INTEREST CHECK - reproduction red Wico Spinner

mkillewald

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UPDATE #1: It now appears that a reproduction red plastic shell would not be cost effective. Perhaps 3D printing a shell is an option, but that remains to be seen. At this point, lets focus on reproducing the internals to be mechanically accurate to the orignal and base your interest on a mechanically accurate reproduction spinner. If anyone would like to remove their interest due to this, please let me know.

Update #2: I got information--new s**t has come to light. 3darcadegames has stepped up to say making a reproduction red shell is possible and he and his crew can do it. sc93cobra has offered the use of his original spinner as a master to work off of.

It has come up in a couple of threads now that someone should make reproduction red Wico spinners (Wico[emoji768] P/N 15-2045-01). Since these were only used in Mad Planets, Aztarac and Off the Wall, a question that comes up right away is how many of these spinner's could you actually sell. So, lets see a show of interest of who would be interested in buying a reproduction spinner if someone were to eventually make them and sell them at a reasonable cost. I have no ability or know-how myself to make these spinners, but if there is enough interest perhaps someone out there who is capable of making them will do so.

BTW, I realize there is not much internally to the Wico spinner and that its mainly trackball parts. If nobody steps up that is willing to make reproduction spinners, perhaps we could also use this thread as a dumping ground for ideas on how to make a spinner replacement with off the shelf parts. What encoder to use, what sensor wheel, what shaft/rollers, what to use for a weight, etc.


Interest list:
1. mkillewald 1 spinners
2. scottmaggie 1 spinner
3. GunSmoke Guy 2 spinners
4. VectorCollector 1 spinner (possibly 2 depending on price)
5. 87 t-66 1 spinner
6. resipsa 2 spinners
7. Level42 1 spinner
8. gorf73 1 spinner (from related thread http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=275218)
9. kspiff 1 spinner
10. R64 1 spinner
11. sc93cobra 2 spinners
12. flynn2000 1 spinner
13. khabbi 1 spinner
14. bagheera369 1 spinner
15. lcamayd 1 spinner
16. MIKE96 2 spinners
17. mrbill08 1 spinner
18. thebman80 1 spinner
19. Schusler 2 spinners
20. cnlmoore 1 spinner
21. Arcade1VA 2 spinners
22. KI4SWY 1 spinner
23. Mark H 1 spinner
24. kgalocy 1 spinner
25. Millertime1205 2 spinners
26. Robotronguy 1 spinner
27. p1899m 1 spinner
28. LaserRot 1 spinner
29. TonyH 1 spinner
30. bheineck 1 spinner
31. Yuyito 1 spinner

Parts list:
Spinner knob (with red translucent leaf buttons) - Arcade Adventures http://www.arcadeadventures.com/gottlieb-mad-planets-spinner-buttons/
Spinner knob and related parts - Arcade Adventures http://www.arcadeadventures.com/search.php?search_query=spinner&x=0&y=0

DIY alternatives:
DIY QuickSpin spinner (mechanically similar)- http://www.gearheadlabs.com/spinner/
DIY optical sensor - http://www.ultimarc.com/optipac4.html
HAPP optical pcb - http://na.suzohapp.com/all_catalogs/trackballs/A052-1011-00
various size shafts - http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/121/1108/=vqzd6b

Other KLOV threads of interest:
internal pics of spinner and reproduction discussion http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=275218
JROK - Qbert FPGA (includes Mad Planets) http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=282263
 
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Since someone pointed to one of my old posts.

I wonder how many would be still interested if the spinner was not in the original red case.
Trying to make an exact copy add a lot of cost to a project.
 
I'd buy one, two if it helped reach a minimum.

I'm not sure who would actually take this on though. Interest is great and all, but interest for whom to produce them?

That being said I don't see why someone with a 3d printer couldn't make most of the unit... aside from nobody with a printer actually owning one of these spinners.
 
Btw i have a mad planets and a spare controller. I am commiting to 2 pieces to help in this process.
 
I can laser scan the housing and provide the data for printing but I can see how this is going already with the typical people on here so Im gonna just let someone else handle it now. Not referring to you k
Have a great weekend gentlemen.
 
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The 'typical people' remark could also be applied to the fact that all the interest in the world doesn't mean much when folks disappear when it comes time to actually pay the piper. :/ For reference see 75-ish% of recent metal and art repro sales threads. :(
 
Well, that escalated quickly. Can we all please check our differences at the door and lets discuss this like gentlemen?

I am all for an exact reproduction red case and all, but if that is not possible due to cost then a mechanical replica that functions the same as the original would suffice IMHO.

I would think 3D printing an enclosure would be a cost effective method, but I know very little about the 3D printing process, if anything at all.
 
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