Reproduction 7800 emblem plates

[JrPac]

Hey all—

I've been producing reproduction and custom art for arcade cabinets for several years.

One of my 7800s is entirely missing its emblem plate, so I've been inspired to look into producing some. 

 

They would be made from thick brushed metallic decal material. Of course not as good as true aluminum, but it's at least realistic and affordable. 

The text would have to be printed on and not embossed like the original.

 

If I were to offer these they'd likely be around the $8 mark.

 

No promises yet, as I've yet to order samples, but wanted to put this out there to see if there's interest?

[PacManPlus]

I for one can vouch for him; he does AMAZING work - I've purchased a cocktail underlay and Control Panel overlays from him.

VERY talented individual.

Edited July 1, 2023 by PacManPlus

[SiLic0ne t0aD]

Definitely interested!

[gambler172]

Depends on the shipping costs to Germany 👍

[JrPac]

Okay—since the embossed lettering can't be replicated, it needs to be printed. Don't worry, the material itself will be brushed metallic. Metal texture and console are only shown here for mockup purposes.

There are a few ways we can go with this. What do y'all think?

 

Black:

 

Gray:

 

Rainbow (Parallel with stripe)

 

 

Rainbow (Independent of stripe)

 

Edited July 5, 2023 by JrPac

[BassGuitari]

Gray! 🙂

[+Defender_2600]

1 hour ago, JrPac said:

 

Gray:

 

 

Gray!

 

[+Stephen]

Black or gray looks great.

[Trebor]

Gray

[Shawn]

The grey looks to be the best, IMO. That or perhaps just the rainbow stripe across and no lettering at all?

[+sramirez2008]

1 minute ago, Shawn said:

The grey looks to be the best, IMO. That or perhaps just the rainbow stripe across and no lettering at all?

This!

[JrPac]

Grey seems to be the winner! I'll order some samples.

 

8 minutes ago, Shawn said:

The grey looks to be the best, IMO. That or perhaps just the rainbow stripe across and no lettering at all?

That's doable, but I think it looks a little bare?

 

Edited July 5, 2023 by JrPac

[+Defender_2600]

14 minutes ago, JrPac said:

 

That's doable, but I think it looks a little bare?

 

 

Indeed, looks bare, just my opinion.

 

[Shawn]

46 minutes ago, JrPac said:

Grey seems to be the winner! I'll order some samples.

 

That's doable, but I think it looks a little bare?

 

 

As an option, I like it. 

[JrPac]

Update! The samples arrived today and here's the status.

 

The color and reflectiveness of the material look excellent, the rainbow looks awesome, and I think the gray text also works.

The print company oriented the brushed pattern the wrong way. I've contacted them and they should hopefully be able to fix it.

The grain is also a little more intense than I'd like, but unless they're side-by-side I don't think anyone would notice.

 

The foil material alone does not seem to be rigid enough to conceal the molding holes that are typically under the plate.

 

Backing it with some cardstock helped dramatically, so I may need to include a second layer. Will do more experiments!

Edited July 13, 2023 by JrPac

[+-^CrossBow^-]

13 minutes ago, JrPac said:

Update! The samples arrived today and here's the status.

 

The color and reflectiveness of the material look excellent, the rainbow looks awesome, and I think the gray text also works.

The print company oriented the brushed pattern the wrong way. I've contacted them and they should hopefully be able to fix it.

The grain is also a little more intense than I'd like, but unless they're side-by-side I don't think anyone would notice.

 

The foil material alone does not seem to be rigid enough to conceal the molding holes that are typically under the plate.

 

Backing it with some cardstock helped dramatically, so I may need to include a second layer. Will do more experiments!

That looks quite good yeah! What I would do about the holes is to use some shipping tape and some epoxy to fill them in. Once it was dried, remove the tape and sand down flat. Clean off the residue and apply the new decal.

 

Oh, and I'm going to be the odd one on this, but I kinda like the black text and logo more. Since there isn't any actual embossing on the trim as the original, it adds the depth needed to allow it to be seen easier and still not be mistaken for a real one.

 

 

[JrPac]

58 minutes ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

That looks quite good yeah! What I would do about the holes is to use some shipping tape and some epoxy to fill them in. Once it was dried, remove the tape and sand down flat. Clean off the residue and apply the new decal.

 

Oh, and I'm going to be the odd one on this, but I kinda like the black text and logo more. Since there isn't any actual embossing on the trim as the original, it adds the depth needed to allow it to be seen easier and still not be mistaken for a real one.

 

 

That indeed would be a good solution, but considering I plan to to offer this to other collectors, I want to make the process as streamlined and accessible as possible

I do agree the black text would be more visible.

[Shawn]

16 minutes ago, JrPac said:

That indeed would be a good solution, but considering I plan to to offer this to other collectors, I want to make the process as streamlined and accessible as possible

I do agree the black text would be more visible.

 

Are you doing more than one color of text or are you sticking to one? If so, clearly the masses want grey and will move the most units for you.

[JrPac]

22 minutes ago, Shawn said:

 

Are you doing more than one color of text or are you sticking to one? If so, clearly the masses want grey and will move the most units for you.

I am sticking to gray for the time being. If they sell well enough I’ll explore variations (definitely would like to do the PAL version as well if it’s feasible). 

Edited July 13, 2023 by JrPac

[Bratwurst]

9 hours ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

That looks quite good yeah! What I would do about the holes is to use some shipping tape and some epoxy to fill them in. Once it was dried, remove the tape and sand down flat. Clean off the residue and apply the new decal.

If this is vinyl decal material, a cardstock underlayer is going to work better. Vinyl/flexible decal material by itself shows EVERYTHING beneath it, even minor marks or sanded surfaces, so a uniform texture is going to be necessary. Should this vinyl+cardstock be assembled by the manufacturer before it's to be sold as a final product it will mitigate or even absolve any chance of air bubbles appearing under the decal when the intended end user goes to apply it. Speaking from personal experience in similar applications (see here: https://i.imgur.com/YFn5QbT.jpg) air bubbles are not fun to deal with at all. They will not squeegee out with soap water, and deflating with needles or pins leave obvious blemishes.

 

That said, the design looks fantastic and I'm intrigued. I have a spare 7800 with a really gnarly faceplate but the console shell itself is fine cosmetically, so I could use one to save myself the time it takes to polish the metal.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

2 hours ago, Bratwurst said:

If this is vinyl decal material, a cardstock underlayer is going to work better. Vinyl/flexible decal material by itself shows EVERYTHING beneath it, even minor marks or sanded surfaces, so a uniform texture is going to be necessary. Should this vinyl+cardstock be assembled by the manufacturer before it's to be sold as a final product it will mitigate or even absolve any chance of air bubbles appearing under the decal when the intended end user goes to apply it. Speaking from personal experience in similar applications (see here: https://i.imgur.com/YFn5QbT.jpg) air bubbles are not fun to deal with at all. They will not squeegee out with soap water, and deflating with needles or pins leave obvious blemishes.

 

That said, the design looks fantastic and I'm intrigued. I have a spare 7800 with a really gnarly faceplate but the console shell itself is fine cosmetically, so I could use one to save myself the time it takes to polish the metal.

Look, I never said I had any expert knowledge on case restorations here. In fact, I don't restore consoles or broken shells in my services so it was only what I would have tried in this case. But given the brushed look of the decal, would any sanding marks underneath be seen that easily? Again, I only meant it as a suggestion because unless the molds have the exact same sized holes in them all the time, you might still see a seam around the card stock yes? Or would the card stock be used as foundation layer across the entire top of the shell first? Because in my mind when I read it, I thought he was suggesting to use card stock cut in circles to fill in the holes?

 

 

[Bratwurst]

5 minutes ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

Look, I never said I had any expert knowledge on case restorations here. In fact, I don't restore consoles or broken shells in my services so it was only what I would have tried in this case. But given the brushed look of the decal, would any sanding marks underneath be seen that easily? Again, I only meant it as a suggestion because unless the molds have the exact same sized holes in them all the time, you might still see a seam around the card stock yes? Or would the card stock be used as foundation layer across the entire top of the shell first? Because in my mind when I read it, I thought he was suggesting to use card stock cut in circles to fill in the holes?

The exaggeration/emphasis in my first post was meant more for JrPac's consideration of a final product, definitely don't take it as me deriding you at all. I don't even know if this stuff being used is vinyl so I can't say with certainty. I do think the sanding marks would come through the surface unless they were finely polished down like with a wetsand process maybe- I really can't understate how much adhesive vinyl shows whatever is underneath it, at least the varieties I've worked with. I often had to yank off a decal and start over with a new one when assembling a custom console, but I am particular when it comes to detail.

 

To the matter of cardstock, yes I'd recommend it as a foundation layer across the entire top of the shell.

[JrPac]

To be clear, I did use the cardstock in my experiment as a foundation layer spanning the full width. My only concern is how that would work with the bends, so I'm gonna experiment with that.

 

These are made from foil with a vinyl laminate, so it's a bit more forgiving to texture than a thin vinyl decal would be. There are quite a few nicks and marks on my system that the foil alone conceals well—just not those pesky holes

(Though from my experience making arcade art, good vinyl conceals most sanding marks)

Edited July 13, 2023 by JrPac

[+GoldenWheels]

On 7/5/2023 at 3:43 PM, JrPac said:

Rainbow (Independent of stripe)

 

LOVE this one.

[JrPac]

Experimented with different paper bases this morning.

 

This worked surprisingly well! Pre-cut a cardstock foundation to fit only the top face (without the bends). Pre-creased the foil plate and applied over top. The bends look totally fine.

The paper texture does show through, so I will need a smoother cardstock. Not surprised as this is just cheap poster board.

 

 

 

I would strongly recommend the end-user to pre-crease the bends onto the foil before installing.

I could include very faint gray guide lines on the product, but they'd still be there after you install. What do y'all think?

Edited July 13, 2023 by JrPac