vegas12
Well-known member
No, no glossy reflection. The cardboard has sort of a sheen to it, so it matches pretty well, actually. Plus, the blacklight hides a lot of detail.
I was torn (no pun intended) over how to reattach the blue gel sheet to the lower cardboard insert. I actually screwed up initially and didn't even notice that it was supposed to be attached to the cardboard, and I attached it directly to the monitor.
(Note there actually are two types of blue overlay, ones that are molded in the shape of the tube that do go directly on the monitor, and the flat kind that attaches to the cardboard. The former type I think was used on Red Baron, and I'm not sure if it was also used with AD. I have the flat type, however.)
When I realized my error, I wasn't sure about the best way to try to stick it to the cardboard in a reasonably solid way, without doing something that might eventually dry up, come loose, and/or damage the cardboard. Any adhesive is likely to eventually do one of these things, so I didn't want to go crazy with tape, as had typically been done previously.
What I decided on in the end (which isn't my favorite solution, but it works for now), is I used adhesive-backed velcro. You can get the industrial-strength type, which has a very strong adhesive. The benefit to this is that I didn't have to use much of it. I just cut 8 very small squares (like 1/4"), that I put around the perimeter of the gel, and stuck it to the cardboard. This allows me to remove and/or replace the gel if needed, and if the adhesive does eventually dry out, it's only 8 small dots, so it's not going to ruin the bezel.
I do still feel like there's a better way, but I just haven't figured one out. I like the idea of attaching the gel to a separate cardboard frame, then somehow mechanically fastening that to the cardboard. Let us know what you end up doing.
I'm also interested to know if anyone has tips for restoring the gel. Mine is a little hazy, from being scrubbed hard by someone before me, it seems. I know new replacements are available, but I don't know how they compare to the original ones, and I kind of like the slightly aged color of the original, and would be interested to save it.
I had two AD cabs for awhile and one with the original gel and one with a new gel I bought because the original was missing. I liked the color of the new gel. I taped it on the back of the original bezel with Mylar tape - it holds the gel tight as a drum and it won't age like other tapes - pretty amazing stuff. Bought it at an art supply store...
