HEP MEDUSA Restore Finished 10-29

Heads are tough. The top and framing make for a good bit of extra work over the newer style cabinets.

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#6 7 years ago

HEP

High_End_Pins

Quoted from aveamike:
Did you make the cab or buy it?

I guess it is something in the middle. I have an in house cabinet builder. This insures everything is built exactly to spec for each project.

#7 7 years ago

HEP

High_End_Pins

Taped and ready to prime.

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#8 7 years ago

HEP

High_End_Pins

No spray cans were harmed during the process.
SATA guns for the professional painter

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#9 7 years ago

SRC

Stormtrooper

Inactive member

Toronto, ON

7y 28,400 36 8 6

Looks like its gonna be a great thread. Can you share what the differences you made in the floor and what type of woods were used ?

#10 7 years ago

HEP

High_End_Pins

Cabinet is primed .
Next will be guide coat .

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#11 7 years ago

HEP

High_End_Pins

Guide coat to insure a straight surface .
An example of why is here.
Even though we are dealing with brand new wood there are minor storage or handling scratches or depressions that can't be seen or felt.
There are also minor construction spots to correct but a well built screwed and gluedo cabinet is worth the extra steps.

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#12 7 years ago

TMC

extraballingtmc

Pinside+ Frequent

Maple Ridge, BC

12y 131K 4,332 22 107 1

Medusa is such an awesome pin with amazing art. This will be exciting to watch.

#13 7 years ago

HEP

High_End_Pins

Guide coat is applied and will show its use/worth during the sanding process.

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#14 7 years ago

YCV

Arcane

Pinside member

7y 54,550 889 6

Gorgeous work as usual. I can see Pimball Pimp stencils looming in the horizon....

Yves

#15 7 years ago

COS

cosmokramer

Pinside member

11y 120K 8,451

closely following

#16 7 years ago

GSO

GSones

Pinside+ Frequent

11y 68,400 882

Good to see more classic Bally's getting the HEP treatment. These are my favorite posts to watch.

#17 7 years ago

JIM

Captive_Ball

Pinside+ Frequent

Cypress, TX

11y 128K 7,186 17 86

I never knew a primed Bally cabinet could look so good....only up from here

#18 7 years ago

KEN

radium

Pinside+ Frequent

Covington, LA

10y 93,550 4,153 12 2

Looks great.

What's with that primer color?

#19 7 years ago

QRK

Deez

Pinside+ Frequent

12y 139K 6,777 13

Man this game is going to look so flipping sweet!

#20 7 years ago

HEP

High_End_Pins

http://www.langelius.com/

Playfield is going to be slowly torn down restoring as I go so reassembling is quicker and better planned.
I would say the two beast mechs are the upper drop target bank and the zipper flipper assembly. Beyond that there is just a lot of extra standard stuff like 4 jet bumpers,4 sling style mechs,a lot of star insert rollovers and switch gates.

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#21 7 years ago

JIM

Captive_Ball

Pinside+ Frequent

Cypress, TX

11y 128K 7,186 17 86

Any chance these translucent targets will be installed behind the drops in the upper portion?

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#22 7 years ago

GSO

GSones

Pinside+ Frequent

11y 68,400 882

That has got to be one of the most jam-packed playfields ever. It must weigh a ton. Bally was really throwing everything (including the kitchen sink) into their designs at that point.

#23 7 years ago

YCV

Arcane

Pinside member

7y 54,550 889 6

It is a good thing that you take tons of pictures. These zipper Flippers can be a headache to put back together..... Don't ask me how I know that.

Yves

#24 7 years ago

HEP

High_End_Pins

Making a test panel for the cabinet.I am *toying* with the idea of making the cabinet look like it is made of slate/stone.
It is a process that is tough to pull off to a 100 percent accuracy so it will be more of an implied look.That implying or simplistic suggestions are what I really like about this era game how they would take one or two colors and do so much.
Anyway here is the example for the base color.
Paint straight med gray.
Then mist over thin silver.
Then distress with plastic wrap.
Repeat until the desired effect is done.

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#25 7 years ago

YCV

Arcane

Pinside member

7y 54,550 889 6

Nice rendering. It is 'stonning' for sure.

Yves

#26 7 years ago

SDH

iron00monkey

Inactive member

Meridian, ID

10y 49,150 868 1 23

Sweet

#27 7 years ago

HEP

High_End_Pins

I think if I go this route I would do the stencil in a way that makes them look like they are etched in the stone.
My thought is to tie the cabinet into the framing/perimeter of the backglass art which looks to be stone so it flows from the outside in.
Opinions are welcome. Here is a test sample of the stencil style but I may go in there and make it look a little subtle.

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#28 7 years ago

BAM

bam10

Pinside member

10y 46,800 513 27

Thanks for posting, I really enjoy reading about your thought process on something like this. Have you ever used house of color's marblizer?

#29 7 years ago

HEP

High_End_Pins

Cabinet is being sanded using the guide coat as a tool to true the surface.

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#30 7 years ago

HEP

High_End_Pins

Same for the head.
Cabinet is prepped and ready for the base color.
Stone or burgundy?Having a tough time deciding.
Probably because stone will take a good bit more effort and is an unknown compared to following the traditional path and just focusing on qualitty.

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#31 7 years ago

HEP

High_End_Pins

Quoted from bam10:
Thanks for posting, I really enjoy reading about your thought process on something like this. Have you ever used house of color's marblizer?

Thanks. I have not. I do most things through technique but will check it out.

#32 7 years ago

JCD

dmbjunky

Pinside member

I really like the red cab but this will be interesting for sure. It's hard for me to imagine until you've done it. Maybe the marbling should be a little lighter.

#33 7 years ago

HEP

High_End_Pins

Quoted from dmbjunky:
I really like the red cab but this will be interesting for sure. It's hard for me to imagine until you've done it. Maybe the marbling should be a little lighter.

Yes. The red gold is great and works well. My thought on getting away from it on this one is more about the rails and door.
Stainless works great with the potential stone and it makes sense theme wise .
The red gold fits everywhere but makes the rails and door more problematic from a match perspective.

#34 7 years ago

JCD

dmbjunky

Pinside member

OP
Quoted from High_End_Pins:
Yes. The red gold is great and works well. My thought on getting away from it on this one is more about the rails and door.
Stainless works great with the potential stone and it makes sense theme wise .
The red gold fits everywhere but makes the rails and door more problematic from a match perspective.

Maybe go a little lighter like this pic. The backglass also seems to have a blue tint to it. Maybe the shapes could be more like you're original color so it's similar to etchings in the stone on the backglass.

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#35 7 years ago

HEP

High_End_Pins

Yes I think a lighter shade of gray with other color highlights would be cool.More in tune with the plastics perhaps?
If I go this directionI want to stay more towards the subtle stone side and less marble though because I have been studying pics and statues from the era and they are more stone than marble Almost headstone like.

#36 7 years ago

ACK

c508

Pinside member

I have a Medusa I am going to restore... I would really like a new high quality cabinet for it!

Would your cabinet maker be interested in building another and shipping bare cabinet to me?

I think I can do the painting myself. I am thinking "royal purple" in place of original red with "gold flake" for the yellow/gold stencils. Then a gold coin door and ordering metallic purple legs and armor from HemiOrange.

Stone idea is awesome (kind of obvious in retrospect, so I am amazed no one else has done it)!

I wonder how much more the resto would cost if you got a sculptor and stone mason to help you build a solid marble cabinet?

#37 7 years ago

ACK

c508

Pinside member

OP
Quoted from High_End_Pins:
If I go this directionI want to stay more towards the subtle stone side and less marble though because I have been studying pics and statues from the era and they are more stone than marble Almost headstone like.

Lots of ancient buildings originally had ornamental marble facades which have been pillaged for museums, other buildings, etc. over the millennia. So, some of what you are seeing may be the underlying (though still decorative) stone foundation work?

Additionally, there are some crazy marble colors out there not just greys and whites (though they and tan or rose are mostly what you see in modern architecture).

Anyway, I'm already impressed with your ideas and attention to detail! Can't wait to see this one when it is done (and am looking forward to following your progress along the way)!

#38 7 years ago

JCD

dmbjunky

Pinside member

Here are some limestone samples. That might be close to the stone you're looking for.

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#39 7 years ago

ACK

c508

Pinside member

OP
Quoted from High_End_Pins:
I think if I go this route I would do the stencil in a way that makes them look like they are etched in the stone.

What about hiring someone to lightly etch or chisel the stencil patters into the wood (which looks thick and quality enough to take it)? Then you could paint the grooves like it's real engraved stone?

I realize that would add to the cost, but ignoring that for a second (as well as it probably being easier to do before the cabinet was assembled), what do you think of the idea?

#40 7 years ago

JCD

dmbjunky

Pinside member

That Carmague limestone is almost like a Gottlieb splatter. I think getting the shapes to look like etchings will go a long way to making the cab look like stone.

#41 7 years ago

HEP

High_End_Pins

I have thought it over and decided everyone probably has a burgundy Medusa so why not turn it to stone?
The initial test panel was more experimentation but I have settled in a direction and like most custom paint work it will evolve more on the actual cabinet than anywhere else.
It is going to be more via suggestion than overly detailed by design because I do not want to turn it into an individual art piece.Just looking to do something different without overdoing it but we will see how it evolves.The goal is a involved base color and the single stencil.
Starts today.

#42 7 years ago

HEP

High_End_Pins

Quoted from c508:
I have a Medusa I am going to restore... I would really like a new high quality cabinet for it!
Would your cabinet maker be interested in building another and shipping bare cabinet to me?
I think I can do the painting myself. I am thinking "royal purple" in place of original red with "gold flake" for the yellow/gold stencils. Then a gold coin door and ordering metallic purple legs and armor from HemiOrange.
Stone idea is awesome (kind of obvious in retrospect, so I am amazed no one else has done it)!
I wonder how much more the resto would cost if you got a sculptor and stone mason to help you build a solid marble cabinet?

I think there was someone on here saying they were going to be making Medusa cabinets.V pin or something like that .I glance but don't always follow too well.
My cabinet builder is on my OCD level,has had a couple heart attacks ,over 60 ,builds by hand,will go through an entire stack of wood to find just one worthy piece,makes a template or tool for each and every hole,and moves very slowly.
Just setting the stage there :-)The work is incredible but barely fast enough to keep pace with my needs so I could not spare him at all.

#43 7 years ago

JCD

dmbjunky

Pinside member

OP
Quoted from High_End_Pins:
I have thought it over and decided everyone probably has a burgundy Medusa so why not turn it to stone?

I am definitely looking forward to seeing how it turns out. Thanks for letting us tag along.

#44 7 years ago

PAV

PavBall

Pinside member

Lake Charles, LA

9y 75,300 460 79

I am so excited to see this I barely have words!! TigerLaw and I are going to have this wonderful game standing alone in our front room and I'm going to do a Greek mural behind it. It will be fantastic!! Thank you so much Christopher!!

#45 7 years ago

HEP

High_End_Pins

Quoted from PavBall:
I am so excited to see this I barely have words!! TigerLaw and I are going to have this wonderful game standing alone in our front room and I'm going to do a Greek mural behind it. It will be fantastic!! Thank you so much Christopher!!

Happy to do it.It is always better when people are excited about thier projects and give a little leeway for some creativity. Thank you!

#46 7 years ago

HEP

High_End_Pins

Ok
I studied stone and came up with this.
It is lighter and has a purple pearl cast so it will jive with the other art on the game not just look like a rock.
Dirty example from my yard. More trying to match texture and grain than actual color.

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#47 7 years ago

JCD

dmbjunky

Pinside member

Are making that texture with plastic wrap or cloth?

#48 7 years ago

KEN

radium

Pinside+ Frequent

Covington, LA

10y 93,550 4,153 12 2

I've been silently following the stone idea. Not to be a downer but I'm skeptical so far. Challenge will be getting an effect subtle enough to not look like cheap a vinyl flooring pattern, but still have an effect.

I knew a girl that was a set designer, and they used a set of screens to screen print marble striations in various shades of gray to get a stone look. No idea how feasible that is but it sure did look like stone.

#49 7 years ago

RVH

Pinside member

Minneapolis, MN

9y 85,050 1,372 5

Looking at the original cabnet art with the red and yellow I'm thinking that a f'n sweet deep red with gold like gold leaf for the yellow could be amazing.
Also if you did matte clear on the red and gloss on the gold.
Might be very nice I think.
Gettin creative with the red and gold could be icing on the cake.
Edited after 15 min.

#50 7 years ago

ACK

c508

Pinside member