Pole Position cockpit artwork project complete!

[TheShanMan]

Thanks for the compliments guys!

Wow, Shanman, that is a thing of beauty! Amazing job, it looks fantastic. The baby blue t-molding really makes it pop... Now I want to replace mine with the blue. How much t-molding does that cab take?

I can't take credit for the t-molding idea. That belongs to phet! 80 feet (4 20' rolls) is what it takes to completely cover this baby!

my machine looks like a dark orange almost red. it is the same color as the triangle that is below the car on the front piece.

There's an orange and a red. It sounds like you're suggesting there is also an orange-red rather than being the same color as other orange or red objects. From pictures I have, including scanned pics from BITD, the piece you're talking about on the front half looks distinctly red. The piece you and phet are both talking about on the back half look inconclusive on every single photo I have. I'd love to get a very detailed, properly lit pic that shows at least one "known red" object, at least one "known orange" object, and the "inconclusive" object. That would really help convince me to make a change, and that would apply to any other object someone wants to question that isn't obviously wrong. I tried really hard to get every single object right so hopefully that list of objects is extremely short.

Rather than getting too bogged down in minutia in this thread, how about any corrections someone wants to raise be taken offline to PM discussions rather than any more posts about it in this thread. OK?

 

[ThisOldGame]

Rather than getting too bogged down in minutia in this thread, how about any corrections someone wants to raise be taken offline to PM discussions rather than any more posts about it in this thread. OK?

Agreed but...
something of importance when making ANY comparions especially Atari
who was known for doing MANY revisions these 2 pics are the orginals previously posted
and not Jeffs so you can not just take 1 and claim the other is worng without examining all the pieces of the puzzle.
where one may be orange on one, dosnt mean they are all orange or red
but hear are a few other details to show that even though they're both origianls
they are still NOT identical. So at some point there was a revision to the art and who knows who many revisions were made in all

also Jeff left out another fun fact it took about 8 hours to install all 5 pieces.

 

[Ghostnuke]

also Jeff left out another fact it took about 8 hours to install all 5 pieces.

How many beers though?

This is awesome though in all seriousness.

 

[Phetishboy]

Agreed but...
something of importance when making ANY comparions especially Atari
who was known for doing MANY revisions these 2 pics are the orginals previously posted
and not Jeffs so you can not just take 1 and claim the other is worng without examining all the pieces of the puzzle.
where one may be orange on one, dosnt mean they are all orange or red
but hear are a few other details to show that even though they're both origianls
they are still NOT identical. So at some point there was a revision to the art and who knows who many revisions were made in all

I looked at mine in the light last night and am convinced that there are only 2 oranges. Light orange and red-orange. Jeff actually got it right on those shapes I mentioned, they should be red-orange and they are. Camera flash seems to screw with the reds and oranges. So I recant my earlier statement. It seems that Jeff was right all along. I don't even want to ask how much a set of this will cost.

 

[TheShanMan]

How many beers though?

This is awesome though in all seriousness.

Ha ha! I don't drink beer but offered him drinks and food. He kept telling me he was fine (he sipped on a coffee all day) so I didn't want to be rude and eat in front of him. That meant I went basically the whole day without eating, and I normally eat every 3 hours almost religiously. Small price to pay to have the one and only Rich at your house installing side art!

And thanks Rich for jumping in. I don't want to go too crazy changing colors unless something is demonstrably wrong. Anyone can feel free to PM me if they want to discuss corrections though!

 

[Scramble1981]

Awesome game! Played it several times at the show. It was a thing of beauty sitting there.
I appreciated the crystal clear picture too.
Thanks for bringing it.

 

[joeycuda]

So, is this going to be offered by ThisOldGame? Inquiring minds want to know.

 

[TheShanMan]

I'm not sure if he's going to officially list it on his site or not since I think he prefers to list his own work there. I think he might not want to take the heat for any screw ups someone might find in my work. But one way or another yes, I'm sure he will be glad to print this for anyone that needs it, which is the biggest reason for this thread (otherwise I'd have just posted in the restoration forum). I don't know what he plans to charge though. And if anyone wants to scrutinize the results before buying, feel free to PM me and I'll hook you up with some high res photos.

 

[ThisOldGame]

So, is this going to be offered by ThisOldGame? Inquiring minds want to know.

Im not sure what the overall plan is.
Jeff and I did put ALOT of work into this art and I will certainly print it for anyone who wants it to resotore their game. (pricing would be around the $200-$225 mark at least
its 5 pieces and dont really yeild the material width that great.
Im just not sure of having it on the website as a regular item that we didnt orginally create or can 100% confirm every and all details on it.
though as soon as I get some time and more pics together Ill do a tutorial on the Mr Dos and Donts of applying this art

 

[joeycuda]

Im not sure what the overall plan is.
Jeff and I did put ALOT of work into this art and I will certainly print it for anyone who wants it to resotore their game. (pricing would be around the $200-$225 mark at least
its 5 pieces and dont really yeild the material width that great.
Im just not sure of having it on the website as a regular item that we didnt orginally create or can 100% confirm every and all details on it.

That totally makes sense. Thanks for the info. I have no need for it right now, but may be interested. I would like to find a cockpit PP one day, as it was probably my favorite 2600 cart.

 

[TheShanMan]

If you like pole position you will LOVE the cockpit. Good luck on your quest. I hope you find a cheap project which will make the cost of this artwork practical.

 

[djw90]

Jeff, Thanks for bringing it to the Show!! You and Rich did a great job with the art package. Enjoyed playing the sit down version of a true classic!!

 

[DP Louie]

If you like pole position you will LOVE the cockpit.

I completely agree - I always thought PP was just "okay" (I had only played it on upright cabs). Now that I have the cockpit it has become one of my favorite games.

 

[ThisOldGame]

just posted something up on the art install for those interrsted in more of the behind the scenes
http://www.coinopspace.com/profiles/blogs/the-art-dr-makes-a-house-call

 

[joeycuda]

just posted something up on the art install for those interrsted in more of the behind the scenes
http://www.coinopspace.com/profiles/blogs/the-art-dr-makes-a-house-call

That's neat to see, thanks for posting it up.

I have a question that seems relevant to what you did. For prepping the particle board cabinets for vinyl, you stress clear or primer first. I plan on redoing my first sideart job - Centipede. I now realize that I didn't sand the sides enough before applying it, and while it 'seemed' smooth, it wasn't smooth enough. Also, I got bubbles and wrinkles where it didn't stick, I think due to adhesion issues. My thinking was the original vinyl was on bare particle board, but now I realize it was just a different beast - probably heat applied, or a different adhesive altogether.

Should we use oil-based clear/varnish? Or Kilz primer? Or RustOleum spray primer? I'll do one of those, then sand it slick, just not sure what is best.

TIA...

 

[TheShanMan]

Kilz primer is perfect. The reason in the pics you see some bare wood is because after primering I sanded to get rid of orange peel, but as I was doing that the primer made it obvious that the wood wasn't as smooth as I thought it was. The primer helped reveal these spots. But then after applying the vinyl it was clear that I still missed some spots. POINT BEING ANYTHING THAT'S NOT COMPLETELY SMOOTH WILL SHOW THROUGH THE VINYL! Don't fool yourself into thinking the vinyl will hide flaws. If anything it will magnify them.

Also keep in mind that being able to see bare wood meant we HAD to use the dry method so if I had wanted to do it wet I would have had to do another coat of primer.

As for the bubbles you mention, that might have been dust. Before applying each piece Rich went over the surface with Naptha to remove any dust. Even then there was a little we didn't catch. DUST WILL SHOW THROUGH THE VINYL. But if you've truly got an air bubble and not a dust particle, then you can just pop it with a fine tip needle (like a small sewing needle).

You really need to work any bubbles or wrinkles out as you go. Vinyl will stretch so it can get worked out but once it's all the way down what you can do is more limited.

In a couple of the pics you can see Rich holding a blue squeegee with sort of a thin cloth/paper wrap. That's the key to applying the artwork and working out any bubbles or wrinkles as you go.

It just occurred to me that a video might have been helpful. The PAC group might do an art installation day one of these days and if we do, I'll try to remember to video Rich at work.

Hope this helps.

 

[joeycuda]

Very helpful and I think I get it. I did wipe with Naptha, but I just didn't do it in a 'clean' enough environment, and I did not seal or clearcoat the particleboard. The places I bondo'd - I hand sanded. I just didn't do enough.. I should have ran a DA sander over the whole thing, down to 400 grit.

There's a spot near the bottom that had a tiny bit of roughness from moisture. If I sand the entire cabinet, seal/primer, sand/primer/sand - I think it will turn out great.

This Centipede, the 3rd one I've fixed up (sold the 2 previous) just turned into such a pain that I'd like to see it finished. I really got burned out with this project, also had a wiring problem that was a headache.

Thanks...

 

[TheShanMan]

I think I only sanded with 120 and then 200 (mostly with a belt sander) and I have no regrets about not going finer. It may be necessary for paint finish but IMO it's not necessary for vinyl prep.

 

[andykmv]

i love the blue tmolding too - just curious about the gap in the sides where the front/back join - does the tmold run over the gap, stop at the gap or ? (i dont have one, davefjedi on AA has one)

 

[TheShanMan]

Slides right through to the bottom. It wasn't too tough using a putty knife to help it along (and to press it in), and a pair of needle nose pliers also helped to pull it through initially until I could grab the end with my fingers.