(Topic ID: 159310)

Flash Retheme Project: QUEEN!

By TopMoose

7 years ago


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  • 405 posts
  • 116 Pinsiders participating
  • Latest reply 52 days ago by legtod2
  • Topic is favorited by 105 Pinsiders

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There are 405 posts in this topic. You are on page 2 of 9.
#51 7 years ago
Quoted from TopMoose:

I hope someone can do me a favor - I'm working on designing plastic parts while I wait for my graphics and clearcoat orders to come in, but most of them were missing from my playfield.
Would any Flash owners be able to take four of the plastics, trace them on a piece of paper (including post holes), scan it at full size and email it to me? I'd need:
- the plastics on both sides of the upper lanes
- the plastic between the lower pop and the 3-bank of drops
- the larger piece on the lower right that surrounds the kick out hole.
Let me know if you can help. Thanks!

I've been sort of following this topic on and off because I am interested in re-theming/combining a couple of pins into something new. Maybe a game with 9 pop bumpers, and a swinging target, and a bagatelle in the backglass. I don't know. But anyway, then I saw your post there and I though, Poor guy, wish I had- Hey! I DO have a complete flash that I could do that with!

I'll try to scan them and get them in the email to you.

-dpinball

#52 7 years ago

Prepare the fainting couch and get ready to clutch your pearls - today I do a little spot painting.

There's a chance that my graphics won't match up with the playfield with perfect precision, so this is just to ensure that the old graphics don't show through in the gap.

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#53 7 years ago

Here's an update on the project cost so far:

Playfield: $250
Marco Order #1: $34.99
Pinball Life order #1: $20.35
Marco Order #2: $54.18
Donor game: $400
Clearcoat & hardener: $126.38*
Playfield graphics: $86.14
Clearcoating supplies: $63.79

Total: $1032.83

*I bought twice as much clearcoat as I need because a). I wanted to make sure I had enough and b). the only supplier in town that will sell it to me is hard to work with and I want to deal with them as little as possible. Now I won't have to go back to them for my next project.

#54 7 years ago

I have a firepower that someone clear coated. They did such a good job they Clear coated some of the rubbers and other parts on the play field!! Serious frown face. Normally I'm sort of concerned that if I call someone out on something, and I'm particularly disrespectful in my analysis of their work, they might be a member and see what I posted.. Anyway, in this case I'd tell them to their face! "WHENEVER you clear coat a table -- REMOVE ALL THE PARTS!!!" Geesh. They really are a lot of parallels between pinballs and cars. I see so much work done to Pinball machines that looks as though it was performed by used car salesmen who want to get product out the door quality be damned, or non existent at all!

-dpinball

#55 7 years ago

It's clearcoating day!

Just a light layer to lock everything down. Also, sandwiching the decals between layers of clearcoat will help equalize the tension, ensuring that nothing lifts up where it shouldn't.

Bulbs and inverted star switches are in place to keep things from getting gummy.

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#56 7 years ago

Once the clearcoat was dry, it was time to apply the decals - really the only part of the process that I was at all nervous about.

First, I pinned the decal to the playfield using nails in the screw holes, to get the proper allignment. Once it was set, I taped the back half down so it wouldn't move and started on the "hinge" method of decal application - you'll notice that I used black-backed vinyl to ensure that the old Flash graphics wouldn't show through.

First, I carefully peeled back the backing paper halfway and cut it off. Then, using a padded squeegee, I slowly worked from the center to the bottom of the playfield, pressing the decal into the board. Next, I peeled back the remaining backing paper and worked from the center to the top. All that was left was to peel away the protective tack paper to reveal the decal.

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#57 7 years ago

As I suspected, the placement of some of the holes was slightly off and didn't line up precisely with the inserts. I had expected that to be the case, so I had a set of clear decals made for the inserts with black borders. Not only does this allow me to add text and numbers to some of the inserts, it lets me hide the edges.

I also had to re-poke a few screw holes, but they'll all be covered by posts and playfield elements. I'll also do a little touchup after the next coat of clear.

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56
#58 7 years ago

Here's the post where I reveal my new theme and, consequently, lose half my audience.

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#59 7 years ago

Very cool!!!!

#60 7 years ago

That looks pretty good IMO.

#61 7 years ago

Hell yes!! Freddie Mercury is the man! Anything would have been an improvement over original flash art, but Queen is a great choice

#62 7 years ago

I want it all and i want it now

-Jeff

#63 7 years ago
Quoted from way2wyrd:

I want it all and i want it now
-Jeff

You and me both, Jeff. Don't Stop Me Now, because this is still months away from being a playable game.

#64 7 years ago

Wow...that looks great.

#65 7 years ago

Nice Art! Great theme.

#66 7 years ago
Quoted from TopMoose:

Here's the post where I reveal my new theme and, consequently, lose half my audience.

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? A Flash re-theme into Queen? It's become a reality! It's about time; when it's finished I can't wait to seeee....

#67 7 years ago
Quoted from chucktee:

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? A Flash re-theme into Queen? It's become a reality! It's about time; when it's finished I can't wait to seeee....

As I mentioned in my first post, I feel that this is the theme Bally never got around to in the 70's. How does the greatest rock band of all time not have a pinball machine?

In case you're curious, May, Taylor and Deacon will appear on the plastics.

ed: I feel that the proper way to make a Queen pinball machine is to do it in the late-70's style - no ramps, no boring standard fan layout, using LED displays rather than complex DMD animations. I wouldn't want Stern doing this theme nowadays because they simply don't make that kind of machine.

#68 7 years ago
Quoted from TopMoose:

Here's the post where I reveal my new theme and, consequently, lose half my audience

dude, you don't even know. Mad respect, GREAT choice of theme!

Seriously, see if this guy will do some custom callouts (I assume you're adding real samples?)

#69 7 years ago

nice work, will be following

#71 7 years ago
Quoted from toyotaboy:

dude, you don't even know. Mad respect, GREAT choice of theme!
Seriously, see if this guy will do some custom callouts (I assume you're adding real samples?)
» YouTube video

I was thinking Freddy could do the callouts himself. (but those decisions are months away).

#72 7 years ago

Hope you don't mind, couldn't help myself. Took your playfield shot and tried to line it up with the existing playfield in future pinball the best I could. I have no intention in distributing it, just wanted to see what it might look like populated.

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#73 7 years ago
Quoted from toyotaboy:

Hope you don't mind, couldn't help myself. Took your playfield shot and tried to line it up with the existing playfield in future pinball the best I could. I have no intention in distributing it, just wanted to see what it might look like populated.

Awesome! You'll notice that the upper flipper "strums" the guitar and the row of star rollovers runs up the frets. I'm thinking blue pop caps and maybe album covers on the drop targets.

I'm thrilled to see that there's so much support for this theme!

#74 7 years ago

Love the new theme! So many ways you could go with everything (art, music, modes etc.). Looks like you've got a great start there, keep it up! I'll be watching this thread, for sure.

Brad

#75 7 years ago

Flash is my Holly grail ..
and i will have to say the re-theme does look good...

13
#76 7 years ago

Already better than KISS.

[bracing for downvotes]

#77 7 years ago

Not what I was thinking but you're doing great. Looking forward to seeing it 100%.
Mike

#78 7 years ago

That looks great, would make a good pair with a Flash Gordon

#79 7 years ago

Awesome job on the re-theme, looks great so far!

Quoted from TopMoose:

How does the greatest rock band of all time not have a pinball machine?

Hasn't been confirmed yet, but I've been told that Heighway has the Queen license, and that it will be coming up after Aliens.

#80 7 years ago

Here are a few pics I took of the band in Ohio back in '75 and '80. Great job on the playfield, looks awesome. I believe Brian uses a (sixth ?) pence (English coin) as a pick, but I like the logo ones you used.

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#81 7 years ago

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#82 7 years ago

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#83 7 years ago

Well, Queen did the soundtrack for the Flash Gordon movie so there is a connection sort of. Looks great!

#84 7 years ago
Quoted from jawjaw:

Well, Queen did the soundtrack for the Flash Gordon movie so there is a connection sort of. Looks great!

I've been waiting for someone else to do it, but since they haven't.....

FLASH!!! AHH-AHHHH!!!

You're welcome.

In all seriousness, I wish there were four pop bumpers on this machine. How cool would it have been to put the Queen II/Bohemian Rhapsody top-lit shadow faces on the pops? Even better if they were clear and then got lit up.

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#85 7 years ago

Toooooo Coooooool!

#86 7 years ago

That theme and art is amazing. Love how the instruments/equipment fit the flow of the game. Did you create the PF art yourself or commission an artist, etc.?

#87 7 years ago
Quoted from Well_Fed_Games:

That theme and art is amazing. Love how the instruments/equipment fit the flow of the game. Did you create the PF art yourself or commission an artist, etc.?

Thanks! I did it myself. I'm pretty handy with Adobe Illustrator.

#88 7 years ago

Just seen this thread, the new art is sensational very well done, love how the upper flipper strums the guitar that's genius

Good luck with the rest of the retheme man look forward to seeing this progress to completion.

#89 7 years ago
Quoted from TopMoose:

Thanks! I did it myself. I'm pretty handy with Adobe Illustrator.

You certainly are! You did the theme justice for sure. Looking forward to seeing more.

#90 7 years ago

Clearcoating is done! (Whew!)

Each session was done in a hot, closed garage while wearing a respirator, goggles and a Tyvek suit. I was swimming in sweat after each application. There were some complications along the way but I think the last coat turned out pretty well. Now it will live in its cabinet, stowed under Jet Spin, to cure for six weeks. When I get back from ReplayFX it will be ready for a final sanding, polish and wax.

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#91 7 years ago

Great work! What are your plans for a backglass?

#93 7 years ago

Nice! How will you address music? Sounds in general? Didn't know if there's someway of putting your own sounds in an older game. ..there's plenty to choose from for sure but I'd suggest Dragon Attack, that would fit a pin nicely in my opinion

#94 7 years ago
Quoted from dudah:

Great work! What are your plans for a backglass?

So far, I've only given it a little thought. Images of the band for sure, maybe relocate the score displays to one side. That'll require making a new interior panel.

Quoted from Brazy:

Nice! How will you address music? Sounds in general? Didn't know if there's someway of putting your own sounds in an older game. ..there's plenty to choose from for sure but I'd suggest Dragon Attack, that would fit a pin nicely in my opinion

It will have running background music for sure. I've also started to glean callouts from YouTube audio: guitar licks, bass pops, drums, and Freddy shouting things like "HEY!" and "YEAH!". Brian May's signature guitar tone already sounds like classic Bally sounds.

But before programming and audio, the first order of business will be to get the cabinet in shape, finish and populate the playfield and make it look like a pinball machine. Like Frankenstein's monster, I'll create the body first, then give it a brain and animate it with lightning.

#95 7 years ago

Dear mods: we need an emoji for "sweaty and exhausted."

#97 7 years ago

When assembled, Flash has three light-colored side rails at the bottom of the playfield that aren't going to look great with my new design, so I've decided to cover them with black veneer. At first, I thought I'd have to cut separate veneer panels for each side of each rail (which is why the corners are painted in the photos) but soon realized that I can glue one larger sheet one side at a time to cover everything at once.

This also gives me another use for the mini clamps I bought to install side mirrors on my TOTAN. I clamped the wood to a piece of flat scrap lumber to ensure even adhesion.

Once the veneer was glued down, I just had to trim it up and re-drill the holes. It's not necessary to cover the whole right side rail, since just a few inches at the bottom are exposed. The rest is covered by the lower apron and the plastics.

If you're going to try this, learn from my initial mistakes and apply glue to the wood, rather than the veneer. And mark your hole placement first.

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#99 7 years ago

I am interested in how you will tackle the backglass.

#100 7 years ago
Quoted from SealClubber:

I am interested in how you will tackle the backglass.

One of my goals for this machine is to make it a "wedgehead multicade" that plays different games all on the same layout. For example, I could do a "hit the moving target" game like Golden Arrow or a "light numbers 1 through 10" game like Fun Land or Buccaneer. I'd also like to incorporate a game like OXO (or probably more like Bongo), but that would require a tic tac toe display and the only place for it is on the back glass, which would require making a new inside panel and then designing art around that. The backglass might be one of the last elements I tackle, after I get some important technical issues sorted out.

But for now, with the playfield resting comfortably, I'll turn my attention to the cabinet.

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