Robotron Cabinets

Pinball Wizard

Well-known member
Joined
Sep 20, 2010
Messages
3,084
Reaction score
407
Location
Baltimore, Maryland
There are 2 different styles of Robotron cabinets (both pictured on KLOV). I happen to have the curved style, designed to shape around like the control panel. Personally I like it better that way, but it has always made me wonder, what is the significance? Was one style earlier production, etc. Also, has anyone reproduced the curved format? My cabinets badly water damaged, it's not going to fall apart on me while playing, but it's seen many better days.
 
The curved front is the cabaret sized cabinet. The other is the full size upright.

D'oh! Now I see what you meant. Totally missed the 2 different uprights on klov. Probably something as simple as it's much easier and faster not to have to make the extra curved cuts. I do like the different art on the upright in the flyer posted below.
 
Last edited:
My guess was that the earlier ones had the cut out under the CP (since the stencils imply that cut out) and the later ones had the straight sides under the CP, possibly to give the cabinet more balance on the bottom should someone hang from the joysticks so that the cabinet wouldn't tip forward.

One pre-production cabinet photo has the cut outs under the bottom and different side art.

35000102.jpg
 
The curved style is the original Robotron design
(...as per the blue line on the side art which fit perfectly )

According to legend, the straight cabinets were Bubbles cab
(...which came after Robotron and was a far less popular game )
and many of those Bubble cabs became Robotron cabs due the extra production
 

Attachments

  • RoboCabs2s.jpg
    RoboCabs2s.jpg
    56 KB · Views: 266
I never recall seeing any curved cabs in the wild from the day it was available.
The curved style is the original Robotron design
(...as per the blue line on the side art which fit perfectly )

According to legend, the straight cabinets were Bubbles cab
(...which came after Robotron and was a far less popular game )
and many of those Bubble cabs became Robotron cabs due the extra production
 
I have seen Jousts in both styles as well.

The straight front Joust cabinets were Robotron cabinets. Both cabinets were in production at the same time and there was a lead time in getting cabinets from the manufacturer so cabinets were swapped to fill orders. There are Robotrons with the notch as well as Stargates in Robotron cabinets for the same reason.

The curved style is the original Robotron design
(...as per the blue line on the side art which fit perfectly )

According to legend, the straight cabinets were Bubbles cab
(...which came after Robotron and was a far less popular game )
and many of those Bubble cabs became Robotron cabs due the extra production

Robotron cabinets were never used for Bubbles. Robo cabs are the wide cabinets and Bubbles were the narrower cabinets. Also the production for Robotron was shut down well before Bubbles came on line.

The only jousts I have seen are slanted, do you happen to have a curved picture?

I have seen some Joust cabarets with the curved front. I don't know if they were factory or somebody hacked a Robo cabaret. The arcade flyer archive only shows upright and cocktail for Joust.

ken
 
All this talk about Robotron makes me SICK...
I want one SOOOOOO bad
Its pretty awseome to see the differnces in cabs tho, I had NO clue
THANKS
 
I always find it amazing that these guy here come up with all these interesting facts. Who knew that robotron were manufactured in other cabs. When we stumbled upon a robotron and it looks like it in the wrong cabinet. it might just be built from the manufacture that way and not some odd conversion that someone built.
 
So why the mismatch in side art? I have always called the straight front cabinets "Robotron cabs" because that's what I most commonly see. It is interesting seeing the robo stencil on a curve front and seeing how well it fits.
Maybe the side art was designed before the cabinet was changed to a straight front?
 
My Joust is in a straight cab that was factory converted from Robotron. My Moon Patrol has the cut-out contours, but is narrower than a Robotron or Joust cab. Were Bubbles put into the same cabs as Moon Patrol?

P5140634.jpg

P5170654.jpg
 
There seems to be some of overlap as far as game/cabinet matches among game manufacturers.

My Joust is the typical curve in under the control panel, and my Robotron has the typical straight down to the floor side under the control panel.

But I was curious if the Sinistar and Moon Patrol cabinets were basically the same. (I know they were both narrower than the Joust and Robotron cabinets).

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
 
There seems to be some of overlap as far as game/cabinet matches among game manufacturers.

My Joust is the typical curve in under the control panel, and my Robotron has the typical straight down to the floor side under the control panel.

But I was curious if the Sinistar and Moon Patrol cabinets were basically the same. (I know they were both narrower than the Joust and Robotron cabinets).

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.

Funny, my Sinistar was narrow like Moon Patrol but had the straight sides like Robotron:

IMAG0013_1.jpg

P1010060.jpg
 
Stargate, Joust, Joust 2 and Robotron had 24-1/2" control panels. I think MakeTrax is this same size, but I can't get to one to measure it right now.

Bubbles, Moon Patrol and Sinistar (and I think Blaster) had 22-7/8" control panels.

Because the control panels, bezels and marquees were all the same size, each of the cabinets were interchangeable within those 2 groups (except Sinistar and Joust 2). As previously mentioned, when an order came in, if they were out of a specific cabinet, they would use whatever was handy from the same size group.

That is why I have a Robotron shaped cabinet that has Stargate paint under the black and a Joust with Robotron stenciling under the Joust art.

Sinistar and Joust 2 were vertical monitors so they were oddballs and were difficult to convert.

Mixed cabinet/paint on Williams cabinets was uncommon, but hardly rare.

ken
 
Stargate, Joust, Joust 2 and Robotron had 24-1/2" control panels. I think MakeTrax is this same size, but I can't get to one to measure it right now.

Bubbles, Moon Patrol and Sinistar (and I think Blaster) had 22-7/8" control panels.

Because the control panels, bezels and marquees were all the same size, each of the cabinets were interchangeable within those 2 groups (except Sinistar and Joust 2). As previously mentioned, when an order came in, if they were out of a specific cabinet, they would use whatever was handy from the same size group.

That is why I have a Robotron shaped cabinet that has Stargate paint under the black and a Joust with Robotron stenciling under the Joust art.

Sinistar and Joust 2 were vertical monitors so they were oddballs and were difficult to convert.

Mixed cabinet/paint on Williams cabinets was uncommon, but hardly rare.

ken

I doubt anyone would bother doing it, but a custom Stargate (red, with Stargate stenciled art) in a Robotron style cabinet would look interesting.
 
Can't say I've ever seen Stargate in anything but the traditional Stargate shaped cab (maybe BITD before when I didn't know anything about that). My ex-Robotron cab is shaped like Phet's Joust. I wish it had the cutout above the control panel like his Sinistar. I'm always hitting my knuckles on the left side of that curved area while using the left joystick.
 
Can't say I've ever seen Stargate in anything but the traditional Stargate shaped cab (maybe BITD before when I didn't know anything about that). My ex-Robotron cab is shaped like Phet's Joust. I wish it had the cutout above the control panel like his Sinistar. I'm always hitting my knuckles on the left side of that curved area while using the left joystick.

Then cut it out yourself. :D

Darren Harris
Staten Island, New York.
 
Then cut it out yourself. :D

Well, then I'd need to redo the t-molding slots, etc...and I don't really want to modify the cab. It's a MAME cab right now, and the joysticks aren't in the normal place for Robotron, that's why the left one is close to the side. Don't worry, I didn't gut a Robotron...it was an already gutted cab I got at an auction that had been converted at least 3 times ;) I've tried not to do anything that can't be undone. The only holes I've drilled were in the CP (which is already swiss cheese) were for a couple small buttons.
 
Back
Top Bottom