Overshot this one: I saw on eBay a guy selling six-inch scale arcade machines, and ordered a favorite that ate a lot of my quarters in the 90's. The next day, I saw the guy also had some for sale on Etsy, and some of the reviews weren't as glowing as others. So, instead of ordering another one sight unseen, I thought I'd wait for my first one...and maybe give one a go myself! By jumping in with both feet and trying to build a six-inch scale classic Star Wars cockpit arcade console!
Step one: Swipe! Arcade Controls had a schematic for a papercraft model--but in 3 3/4 inch scale. Comparing it to a full-sized machine being restored and it's measurements, I did a whole bunch of math, then threw it out the window when my wife just scaled everything up for printing. Best guesstimate, going from 3.75 inch to six inch should be 1.6 times as large...right? Actually, I know I fudged that number upwards to allow for, as OAFE has put it, 'size creep.' I think I may have gone too far. In fact, I'm pretty sure I have.
I hit a snag when the roof canopy pieces were not scaled right at all, and had to try multiple sizes before I hit "close enough." But the console is full of a ton of weird angles: I think maybe I should've tried the template as is first. Worse, I tried to use some styrofoam as filler for the interior, which then involved an unacceptable amount of bodging to fit. Then, without clear instructions, we were down to a lot of guesswork and touch-up.
The side-panels turned out sharp looking, though: the template scaled up quite nicely on that front. But one final cheat, that my wife absolutely disapproved of, was the control yoke. Rather than trying to put together the papercraft version, I subbed in a Batman piece I had saved for such an occasion! Where it came from, I have no idea, but I liked it.
Gonna have to try this again sometime. Spring for laminating all the pieces next time, maybe try a black-and-white mock-up first. Maybe after I see how the one I ordered turned out, or maybe try the stand-up version...
2 comments:
That is actually... kind've amazing.
Damn Goo....Just....damn brother. I'm impressed, proud, and incredibly jealous all at once. Let's here it for hard work and eye-balling it eh?
Looks damn good though. I'm going to look that site up myself and see what the fuss is, and if its worth looking into myself.
Post a Comment