Exidy Chiller Build

This thread will document my scratch build of an Exidy Chiller in the smaller Cheyenne-sized cabinet. I've mostly seen Chiller in the larger Crossbow cabinet, but I'm assuming the smaller Cheyenne cabinets were also used.

View attachment 738974I like that cabinet a little bit better as it's not so tall and unwieldy, so I'm gonna use it. I'm using my Cheyenne as a template. So far I've got one side panel cut, and I started working on the speaker panel and the front Panel that sits in front of the control panel.

View attachment 738975This cabinet will be built out of melamine coated particleboard and 3/4" plywood. I've already got the particleboard and plywood purchased. Currently working with Rich at this old game for the artwork package and I should be able to make most of the metal brackets myself. I will be running one of Toledo flyers multi-Exidy FPGA boards in this build.
Every time I see this black melamine coated particleboard I think wow this is the way to go when building or repairing certain cabinet panels (front kickplates and top roof panels). Then I look for it every time I'm in my Home Depot or Lowes and only see the white.

More importantly....cool project. I love Chiller and play it at FunSpot in NH every time I go.
 
Every time I see this black melamine coated particleboard I think wow this is the way to go when building or repairing certain cabinet panels (front kickplates and top roof panels). Then I look for it every time I'm in my Home Depot or Lowes and only see the white.

More importantly....cool project. I love Chiller and play it at FunSpot in NH every time I go.
Yeah, it's pretty great to have a panel with a ready finished surface, but a word of warning, it does chip easily on the edges. Usually during the process of creating the panels. Once it's on the game, you don't really have an issue, it's just the router, sander, moving the pieces around when they're not attached to something else, etc. What I like about it is once the game is built, the inside edges are already finished, and it's very easy to apply an adhesive backed vinyl to the outside surface.
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Wow I totally dropped the ball on this one, I'm sorry. I thought I was waiting on a reply from you in DMs, but I went back and I see that's not the case. If you still want it made up, I can send you pics tomorrow of the 2 "dot pitches" I narrowed it down to for you to pick and I can get it made.
Not a big deal man. I kind of forgot about it till I checked back in on my thread to update it. I'm game. Just let me know if you need more specific measurements.
 
Yea that is a perfect surface. Those cabarets came out so nice. You starting to get a Fall weather feel yet in Minnesota?
 
OK, getting back to this as I'm finally finishing up the actual Cheyenne restoration which is gonna be the basis for this build. I ordered the mirror from TAP plastics so that is in the package waiting for me. I also got the CPO and side art from Rich last year, but I never did receive the bezel or marquee. I ask him about it every couple weeks and of course I'm promised it will be up in a week or two or it's up next. Well it's been months now, in fact almost a year since I've ordered the other stuff. In the meantime, I have been piecing together and trying alternate finishes with the gun/crossbow. I did a huge parts order from bolt depot and wirebot. I had a beat up gun with mangled wiring so I ordered all new hardware and fabbed a new gun harness.

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I also tried different paint and stain treatments with the stock. I think since this will be my creation, I'm just gonna go for the cartoony horror look and paint it a metallic blue/ Purple. Now I've gotta decide if I'm gonna try to paint that orange bolt Ecto green or if I just do a metallic black on it. I just don't like the orange and I'm sure it was done for safety reasons back in the day, but I think it sucks.

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If you're following my other threads, you will also know the micro switch I have for this gun is broken. I do have one on its way from Cnlmoore, and I still might try to glue this one back together as a spare. If you try to look this part up brand new on eBay or Amazon you will pay anywhere from $50 to $350 for it. I get that it is a unique microswitch, but I wasn't planning to spend more than 10 bucks for one. Well thanks to my friend Chris, I'm getting one free, which is amazing. I still don't have the replacement yet, but that's OK because I need to get the various gun parts painted before I can assemble it anyway.

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Did you say anywhere in your 9 different Exidy threads what you're planning to do with these 2 games once they are finished up?
 
Did you say anywhere in your 9 different Exidy threads what you're planning to do with these 2 games once they are finished up?
I'm being paid to restore the crossbow so that's going back to its owner, I'm going to keep the Cheyenne as a placeholder until I've built the chiller and then I'm selling the Cheyenne. Ultimately, I will have my scratch built chiller in the basement until I finally get rid of all my games. Like I said, I need to get one of these three games down there before my boys are out of the house or otherwise what was the fucking point?
 
I'm being paid to restore the crossbow so that's going back to its owner, I'm going to keep the Cheyenne as a placeholder until I've built the chiller and then I'm selling the Cheyenne. Ultimately, I will have my scratch built chiller in the basement until I finally get rid of all my games. Like I said, I need to get one of these three games down there before my boys are out of the house or otherwise what was the fucking point?
Nice. I really want to own one of these some day, but I have a feeling it will never come to pass.
 
The microswitch arrived from Alaska last night. Thanks @cnlmoore !! Hoping to get that installed in the new gun and having it painted and assembled by the weekend.
 
Close up of the Vvivid leather texture:

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I just wanted to say after almost a year of sitting on this Vvivid leather texture versus the Moroccan that is sold at quarter Arcade I can tell you one thing. Artwork actually sticks to the Vvivid. I haven't seen any shrinkage on my cabinet nor any peeling. As far as the Moroccan, I haven't gotten one thing to stick to that yet. It also seems more textured than it needs to be. When I look at the interior vinyl on my crossbow, it looks much more like this Vvivid leather that it does the Moroccan. I'm not sure what to think about that
 
All right, two coats of rustoleum gloss navy blue covered by two coats of rustoleum metallic blue on the main stock, 2 coats of canyon black on the bow, pivot base and fore stock. I wish I had a little more patience, I was going to lightly sand the last coat and clearcoat it, but I just had to put the whole gun together to see how the orange bolt was going to look. I'll let it simmer for a while before I decide what color to paint that thing. I also cleaned up the Bowstring plastic with #000 steel wool. Oh, and all the hardware I purchased online seems to fit, as does the micro switch that Chris Moore sent me from Alaska.

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All right, two coats of rustoleum gloss navy blue covered by two coats of rustoleum metallic blue on the main stock, 2 coats of canyon black on the bow, pivot base and fore stock. I wish I had a little more patience, I was going to lightly sand the last coat and clearcoat it, but I just had to put the whole gun together to see how the orange bolt was going to look. I'll let it simmer for a while before I decide what color to paint that thing. I also cleaned up the Bowstring plastic with #000 steel wool. Oh, and all the hardware I purchased online seems to fit, as does the micro switch that Chris Moore sent me from Alaska.

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Dude, that looks sick! Yeah, I'm not loving the orange but it's not too, too bad. Maybe just red? Or maybe make it look like a vintage crossbow bolt with a silver tip, wooden shaft and red fetching?
 
Dude, that looks sick! Yeah, I'm not loving the orange but it's not too, too bad. Maybe just red? Or maybe make it look like a vintage crossbow bolt with a silver tip, wooden shaft and red fetching?
Yeah, I've got a neon green here I was thinking about trying, but that might be too much. I'm pretty sure just doing it Satin black will probably be best. It would make the thing look a little classier I guess. But I AM trying to go for a cartoony-horror look as the rest of the artwork has lots of purple and green in it. We'll see.
 
Well, since pinball wizard is not chiming in, is there anyone that is able to have this speaker grill reproduced? It's basically just a flat piece of perforated steel with one bend about an inch from one end. I've got the measurements in this thread. Or is there anybody that has a way to convert the measurements to the proper file format for send cut Send if nothing else?
 
Also, @ThisOldGame , it would be awesome if I could have some sort of an ETA on the marquee and bezel for this machine. I plan to get rolling on the assembly this weekend. I also need to open the other three pieces of artwork you sent me last year.
 
Fuck, I hope I haven't missed my window on getting this build done before this forum becomes an electronic ghost town.
 
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