4" Course Pocket Screws (every 6 inches, 2 inches from edges, with wood glue)
(all plastic/metal trim was cut to size with a Dremel Fiberglass Cut-Off Wheel)
15.6" HannsG HK162
Trim backglass 3/16" side plastic set-3
Bally Stainless Lift Trim
1/8" Smoked Plexiglass, 1/16" Smoked Plexiglass


Stencils

Ideally a spray gun is the way to go with stencils, but I like the control of using a foam roller, although it requires a lot of touch up. 2 coats of latex Kilz2 primer, and then latex Glidden Satin Interior, 3 coats blue (Rhapsody), 5 coats yellow (Sunny Side Up), 5 coats pink (Passion Flower) The black was done with 2 coats Zinnser BIN primer (spray can) and 2-3 coats Rustoleum Satin Black (spray can). One thing I re-learned about spray paint, if you're going to do more than one coat, don't space them out too long, I did a second coat of black the next day and it puckered, had to redo it. Another coat should be applied within an hour.


Bally Coin door/Cash box

I took the coin door completely apart and used a wet sanding sponge (up and down for uniform grain) to buff out scratches, it worked great, used the same on the trim. For the coin insert panel/coin mechs and chutes I used steel wool. I wired the lights in series to the PC, using an extra molex to SATA adaptor to splice the wires. #161 bulbs are the correct voltage. I put the shooter rod/knob in the drill and spun it in steel wool, shined it all up, did the same for the coin return button. You can use steel wool on the cash box, but it takes off the zinc coating, leaving it clean and shiny but different than the original.

Bally Coin Door & Trim
Bally Cash Box
Bally Sticker
3X Bally price plates
Carriage bolt set
7/8" Coin Door Lock - Single Bitted
#161 Eiki Bulbs


Sound

The integrated sound on this motherboard is from Realtek, nothing special but you can route seperate audio streams to front and back outputs, which is now a feature in visual Pinball. (Doesn't work in Future Pinball, sound only comes from the primary backbox speakers) I have the Logitech Z506 5.1 speakers on the back outputs, and the Logitech S220 2.1 speakers on the front headphone jack. So backbox rom sound is separated from cabinet mechanical sounds. I am missing authentic force feedback, but I can control the volume of the whole cabinet. I copied the small bottom vent holes in the original cabinet, and the speakers are placed nearby. In the lower backbox, the speakers are facing toward the bottom hole that overhangs the playfield. I like that the speakers aren't right in my face, and without a speaker panel all 3 screens are blank when turned off.

Logitech Z506
Logitech S220


PC

The playfield cabinet is not as tall as a Williams widebody, so I could not fit a shelf for the PC above where the legs attach. Because of this I just kept the PC in its case, which could technically be pulled out the back if needed, a tight sqeeze though.

Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1
Intel DP55KG Motherboard
Intel Core i7-860 2.80GHz
Kingston 4GB DDR3 1333
Samsung SSD 830 Series 128GB
Antec Sonata Designer 500 Case
2X Galaxy GeForce GTS 250 1GB
2X Nexus 92mm Real Silent Case Fan
750W Antec Earthwatts Power Supply
Smart Strip LCG3 Surge Protector
Logitech mk260 wireless Keyboard & Mouse
(these work OK but sometimes lag)


Buttons

Coin return button=cabinet on
The PC momentary switch is in the first coin mech, I just cut off the square top of the switch so it works. Not all coin mechs fit this method, I had to use a metal one from a Ms. Pac-Man. The PC is plugged into the Control Outlet on the Smart Strip and automatically switches everything else on.
Coin door start button=Start (also I-PAC2 shift button)
L Flipper Front (shifted=L Nudge)
R Flipper Front (shifted=R Nudge)
L Flipper Back=secondary L flipper/magna save/buy-in (shifted=Insert Coin)
R Flipper Back=secondary R flipper/magna save (shifted=Exit)
I didn't put in any analog nudging, maybe if I improve at pinball I will, because the above shift settings are not very functional.
Shooter (shifted=Fwd Nudge, Genre in Hyperpin)
The shooter hits a microswitch wired backwards as NC (Normally Closed)
I used Speedbor bits for the button holes, 5/8 & 1-1/8.

I-PAC2
4X NOS 1-1/8 short Leaf Switch Buttons
4X PAL nut 5/8"
4X VPCLeaf Switch (works well with I-PAC2 low current)
Switch - miniature drop bar target
Bally Shooter


Ventilation

I replicated the original backbox vents, which I wouldn't recommend as most projects have large strong fans. I routed out a long air intake under the cab for the PC, and there's also the speaker hole, which was done with a router using a makeshift jig. I ran a 92mm case fan up into the bottom hole of the lower backbox, and another for the upper backbox, so it has upward airflow. I didn't notice excessive heat in the lower cabinet, the upper backbox (NEC LCD3000) gets hotter though. I covered the routed area in the upper backbox with thermal aluminum tape. I was still a bit concerned about airflow so in the end left the back slightly unhinged and have a small desk fan route air out the back.

[scottpe]

Awesome job! Nice clean woodworking. Your cabinet is built like a tank.