In 2014 as I was restoring my first pin - a project Space Shuttle - I came up with an idea to dress up the plain blank fabric speaker panel used on most mid-80's Williams games, and give it an updated look more in common with the rest of System 11. I basically drew some art that tied into the theme and then had it laser-cut from 18ga. stainless steel to match the other game trim:

ShuttlePanel (resized).jpg

I sold a few of those in 2015, limited to the material stock I had to buy and the number of panels it fit in addition to mine.

So now I've got a Pinbot which uses the same plain OEM speaker panel. Coming up with art is more of a challenge, since the character himself seems to "rise" out of it: what would the rest of him look like down there? Python dropped a few clues, and the first is right there on the Pinbot playfield in his rocket base and "feet":

RocketBase (resized).jpg

Interestingly, Python simplifies this for Pinbot's cameo on the Taxi pf...

PB_Taxi (resized).jpg

...and later still, in Bride of Pinbot, we have a pantsless PinBot jonesing to "plug in" to his other half:

PB_BOPmini (resized).jpg

So with that source material in mind, I roughed out a few concepts this afternoon.

First, the "1986 Playfield base":

PB_panel_skirt (resized).png

Second, the "Taxi Cameo" base:

Pinbot_panel_skirt2 (resized).png

Finally, the "Pantsless" base. This was a challenge to try and scale properly without leaving too much empty space; I put some simple quasar shapes in the background as you can see:

PB_panel_plug (resized).png

All are still rough concepts: before any can be cut, I need to properly design the stenciling marks and such, tidy up a few perspective lines and other details, etc. But hopefully you get the idea.

I was shocked at how much the stock and cutting cost for the Space Shuttle panels, so I had to sell those at about $140 to make it worth my time, let alone eke a small profit. So ~$150 is the ballpark figure for now.

So with that said... any takers for these? Please note I am NOT taking orders or making any promises yet... just gauging interest for how much additional effort I should put into any of them. If there's a market for folks other than myself I'll proceed accordingly. So I welcome your feedback, and if you have a preference please answer the poll. Thanks!

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EDIT: Came up with a better 4th revision, see the post below, here:
https://pinside.com/pinball/forum/topic/pinbot-stainless-steel-speaker-panel-concepts-interest#post-3586401

Probably shouldn't have posted this during mega sportsball holiday bump

Not really, as Space Station's score displays would be obscured. The only games these panels make sense for are Space Shuttle, PinBot, and other mid-80's Williams games that have nothing in that location except speakers.

Bump for the evening crowd....

The Taxi version seems to be the clear favorite. Funny since that was the last one I made...

I agree it doesn't seem as well-integrated thematically, but it's a start. Part of the problem is that "text" works very well, but what would you say for Pin-Bot? The PinBot logotype is classic, but having that on the panel would simply be redundant. For Space Shuttle the NASA logo was too obvious but it's different and really helps sell the theme. Pin-Bot is far more abstract, and Python's art is untouchable in conveying the image. So it is a challenge.

But this post was productive because as it happens, #2 was my personal favorite and seems to be the consensus so far. So I'll try to refine and see what comes out of it.

I actually had another idea because there is so much black in the bg art: maybe having a "negative" panel with more open space would be better. Reveal more of the original black speaker panel to integrate to the bg art above.... give the stainless elements more dynamic contrast and life versus simple line art...

I'd really love to find a way to get these down to about $100 or so. That would be a much more reasonable deal IMO.

Cleaned up the details on the "Taxi" variant and not only that, but oh yeah, black was DEFINITELY the way to go. I like this one! What say the rest of you?

PB_panel_skirt2_black (resized).png

The option I posted above would easily allow a colored insert for each "W" and its surrounding ring. Probably one blue and one red, naturally

They wouldn't be lit unless an individual owner wants to pursue the more extensive panel modification (moving speakers, drilling holes, mounting bulbs, etc) to allow that. But even unlit, it would look really cool!

PB_panel_skirt2_color (resized).png

You mean the slots in the base? See my comments about modifying the panel... probably not something for everyone but dang, I like how you think... imagining that animated by tying to the same flashers in the backbox, wow that would look awesome.

And kind of like a Simon

PB_panel_color (resized).png

I'm soliciting quotes for cutting from local fab shops. The first one back was not encouraging for lowering the price below that ~$150 threshold, but there may have been a misunderstanding re: quantity breaks. Typically the cost is in setup and machine time, so making one panel is relatively expensive... but it's only a few minutes to run additional panels to use up the stock sheet so the per-unit cost can drop significantly. At least that's how it was when I ran the SS ones a couple years ago.

So hopefully that will be clarified, and/or the other shop quotes will be more favorable.

Get a couple more local quotes and.... they're not in any way more favorable. So that ~$140 - 150 still appears to be where I'll have to be at resale. Sigh! At least I tried! Even at that price I'd have to sell a bunch to get another Sys11-level pin, so it's not like I'm making a killing.

In fact, to my own interests I might be slightly better off going with the distant shop I used last time, owing to connections and goodwill... but it would be on their timetable which is not necessarily "quick". But I already know the work is proven and quality.

In any case, the best pricing comes with quantity breakouts of about 10-12 pieces. So I would need that much confirmed interest to pursue a batch order. But the up-font cost is more than I can afford to swallow so this would have to follow a deposit model. That is how I got the NASA panels done in 2015, and there's a dozen satisfied Pinsiders who can vouch for me. In fact one of those machines just cane up for sale and nabbed a really nice premium, I'm proud to say

I'm not saying it's officially time to place orders yet. But I *AM* asking that if you have a Fry-like, "shut up and take my money" level of interest in these, let me know so that I can properly gauge if this is worth pursuing to that level.

I realize having the finished product to show would help, and I'm working on that. Ironically there was one shop that quoted a palatable price for a one-off, whereas most wanted over $200 (and in one case over $300!) for one-offs. Machine shops are busy places! Which is a good thing

Just got a photo from a machine shop:

PinbotPanelSample (resized).jpg

The scorching on the edges looks like normal char on the PVC coating to be removed (I saw this on my Space Shuttle NASA panels).

Hoping to pick it up tomorrow, and have on display at Louisville Expo this weekend if all goes well...!

Sample cleaned up and installed. I'll need to make a small alignment adjustment for any future runs (centering is key, I didn't take all pics with it properly aligned), but I have to say it looks great!

Will try and mock a color insert before I break it down for Expo.

20170301_113929 (resized).jpg

20170301_113919 (resized).jpg

PanelCenter (resized).jpg

Woops sorry about that! Responded this AM.

Trying to get better pricing but not holding my breath. Also will have to see if the alleged interest in a Space Shuttle re-run can support some PinBots to that order.